Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Mia Khalifa’s income was frozen by PornHub and donated to Israel aid funds, due to her statements over Israel-Palestine conflict. And archive of the link can be seen here.
Factcheck
Newschecker began by analysing the comment section of the viral tweet which showed that several people had commented that the decision was not correct and that the money was Mia Khalifa’s income, and also that the move was no different from theft. This indicated that the post was not satire and that other social media users were believing it to be true.
We also checked MSNBC’s social media profiles and found no such report. We also found a tweet which pointed out that the logo was in the wrong place and that it was not in tandem with the other videos put out by the channel.
We also checked the Instagram page of MSNBC and found that the video did not match the style of the other videos on the page.
We then conducted a keyword search on Google to verify if the claim of Mia Khalifa’s income being frozen by PornHub and being redirected to Israel was true or not.
We found no such reports from any credible news outlet. There was also no backlash or comment against the alleged move on Mia Khalifa’s Twitter page or Instagram page.
We then reached out to PornHub. It’s representatives confirmed to us via email that the news was false.
Separately, we found that adult magazine Playboy had severed ties with Khalifa over her opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict. “Mia has made disgusting and reprehensible comments celebrating Hamas’ attacks on Israel and the murder of innocent men, women and children. At Playboy, we encourage free expression and constructive political debate, but we have a zero tolerance policy for hate speech. We expect Mia to understand that her words and actions have consequences,” Playboy said announcing the move.
In addition, Canadian broadcaster and podcast host Todd Shapiro also terminated his business deals with Khalifa following her statements on social media, prompting the OnlyFans star to tweet that she was not affected by the loss of businesses, but was more concerned about ‘business with zionists’.
Newschecker has also reached out to Mia Khalifa for her comments on the claim and the article will be updated on receiving her response.
Result: False
Our Sources
Report on Variety.com, dated October 10, 2023
Report on CNBCTV18, dated October 10, 2023
Tweet by Mia Khalifa, dated October 9, 2023
Tweet by @LouisPisano, dated October 16, 2023
Email correspondence with PornHub
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
