PornHub executives continue to profit from illegal and exploitative content despite claims of improvement.
The investigation highlights the need for government intervention and transparency in the porn industry to combat sex trafficking and exploitation.
Deep dives
Journalist uncovers shocking revelations about Pornhub
In an episode of Luskas, journalist Arden Young discusses her undercover investigation into senior porn executives at Pornhub to shed light on the rape and sex trafficking videos hosted on the platform. She uncovers alarming information, including a loophole in the consent verification process that allows illegal videos without faces to be uploaded, which rapists and traffickers exploit. She exposes failures in content moderation, where pleas from victims to remove exploitative videos are ignored. Young emphasizes that despite claims of improvement, Pornhub still profits off illegal content, highlighting the need for government intervention and transparency.
Current issues with Pornhub and MindGeek
Arden Young reveals that her investigation shows that the issues with Pornhub and its parent company, MindGeek, are ongoing and current. Despite public claims of change and improvement, Young exposes the continuation of illegal and exploitative videos on the platform, including underage content. She challenges the idea that other social networks also host such content, emphasizing that the size and influence of Pornhub necessitate accountability and the closure of loopholes that enable trafficking and exploitation.
Ethical concerns and motivations behind the investigation
Young addresses the ethical concerns raised about undercover journalism and her motivations for going undercover. She emphasizes her intention is not to embarrass or ruin lives, but rather to provide irrefutable evidence and expose an internal culture within the porn industry. She counters criticism by inviting viewers to watch the unedited videos, highlighting her specific and direct questions to subjects to ensure clarity and context. Young also expresses the need for government interest and transparency, hoping her investigation leads to fixing the exploitative loopholes on pornographic websites.
The need for regulation and accountability
The discussion touches on the need for government involvement, regulation, and accountability in the porn industry. It is mentioned that the lack of regulation and consequences allows abuses to persist, with illegal content circulating and being profited from without consent. Young challenges the notion that the porn industry should have lower moral standards, emphasizing the importance of implementing laws and regulations that apply across tech platforms to combat illegal and harmful content. The hope is to de-incentivize those who seek to exploit and profit from abusive and non-consensual videos.
Arden Young joins me on LustCast to discuss her groundbreaking work, the "PornHub Tapes," an undercover exposé conducted by Sound Investigations into Aylo, the new parent company of PornHub.
In 2020, PornHub faced a massive scandal, leading Visa & Mastercard to sever ties over concerns of illegal content such as revenge porn and sex trafficking. Since then, the company claims to have cleaned up its act, changed ownership, and introduced stricter policies.
However, Arden's undercover work reveals a different story. She found that not only does illegal content continue to circulate on the site, but senior executives are aware of these issues and are still profiting from them. Her findings suggest that little has actually changed at PornHub.
Our conversation dives deeper into this, exploring the broader implications for the porn industry and also touching on the ethical considerations of undercover journalism.
To support work like this, please consider donating Sound Investigations: soundinvestigations.com/donate
Timestamps:
00:00-Introduction
01:26-What are the #PornHubTapes
05:35-Content moderation
08:34-The consent loophole
13:17-Did PornHub break any laws?
21:05-Top management know about the loopholes
23:48-Underage content
30:01-Behind the investigation
37:13-Ethics of undercover journalism
46:00-What should happen to PornHub
54:50-PornHub Netflix documentary
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