Why the Pornhub report unexpectedly struck a nerve in modern politics and society

Context. Pornhub published annual report, based on an analysis of billions of search queries and page views from around the world. The 2025 report documents a major shift in the industry: an explosion of interest in LGBTQ+ topics, the continued popularity of mature fetishes, and an unexpected boom in “safe for work” (SFW) content. The main paradox: the stricter the rules, the more inventive consumption becomes. On the one hand, desires become mainstream and measurable. On the other hand, all of this is taking place against a backdrop of global efforts at regulation and censorship.

Fresh report In 2025, Pornhub acted as a spotlight: it shed light on something many people preferred to ignore. The more dictators and conservative leaders like Putin or Trump crack down on LGBTQ+ issues, the greater the interest in them becomes. Forbidden fruit is always sweeter, but in our digital age, this translates into a flood of searches, clicks, and views.

Back in 2003, Barbra Streisand sued a photographer who had published a photo of the California coast on a major stock photo website. Streisand’s house was also visible in the photo. Before the lawsuit, only a few people had downloaded the photo, unaware of its value to the paparazzi. After the lawsuit, there were already tens of thousands of downloads, and the photo of Barbra’s house was published by nearly all major media outlets worldwide. The same thing happened with the LGBT issue "the Streisand effect" – When the authorities (or a celebrity) try to hide information, ban something, or delete it, it backfires—people become even more eager to find out about it.

When the government makes a topic off-limits, society becomes interested in it. Russia is the prime example. For years, Russian propaganda has been claiming that transgender people are a threat...that queer people are “extremists,” but At the same time, searches related to transgender issues are skyrocketing to the top of the rankings. The increase in searches for “lesbians,” “transgender,” and “femboy,” along with a sharp rise in searches for “queer” and “bisexual,” indicates a shift from marginal representation toward mass consumption, interest, and curiosity. The story is similar in the U.S.: TRamp based his rhetoric on anti-trans policies, but in reality, he only served to fuel interest in the topic, especially among young people.

What people try to hide usually goes viral—it’s a classic dynamic. And in that sense, both Putin and Trump have themselves made the LGBT issue far more visible than any queer media outlet or activist campaign could have.

Dictators have laid the groundwork for building a bright future

Paradoxically, the pressure exerted by dictators created a platform for a future shift toward LGBT-friendliness. Because widespread public interest is the foundation. When a topic is on everyone’s lips, when people are debating it, when people are actively seeking out information—that in itself becomes an important signal for the LGBT community.

Even if the official line is strict, people keep digging. Some out of curiosity. Others because their own feelings have finally found words and images to express them. The internet is becoming the place where people first encounter something that describes who they are.

But there's also a downside

What serves as both a trigger and a driver of interest simultaneously becomes a hindrance. Conservative authorities keep society on edge: new generations may grow up in a paradigm where “it’s always been this way.” If this rhetoric persists for another 10–15 years, some young people in places like Russia or Hungary may simply not remember any other norm.

Today’s propaganda hasn’t yet erased those memories—older generations remember different times; they lived through the ’90s, when everything was much freer. They remember online forums, magazines, and TV shows where LGBT issues were discussed openly and calmly. But time takes its toll: if repression goes on for too long, what was once considered impossible becomes the norm.

The history of the 1990s suggests that dictators will be followed by a surge of freedom

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the wall of censorship cracked, and society literally unleashed everything that had been banned. Newspapers, magazines, TV—all of a sudden, a huge number of topics that were off-limits during the Soviet era, including LGBT issues, began to appear there. This sudden turn of events was possible precisely because the set collapsed instantly.

Exactly the same scenario is possible today. If Russia, the U.S., Hungary, and other countries swept up by the conservative pendulum were to get back on the path to democracy, all of today’s “forbidden fascination” could turn into a powerful cultural shift. The irony is that it is precisely the pressure from conservatives that will fuel this shift.

Why it matters right now

While dictators and right-wing populists claim that “gay people are a threat,” they themselves are ensuring that millions of people learn the terms “fem-boi,” “bisexual,” and “transgender.” They’re also encouraging people to seek out information, to look into these topics, and to learn more. For some, it’s simply curiosity. For others, it’s a moment of self-discovery.

And in that sense, they do more to raise the visibility and foster discussion of LGBT issues than dozens of weak and chronically underfunded queer media outlets.

The result is a strange and cynical picture: conservative leaders want to erase queer visibility, but they are the very ones turning it into the lifeblood of contemporary culture. The harder they crack down, the louder society whispers—and sometimes shouts—about what they tried to hide.

And if the political situation ever shifts toward democracy, it will be precisely these years of repression that will prove to be a turning point. Because that interest has already taken root. It cannot be killed. It can only grow.