It has been a busy couple of days for the guys at InRange TV. Their decision to open an account on the porn site PornHub has seen them go not just viral but global. The decision to set up an account on the NSFW equivalent of YouTube has garnered attention from news agencies across the US and around the world. It has also left news sites from New York to London scrambling to create ‘safe for work’ article header images.

You have no idea how hard it was to get a good ‘safe for work’ screen cap.

It all began following YouTube’s recent changes to their rules about firearms related content which stipulated the following:

YouTube prohibits certain kinds of content featuring firearms. Specifically, we don’t allow content that:

• Intends to sell firearms or certain firearms accessories through direct sales (e.g., private sales by individuals) or links to sites that sell these items. These accessories include but may not be limited to accessories that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (e.g., bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and high capacity magazines (i.e., magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds).
• Provides instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories such as those listed above. This also includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.
• Shows users how to install the above-mentioned accessories or modifications.

These changes understandably caused some concern amongst YouTube’s firearms community with a number of various content creators responding differently. InRange’s Karl Kasarda has long been a proponent of breaking YouTube’s hegemony and has mirrored InRange TV’s content on other sites including BitChute, VidMe, Full30 and on Facebook. Proud not to be monetised and subject to Google or YouTube’s fickle will, Karl sees the opening of a PornHub account as the next step in highlighting YouTube’s digital hegemony. It began with an announcement post on Facebook, on the 21st March:

InRange explain that in joining PornHub they are “excited to be joining a group of content creators who are truly open and non-judgmental when it comes to potentially controversial content.” Explaining that “PornHub has a history of being a proactive voice in the online community, as well as operating a resilient and robust video streaming platform.”

Since the announcement and launch of their PornHub channel the news has snowballed with news agencies ranging from Bloomberg, Fox, Newsweek and NPR to the BBC, The Washington Times and Reuters picking up the story. To date InRange have garnered 788 subscribers and 26,220 video views on the porn site.

A sultry Othais extols the virtues of a French temptress (C&Rsenal)

But InRange are not the only YouTube content creators to migrate over to PornHub. C&Rsenal, everyone’s favourite South Carolinian firearms history channel, have also set up an account. Othais and Mae can also now be seen on the porn site. Amazingly, the two channels both had the same idea independently, with C&Rsenal actually setting up theirs first, Othais explains:

It is undeniable that in researching this article I have seen some things (searching ‘gun’ on PornHub brings up some pretty interesting results) and learnt somethings I never thought I would, but the radical decision of these YouTubers to highlight the situation with a transition to non-traditional outlet for their content has certainly captured the attention of millions of people who probably would never have realised the scope and impact Youtube’s rule changes. It has also given countless viewers a more plausible excuse for certain entries in their browsing histories.