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FACT BRIEF

Is there evidence that posters advertising jobs for teenagers are actually sex trafficking schemes?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

According to representatives for anti-sex trafficking organizations, such posters are not known to be tied to sex trafficking, although they have been linked to labor schemes.

A picture of one poster purportedly seeking "teens for after school job" has appeared on social media periodically since 2016, usually with a warning from the person posting that the job pitch is a ruse by sex traffickers.

But a spokesperson for Polaris, a nonprofit organization fighting against sex and labor trafficking, told Lead Stories that the organization has not seen the use of posters as a recruitment tool for sex traffickers.

Likewise, Richard Aronson, director of communications at Shared Hope International, a survivor-focused, sex trafficking prevention organization, told Lead Stories: "Sex traffickers do not usually advertise this way. They are much more discreet and use long-term tactics to coerce kids into sexual exploitation."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Shared Hope International Ending child sex trafficking. One life at a time.
Polaris Child sex trafficking myths
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.