Why a Pornhub LinkedIn Post Matters More Than It Looks — And What the Creator Economy Can Learn from It
- Lila Monroe
- Jan 15
- 5 min read
By Lila Monroe — Only Fans Insider Magazine
When Joseph dropped that screenshot into Slack, his caption was almost casual:
“There’s no link. All I have is this screenshot. Is this an ad? Or is there more to it? Want to research this and write an article? I’m curious your thoughts.”
What seemed like a throwaway social media post from Pornhub — a brand most of us associate with adult entertainment — actually opened a door into a much larger conversation about positioning, values, and narrative in the creator economy.
Because the message in that screenshot wasn’t just about “safety and ethical practices.” It was an attempt at leadership language.
And language matters.
You Don’t Have to Click Through to Know Something Has Shifted
The screenshot read like this:
“Unlock a world of diverse content, where safety and ethical practices lead the way. Discover stories that entertain while ensuring respect and responsibility.”
At face value, someone might read that and think, “Okay… an ad trying to polish an image.”
But here’s what I saw that most people — even within the creator economy — aren’t stopping to think about:
This is a legacy adult entertainment platform trying to shape its own narrative.
Pornhub is very late to this conversation by mainstream standards, yet here they are, articulating values language on a professional platform like LinkedIn. They aren’t just posting clips or product calls to action. They’re posting principles.
That tells you something important:
They understand that perception isn’t just about exposure — it’s about narrative framing.
And here’s why that matters.
The Power of Narrative — And the Gap in the Creator Economy
Creators on platforms like OnlyFans, Fanvue, Fansly, Patreon, and Subs are building incredible work every day. Some are building audiences in the millions. Some are making six-figure annual incomes. Some are pioneering entirely new formats of intimacy, education, storytelling, or performance.
And yet, when it comes to public narrative and leadership positioning, this space is largely reactive rather than proactive.
There’s a paradox at play:
Creators are incredibly visible to their audiences
But creator communities are less visible together in mainstream conversations
Press coverage often treats creators as controversies or trends instead of business professionals with cultural influence
Platforms that rely on creator economies rarely offer guardrails or narrative leadership beyond terms of service
Put simply: the creator economy is rich with creators — but relatively poor in shared leadership frameworks.
That’s where the Pornhub post becomes instructive.
Pornhub’s Attempt at Values Positioning Is a Sign of Things Shifting
Pornhub isn’t suddenly an ethics evangelist. They’ve been forced to wrestle with controversies over content, moderation, policy, and legality for years. Their brand has been scrutinized in ways that creator platforms generally haven’t — and that’s part of what pushed them to articulate something that sounds like values language.
But credit them for this:
They weren’t posting a clip.
They weren’t promoting a sale.
They didn’t lead with shock, spectacle, or outrage.
They posted a principle-based statement.
Here’s the subtle shift:
Most adult-focused conversations are either technical (“our policy updates…”) or sensational (“new features…”) or defensive (“we are committed to safety…”).
This LinkedIn post was aspirational.
It used terms like:
Safety and ethical practices
Respect and responsibility
Diverse content
Responsible viewing
Notice what’s NOT in that language:
There’s no promise of unlimited access.
No emphasis on quantity over quality.
No reduction of value to binary categories.
This is values language — the type of language mainstream brands use to position themselves in cultural conversations about identity, moderation, belonging, and trust.
And here’s why that’s important:
Creators and platforms in the broader creator economy need more of this.
Creators Have an Opportunity — If They Learn to Tell Their Stories as Narratives, Not Just Catalogs
When we review submissions for Only Fans Insider Magazine, the strongest pieces aren’t the ones that list accomplishments or shout numbers.
They are the ones that articulate:
What the creator believes
What they stand for
What they represent in culture
Why their work matters beyond entertainment
That’s narrative.
That’s authority.
That’s positioning.
And when creators articulate that consistently — both in press and in public discourse — something shifts:
Audiences don’t just consume content — they connect with purpose.
Brands don’t just notice metrics — they recognize influence.
And platforms stop being stigmatized spaces and start becoming cultural phenomena.
Why the Creator Economy Needs More Guardrails — But Also More Voice
Platforms like OnlyFans, Fanvue, Fansly, Patreon, and Subs have been largely defensive in mainstream narratives because of how the media frames adult or subscription content.
Press coverage often leans toward:
Controversy
Moral panic
Misunderstanding
Simplification
Rarely do we see press coverage that says:
“Here’s how this ecosystem creates jobs, builds businesses, and enables economic mobility.”
Rarely do we see creators featured as business leaders, community builders, or cultural innovators.
That’s a gap.
Pornhub’s post — simplistic as it may be — is an acknowledgment that values messaging matters.
And if legacy platforms realize this, creators and creator platforms should too.
Press Isn’t Vanity — It’s Narrative Ownership
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned editing and reviewing creator submissions is that press isn’t about visibility alone. Press is about narrative control. Creators don’t just need to be seen.
They need to be understood, contextualized, and positioned as:
Innovators
Businesspeople
Cultural contributors
Thought leaders
When mainstream platforms publish stories that don’t reflect depth, nuance, or agency, the public narrative gets written for creators — not by them.
That’s why getting published — in places that understand creator context — matters more than ever.
Not as clout.
As story ownership.
This is the kind of mindset shift that separates:
Content from identity
Popularity from legacy
Reaction from leadership
What Creators Can Learn from This Post’s Intent
If there’s a takeaway here — and there is — it isn’t that creators should mimic Pornhub.
It’s that creators should recognize what the post was trying to do:
Shift the frame from consumption to values.
Shift the narrative from spectacle to responsibility.
Articulate not just what you do — but why you do it.
When creators do that in their own voice, the resulting narrative is infinitely more powerful than any algorithmic push or trend cycle.
So the next time you think about press, exposure, or branding:
Don’t aim for attention.
Aim for narrative.
Because attention fades.
Narrative lasts.
And in a world where platforms come and go, owning your story is the only thing that truly endures.
—By Lila Monroe, Only Fans Insider Magazine
Comments