The earnings picture is sharply uneven. OnlyFans’ own data indicates that its top 5,000 creators have made more than $1m each on the site since the platform launched in 2016. Average earnings of the site’s 5 million registered performers are estimated at about $1,000 a year, the report states.
TikTok prohibits sexual solicitation, including invitations to share explicit images. The platform nevertheless distributes so-called safe-for-work material produced by popular OnlyFans performers, the report indicates.
Researchers spent months scrolling through posts from a number of key “sexfluencers” and then following recommendations offered by TikTok’s algorithm.
TikTok is helping to promote and normalise the sex industry by letting popular OnlyFans performers post videos that market pornographic content they sell elsewhere, a report indicates.
The posts showed the women shopping, playing with their pets, baking or offering skincare advice. Performers rely on building followers on TikTok and other platforms, and have become adept at subtle nods to explicit content sold elsewhere, the report says. To avoid being blocked, performers may use the word “corn” instead of “porn”, or place a corn emoji next to a star emoji, the report says.