How Sexually Explicit Content on Social Media Exposes Employers to Risks

In December of 2024, Dominique Pelicot and 47 men were found guilty of raping Pelicot’s wife, Gisele. However, that only scratches the surface. This case, which continues to hold the public’s attention, uncovered that Dominque had been drugging his wife for over a decade and soliciting men to rape her. Worse, the police found thousands of photos and videos of Dominique and his long line of solicitors sexually assaulting Gisele while she was unconscious. 

This isn’t the only public showcasing sexual misconduct in the news. More recently, Bianca Censori, wife of Kanye West, has been the subject of controversy as Kanye seemingly parades her around public events in an entirely see-through mini dress, such as at the 2025 Grammy’s red carpet. This sparked online discourse about whether or not Censori is a victim of abuse, individual agency, consent, and the notion of the human body being available for public consumption. After this event, Kanye took to social media to share more details about his one-of-a-kind dress design for Censori, which has since been deleted. 

Each of these instances highlights the prevalence of sexual misconduct and sexually explicit content out in the open. While these two events triggered viral moments and public calls to action against sexual predators, these are only a drop in the bucket when it comes to the reality of sexual misconduct online. For every headline-grabbing case, there are countless others playing out more quietly, yet just as dangerously, in digital spaces.

This growing visibility underscores the need for social media screening as employers can no longer afford to ignore how someone shows up online. If sexual predators are known to engage in large-scale, drug-induced, sexual scandals in their personal lives, then imagine how these people might present themselves at work and potentially treat co-workers, customers, clients and others. Whether it’s emotional implications or physical safety risks, social media screening helps organizations identify warning signs early, before misconduct follows someone through the front door.

What is Considered Sexually Explicit Content?

When we talk about sexually explicit content, we’re referring to imagery, video, or verbiage describing or implying acts of a sexual nature, especially when voiced in derogatory tones. This includes nudity and lewd comments but can also extend to innuendo that implies an act of a sexual nature. Whether verbal or visual, the key factors are intent and context. In other words, what’s being communicated, and how it's being perceived by others.

How Sexually Explicit Content is Evolving

What qualifies as “explicit” is no longer as clear-cut as it once was. As social media platforms continue to expand, many users have protested how social media platforms censored sexually explicit material. These users, often younger digital natives, are simply more comfortable posting public photos, sometimes including images of a sexual nature, be that an artistic nude or otherwise. Highly sexualized entertainment is widely acceptable, widely disseminated via social media, and subsequently emulated by the average social media user. 

Today, the conversation is simply more complex: When sexual content is increasingly normalized in public spaces, how should businesses respond during the hiring process? Where should the line be drawn between personal expression and misconduct warning signs?

What Employers, Job Seekers, and Employees Need to Know

For employers, social media background checks raise important, but nuanced, questions. In a world where content once considered “softcore porn” is now commonplace in the media, it’s critical to focus not just on the content itself but on its context, tone, and frequency.

Modern AI tools can flag potentially explicit material, but they lack the discernment to understand the nuance at hand. So, in regards to social media screening, it’s imperative that these processes include a human touch. AI-powered software, no matter how advanced, still needs a human eye to interpret things in context. Patterns to look for include:

• Is the content objectifying others?
• Does it promote harassment or hostility?
• Is there a repeated tone of disrespect or aggression?

And for job seekers and employees representing an organization, what’s posted online is part of their professional profile as any public content can easily be seen by coworkers, customers, or shareholders. A cheeky caption or artistic photo might seem harmless in isolation, but over time, those posts can form a narrative that influences how you're perceived by potential employers.

It’s worth noting that in 2024, sexually explicit content was found in 15% of screenings with misconduct, making it one of the most common misconduct risks for employers. This tends to include cyber sexual harassment, such as lewd images or comments about another person. As people share more of their lives online, what we post, intentionally or not, can have real consequences.

Why You Need to Screen for Sexually Explicit Content

Dominique wasn’t just a man capable of sexually assaulting his own wife. He actively drugged her, filmed her unconscious, and invited dozens of other men to participate in the abuse. It raises a chilling question: if Dominique could do this to his wife, what else is he capable of? Have any of the 70,000 men involved in this abuse gone on to assault other women in their lives, such as their coworkers?

When someone demonstrates that level of abuse and disregard for consent, they may also lack boundaries elsewhere. If Dominique or any of those men had been identified sooner, if their public digital behavior had triggered warning signs through social media screening, how many assaults in both personal and workplace settings might have been prevented?

Without social media screenings, people who engage in egregious sexual misconduct and share these portions of their lives online may be able to walk into an office where they find other victims to target. Social media screening aims to stop that before there’s any opportunity for someone to engage in misconduct. And, as more and more people share their lives on social media, it’s imperative that hiring teams consider social media content in their screenings.

While Gisele’s story is one that pushes the limits of sexual harassment, there are other stories that may be a bit more familiar. Take for instance a teacher getting fired for posting sexually explicit content online. Or an office worker with a social media account chock-full of misogynist jokes harasses a coworker. Or, the healthcare workers and doctors that are under fire for sexually harassing or assaulting patients. Posts with sexually-explicit content tend to have consequences in the workplace, but to what degree?

The Risks of Overlooking Online Sexual Misconduct

When social media activity reveals a pattern of sexual harassment, businesses face significant risks that extend beyond just one bad hire. Employees who engage in this behavior online may bring that same attitude into the workplace, creating a toxic environment where coworkers or customers feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or even threatened.

Workplace safety should always be a top priority. Hiring someone with a documented history of sexually inappropriate behavior like posting predatory messages, explicit photos, or degrading comments can put other employees or customers at risk. Even if the behavior isn’t immediately directed at coworkers, the presence of someone who has shown a disregard for consent and boundaries can erode trust and create a culture of fear.

Beyond safety, there’s also the matter of company reputation. Frankly, it doesn’t take much for past online behavior to resurface (we’re still talking about Jeffrey Epstein and Diddy). If a business is found to have hired someone with a history of sexual misconduct, coworkers, customers and clients, and even investors may question the company’s judgment and ethical standards. And, when an executive is found to have engaged in sexual misconduct, it can have repercussions on stock performance, as we saw in 2019 when McDonald’s share-price dropped 2.7%. No organization wants to be the subject of viral backlash for failing to vet a problematic employee, especially when the warning signs are right there.

Legal liability is another major concern, especially as employers are increasingly held accountable for their employees' online behavior. The 2024 Okonowsky v. Garland case set a precedent when a prison employee’s sexually harassing Instagram posts led to a hostile work environment after being circulated among coworkers. This ruling reinforced that social media activity can directly impact workplace conditions and that employers and even HR leaders can be held responsible when it does. 

If a company knowingly hires someone with a history of misconduct and that individual engages in harassment on the job, it could face lawsuits, settlements, and regulatory scrutiny, consequences that could have been avoided with a thorough social media screening process.

The point is, sexually explicit content can have harmful repercussions on workplace environments, including damage to workplace cultures, business reputation, and legal implications, so it’s critical to screen for this type of misconduct before someone is offered a position. 

How You Can Prevent Sexual Misconduct through Social Media Screening

While candidates or employees might think what they say and do online has nothing to do with their work life, this is simply not the case. Online behavior can greatly impact employee and employer relationships, and sometimes, interactions that happen online impact an individual’s work. 

When we look at the stories of sexual predators like Dominique Pellicot, Jeffrey Epstein, or Diddy, a chilling pattern emerges: people who used their power, influence, or personal platforms to perpetuate sexual misconduct, and often in plain sight. In each of these cases, there were digital breadcrumbs–photos, messages, public posts–that hinted at deeper misconduct. What if someone had paid closer attention? What if there had been mechanisms in place to identify these indicators before the harm escalated?

Social media screening can’t undo the damage done by individuals like these. But it can serve as a frontline defense in the workplace–one that helps uncover patterns of behavior that put others at emotional or physical risk. When hiring decisions are made without understanding a candidate’s web presence, organizations leave themselves, their employees, and their customers vulnerable.

Fortunately, Fama’s social media screening technology compliantly scans publicly available content to uncover instances of misconduct, including sexually explicit content. With Fama Plus, Fama Essential, and Fama 360, this data is identified quickly in order to help teams make informed hiring decisions and bring the best candidates onboard and improve quality of hire. 

To start efficiently screening social media and prevent predators like Pellicot or Epstein from harming your team, get in touch with the Fama team today and book a demo!