Sam Cole
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samleecole.bsky.social
Sam Cole
@samleecole.bsky.social
22K followers 380 following 650 posts
journalist / co-founder @404media.co
signal: sam.404
complain about the paywall catch a block
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samleecole.bsky.social
thanks u
Large Garp
November 26, 2025 at 10:58 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
they apologize for the delay
Garp is blissed out on a heated blanket. Calliope loafs
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
:D
Garp scream
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
SAD lamp seasonal Garp for you
November 25, 2025 at 3:44 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
🙃
rare calliope belly
November 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
thenk
garp is a tabby who also has personal space issues
November 25, 2025 at 3:32 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
a statement from admin
November 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
hello friend
calliope and garp cuddle on the couch
November 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
Calliope sees your response and has noted it
calliope, a tortoise shell cat, does not respect personal space
November 25, 2025 at 3:23 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
angel baby cats, a tortie and a tabby, snuggling cheek to cheek
November 25, 2025 at 3:20 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
Garp thanks you anyway
garp is a weirdo cat lying on his back
November 25, 2025 at 3:19 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
the honor system applies don't worry
my perfect cats sitting side by side. garp is a tabby freak and calliope is a tortie
November 25, 2025 at 3:18 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
and as @goaskalex.com said: "Criminal background checks will not stop potential predators from using the platform, it will only harm individuals who are already at higher risk... I'd like to know more about what they're searching for with these background checks.” www.404media.co/onlyfans-bac...
Alex said she believes background checks in the porn industry could be beneficial, under very specific circumstances. “I do not think that someone with egregious history of sexual violence should be allowed to work in the sex trade in any capacity—similarly, a person convicted of hurting children should be not able to work with children—so if the criminal record checks were searching specifically for sex based offences I could see the benefit, but that doesn't appear to be the case (to my knowledge). What's to stop OnlyFans from deactivating someone's account due to a shoplifting offense?” she said. “I'd like to know more about what they're searching for with these background checks.”
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
as @jessicastarling.bsky.social put it: “It’s dangerous for anyone, but it's especially dangerous for us because we're more vulnerable anyway. Especially when you're online, you're hypervisible." www.404media.co/onlyfans-bac...
“It’s dangerous for anyone, but it's especially dangerous for us [adult creators] because we're more vulnerable anyway. Especially when you're online, you're hypervisible,” Starling said. “It doesn't protect anyone except OnlyFans themselves, the company.” OnlyFans became the household name in independent porn because of the work of its adult content creators. Starling mentioned that because the platform has dominated the market, it’s difficult to just go to another platform if creators don’t want to be subjected to background checks. “We're put in a position where we have very limited power," they said. "So when a platform decides to do something like this, we’re kind of screwed, right?”
November 20, 2025 at 4:14 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
in-person sex work is highly criminalized in the US. some people choose to transition from escorting to online work because traditional workplaces ALSO do background checks and won't hire people with a record. it's not clear if OF will exclude people with specific levels of offense, but.....
“Criminal background checks will not stop potential predators from using the platform (OF), it will only harm individuals who are already at higher risk. Sex work has always had a low barrier to entry, making it the most accessible career for people from all walks of life,” performer GoAskAlex, who’s on OnlyFans and other platforms, told me in an email. “Removing creators with criminal/arrest records will only push more vulnerable people (overwhelmingly, women) to street based/survival sex work. Adding more barriers to what is arguably the safest form of sex work (online sex work) will push sex industry workers to less and less safe options.” Jessica Starling, who also creates adult content on OnlyFans, told me in a call that their first thought was that if someone using OnlyFans has a prostitution charge, they might not be able to use the platform. “If they're trying to transition to online work, they won’t be able to do that anymore,” they said. “And the second thing I thought was that it's just invasive and overreaching... And then I looked up the company, and I'm like, ‘Oh, wow, this is really bad.’”
November 20, 2025 at 4:05 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
Blair provided almost no details on how this will work in her announcement. OnlyFans did not reply to my questions trying to get those details. meanwhile, creators are freaked out, so let me break down why
keily blair on linkedin: One of our core principles at OnlyFans is safety by design. As a community of over 370 million fans and 4 million content creators the people who create and connect on our platform put a lot of trust in us and we are always looking for new and innovative ways to protect our community. Due to the fact that we are an inclusive 18+ community and which enables creators to monetise their content (both explicit and non explicit) OnlyFans has a one of the most robust onboarding processes of any online user generated content platform which includes age and identity checks (for more check out https://lnkd.in/eutZcCVj). I am very proud to add our partnership with Checkr Trust to our onboarding process in the US https://lnkd.in/eidWSfRk. Checkr, Inc. helps OnlyFans to prevent people who have a criminal conviction which may impact on our community's safety from signing up as a Creator on OnlyFans. It’s collaborations like this that make the real difference behind the scenes and keep OnlyFans a space where creators and fans feel secure and empowered.
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
I don't think the face-swap stuff represents the majority of Secret Desires users, but I do think it was a major draw for a lot of people.

the company took down the exposed containers within an hour of me alerting them, but I still haven't heard from them or their CEO
In early 2025, Secret Desires removed its face-swapping feature. The most recent date in the faceswap files is April 2025. This tracks with Reddit comments from the same time, where users complained that Secret Desires “dropped” the face swapping feature. “I canceled my membership to SecretDesires when they dropped the Faceswap. Do you know if there’s another site comparable? Secret Desires was amazing for image generation,” one user said in a thread about looking for alternatives to the platform. “I was part of the beta testing and the faceswop was great. I was able to upload pictures of my wife and it generated a pretty close,” another replied. “Shame they got rid of it.”
November 19, 2025 at 3:48 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
Secret Desires' advertising focuses on how cool it is that AI women don't "say no," and how lonely and frustrated men (you, the user) are with real-life romantic relationships. of the many disturbing things about this industry, this messaging is way up there
November 19, 2025 at 3:33 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
I'm talking yearbook pics, photos taken from graduations, file images of public servants at speaking engagements, old selfies with flip phones. this is alongside screenshots of porn performers' faces, influencers, and celebrities.
The photos in the removed images and faceswap datasets are overwhelmingly real photos (meaning, not AI generated) of women, including adult performers, influencers, and celebrities, but also photos of women who are definitely not famous. The datasets also include many photos that look like they were taken from women’s social media profiles, like selfies taken in bedrooms or smiling profile photos. In the faceswap container, I found a file photo of a state representative speaking in public, photos where women took mirror selfies seemingly years ago with flip phones and Blackberries, screenshots of selfies from Snapchat, a photo of a woman posing with her university degree and one of a yearbook photo. Some of the file names include full first and last names of the women pictured. These and many more photos are in the exposed files alongside stolen images from adult content creators’ videos and websites and screenshots of actors from films. Their presence in this container means someone was uploading their photos to the Secret Desires face-swapping feature—likely to make explicit images of them, as that’s what the platform advertises itself as being built for, and because a large amount of the exposed content is sexual imagery.
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
some of you have never hit the notes app crazy style during a breakup and it shows
2:15 a.m., 850 acres burning. As a child, I became convinced that death was not random, that life was the process of investigating what the point of it was, and as soon as you figured it out, in that very instant, you would ascend. God would eliminate you from this plane. He could not risk a leaker walking among the ignorant. The assignment was to crack the case for yourself. And when I would find myself thinking too hard about the central question, I would back away slowly, thinking, Well, I will return to this matter some other time when I feel more ready to possibly meet my end. What if I guessed correctly?
November 17, 2025 at 3:12 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
everything about this is infuriating. a girl is traumatized and expelled; a boy faces a criminal record and custody. and the adults couldn't even be bothered to look at the images themselves www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Comeaux and Ory said school administrators should have acted more quickly after the girl’s morning complaint and should have prevented her and the students she accused of sharing the images from riding the bus home together. “It’s the adults that failed this juvenile,” Comeaux said. “… These people received the complaint; they did not take it seriously because they didn’t see the image.”
November 13, 2025 at 2:25 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
it includes a lot of really important standards, like the right to withdraw consent at any time (even if something was agreed to previously) and things like consenting ahead of time to who is on set, how long a shooting day can go on for, SNACKS, etc: www.adultstudioalliance.com/codeofconduct
PERFORMER RIGHTS All performers are made aware of the fact that their pornographic performance will be visible to a large audience, worldwide, for the duration of the rights granted. All performers are also reminded of the consequences that may result from the exposure of their image in this context. All performers must have the opportunity to meaningfully consent to conditions and acts performed on set, including: Scene type Proposed partner(s) Proposed sexual acts Script or creative document Length of shoot day Location Extras (non-performing scene partners) Remuneration and conditions Rights granted They should be: Able to refuse, at any time, any act, even if previously agreed upon Able to visually confirm their partner’s STI test status on set before any sexual performance. Provided water, snacks, meals, breaks, and privacy as needed Provided all necessary sexual health and hygienic materials needed to perform Paid their agreed-upon rate for the date of production
November 12, 2025 at 3:25 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
stick figures going fucking crazy
November 11, 2025 at 2:16 PM
samleecole.bsky.social
this was making me nuts recently so I recorded all the times I had to bat away all the useless AI shit in acrobat. four times right after opening the doc, and some things I couldn't even clear
November 11, 2025 at 2:13 PM