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Vienna museums post 'adult' art on OnlyFans to avoid censorship

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This next story takes us to Vienna, Austria, a place the Vienna Tourist Board would like you to visit. For the past couple of years, the tourist board struggled with its social media accounts.

HELENA HARTLAUER: Yeah, seen some difficulties when it comes to uploading images of artworks.

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Helena Hartlauer is with the Vienna Tourist Board. The board uploaded images of artwork that you might see in Vienna, then Facebook and Instagram would block the posts.

HARTLAUER: Because of nudity, yeah - some body parts were a part of these artworks.

INSKEEP: Facebook, which is an NPR sponsor, blocked the art that showed a little too much of the human body. Refusing to be deterred, the tourist board went on OnlyFans, an internet subscription site best known for sexual images.

HARTLAUER: Because, as we know, OnlyFans is very open to nude content.

DETROW: Did they really need to promote Vienna on a site best known for porn? No, not really.

HARTLAUER: Of course, you can promote a museum or a city like Vienna without necessarily posting exactly these images.

INSKEEP: But Helena Hartlauer says a principle is at stake.

HARTLAUER: This question of why social media is censoring art online.

INSKEEP: She's making a statement at the Vienna Tourist Board. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.