Snopes: Rumor of Pornhub Block in Russia False

CYBERSPACE—A rumor apparently started last week on Twitter by user @root_nomad that Pornhub had blocked access to its site in Russia and posted in its place a Ukrainian flag, along with a message of support for Ukraine in the current attack the country is sustaining from Russia, has been deemed false by internet fact-checking site Snopes. The text of the February 25 post by @root_nomad read: "The sanction nobody is talking about. Russian users who attempted to visit pornhub were quite literally cockblocked by a message that told them that the content has been stopped along with a Ukranian flag and message of Ukranian support #Ukraine #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion." The sanction nobody is talking about. Russian users who attempted to visit pornhub were quite literally cockblocked by a message that told them that the content has been stopped along with a Ukranian flag and message of Ukranian support #Ukraine #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion pic.twitter.com/XdI75534JW — ┴HפIN⅄qʞƆ∀H (@root_nomad) February 25, 2022 "There's zero evidence to support these claims," Snopes writer Dan Evon reported Monday. Noting that Motherboard reporter Samantha Cole had tested said claims by accessing Pornhub via a VPN (Virtual Private Network) set to a Russian location and gained access, Evon added: "We used the same method to replicate the experience a user in Russia would have while accessing Pornhub, and came up with the same results. We did not encounter a Ukrainian flag or a message of support, nor was our access to the website blocked." Meanwhile, similar reports that Russian models who use OnlyFans had found they were unable to upload new content to their pages and had their payouts cut off, while true during the first several days of finanical sanctions against Russia, seem to now have reversed course. The Daily Star reported Monday that it had received confirmation from OnlyFans that the site had been able to "restore account activity for creators in all countries."