The tourist board in the Austrian capital Vienna has launched an OnlyFans account to display nude works of art after they were repeatedly censored by other social media platforms.
The Vienna tourist body, called Wien Tourismus, started its account on the adults-only platform after growing frustrated that their other accounts on Facebook and Instagram kept being suspended for sharing ‘sexual content’.
WienTourismus is quoted in the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung as saying that works of art by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele (1890-1918) were among those rejected by Instagram and Facebook because they showed “excessively bare skin” and were deemed to be “adult entertainment”.
The tourist board explained that they had then tried to share the images on Instagram and Twitter to draw attention to their OnlyFans launch, so as to trigger debate about the freedom of art online, however that content was also viewed as “unsuitable for minors”, “adult entertainment” and “pornographic” by the platforms.
This was despite body parts being covered or cropped out in the images as they appeared on their video.
The tourism board said that they were also prevented from providing a link to their OnlyFans page on the other social media platforms, adding: “Twitter rejected all subjects because of the OnlyFans reference on the landing page.
“Facebook and Instagram allowed the application with the Venus von Willendorf and a Modigliani painting after the art background could be presented to the service team of the channels. The Schiele and Rubens motifs were rejected on the grounds that they showed ‘excessively bare skin’ and ‘adult entertainment’.”
Visitors who decide to subscribe to the Vienna tourist board’s OnlyFans account will not only be able to enjoy works of art deemed unsuitable by the algorithms of other social media platforms, but they will also be able to visit one of the participating museums for free.
Subscribers will receive a free ticket that will grant them access to the Leopold Museum, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, the Albertina or the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien.
They will also reportedly be eligible for a Vienna City Card, which grants the bearer free travel on public transport in the city, as well as discounts on entrance fees.
A subscription to the Vienna tourism Board on OnlyFans (https://onlyfans.com/viennatouristboard) costs USD 3 (GBP 2.20) for 31 days.
