OnlyFans models are amplifying conspiracy theories about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in what appears to be a bid to promote their own profiles, i can reveal.
Some models have been posting or retweeting disinformation about the attack on X, bringing the posts to the attention of their large fan bases. It is also likely to bring their accounts to the attention of users who do not follow them but are searching for conspiracy content.
OnlyFans terms and conditions prohibit content which “has the intention or effect of artificially increasing any Creator’s views or interactions, or which is otherwise inauthentic, repetitive, misleading or low quality”.
The pattern emerged after i analysed how conspiracies related to the attack spread on social media, in particular on X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter.
Some posts on the platform have been viewed almost 50 million times, while on TikTok, videos of the shooting with millions of views are being swamped in the comment section by users spreading conspiracy theories.
Experts have told i that a market is developing in which spreading conspiracy theories online can earn people money. Individuals can monetise their X accounts directly, or they can benefit by people viewing their profile which features adverts for their subscription site, such as OnlyFans, a platform used by amateur models who create content for subscribers, often of a sexually themed nature.
i found that conspiracies about Trump’s assassination attempt began to be posted on social media within minutes of the gun being fired at the rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Baseless claims have racked up millions of views and have been shared hundreds of thousands of times.
It took only seven minutes for the first person to tweet “#staged” after Trump was shot at, which spread the baseless accusation that the attack was orchestrated by the Republican presidential candidate’s team.
Conspiracists from both ends of the political spectrum were seen to be spreading disinformation.
Profiles from people with left-wing beliefs were promoting the false claim that the attack was not real or planned, while right-wing individuals pushed a fake narrative that world figures were attempting to kill Trump.
Despite the stereotypes, conspiracies can be spread by anyone, according to Karen Douglas, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent.
“Whilst people tend to view conspiracy theories as a right-wing phenomenon, this is not the case. People tend to endorse conspiracy theories that suit their own political narrative.”
Chasing conspiracy clicks
However, i found that some of those promoting disinformation may not be motivated by politics but social media engagement.
Many of those who posted viral conspiracies on X had large numbers of followers but when a popular post came from a small account it had often been amplified by bigger accounts, including by OnlyFans models.
One conspiracy post made by a verified X account with around 2,000 followers reads: “If you don’t think that shit was staged? Look at how fast they got Trump outta there at just the mention of someone in the crowd having a gun in 2016. Then look at this goofy as shit”. It has now been viewed 9.7 million times.
i’s analysis of the post’s traffic found it had been amplified by a number of profiles with much bigger followings. Three of the biggest accounts belonged to people using their profiles to promote their OnlyFans accounts.
How the conspiracies started
Using data from Brandwatch, which monitors social media, i found that from the moment Trump was attacked on Saturday evening (UK time) to Monday afternoon, tweets mentioning both that “shit was staged” and “Trump” had been posted more than 22,300 times.
Of the 10 biggest accounts by follower count to post those words, five of them were OnlyFans models who either posted the phrase themselves or reposted someone else.
Imran Ahmed, the CEO of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), said i’s findings make a mockery of X classifying itself as a news platform and that OnlyFans models may be gaming the site’s algorithm to make money.
“I’m not going to blame anyone for wanting to make a buck but [people] with OnlyFans accounts have to find any means they can to promote themselves. They can take advantage of a system that’s used by hate actors, disinformation actors who may have more malignant ends.
“If they’re using it to build their brands because they know that’s the way the platform works – by spreading disinformation so you get more eyeballs on your content and it helps you to build your OnlyFans profile, [it shows it’s] a ridiculous way to run something that purports to be a place where you find the news.”
He added that i’s findings show that people have discovered a shortcut to making money on revenue sharing platforms like X.
“People realise the way to get attention via the algorithm and the way to get more followers and therefore to build your brand is actually to spout the wildest possible nonsense, because it induces a reaction. Engagement drives amplification on social media platforms.”
Conspiracies shared 215 million times
The CCDH carried out its own research which looked broadly at the conspiracies around the attempted assassination and found they had been viewed over 215 million times on X, with 95 per cent of posts failing to carry a fact check box that can be shown alongside misleading or factually incorrect tweets.
i was unable to determine how many of the viral conspiracies had been served to X users on the “for you page”, part of the platform that uses an algorithm to surface content from profiles that a user may not follow or subscribe to. Often the authors of posts on this page have paid for a verified account.
When i looked at the top ten biggest accounts by follower count that promoted a prominent right-wing conspiracy, eight came from verified accounts.
The profiles had amplified the baseless claim that the CIA, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and others were trying to kill Trump for taking “down elite satanic pedophiles”.
This conspiracy, in a long post, was first published 23 minutes after the attacker’s gun was fired. Within 25 minutes it has been reposted over a thousand times. By Monday, it had been directly retweeted 16,000 times, viewed 5.7 million times and repeated in other people’s tweets.
TikTok suppressing videos
i also looked at TikTok and found that the platform’s attempts to suppress conspiracy theory videos appears to be partially working, but that the algorithm-powered suggested searches highlighted conspiracies and some videos were still slipping through the net.
When typing “Trump” into the search bar, two of the suggestions of alternative search terms supplied by the app directed users to search for conspiracy theories. When a user accepted one of the prompts, they were then served with more specific conspiracies.
However, the videos that showed up for the conspiracy searches were predominantly clips from news organisations and conspiracy videos were not prominently displayed.
Despite this, videos calling the shooting an “inside job” or falsely claiming that the security services knew in advance and acted deliberately to allow Trump to be targeted, are still live on the platform and have gathered hundreds of thousands of views.
One post, bizarrely claiming that Trump’s limo driver had revealed the blood from the former president’s wound was actually ketchup, has been viewed more than one million times.
Comments under the post read, “I believe that because if you look at his ear he has a little bit of blood on top but if you really get shot you see more blood..”, and, “I truly believe. Just to get attention. He’s afraid he will lose the election.”
Why people are driven to conspiracies
Prof Douglas says that many people are driven to believing conspiracy theories when trying “to cope in difficult situations”.
However, she said the consequences of such theories proliferating can be harmful because they can affect people’s real-world “intentions and behaviours” including prejudice, genocide, risky health behaviour, climate denial, as well as “disturbing behaviour related to QAnon and Covid-19 conspiracy theories”.
“For some people they might just be entertaining and harmless fun, but in many cases, they are potentially much more dangerous.”
TikTok and OnlyFans did not respond to multiple requests for comment. There is no evidence OnlyFans knew or endorsed the social media messages promoted by some models who use their platform.
Three of the five videos promoting conspiracy theories i sent to TikTok have since been removed.
X also did not respond to multiple requests for comment, sending an automatic response stating: “Busy now, please check back later.”
TikTok’s policies ban “inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent”.
OnlyFans’ terms and conditions states that creators are not allowed to advertise their profiles in anyway that “encourage behaviour prejudicial to health or safety” or “cause physical, mental or moral detriment to any person”.
Violations of X’s terms and service include posting abuse and hateful conduct and sharing synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.
Trump’s ear was grazed during the assassination attempt on the weekend. One spectator was killed and two others were seriously injured.
The FBI has identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. He was killed by a Secret Service sniper moments after he fired at Trump.