Takedown, Laila Mickelwait
Takedown, Laila Mickelwait
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Takedown
Inside the Fight to Shut Down Pornhub for Child Abuse, Rape, and Sex Trafficking

Author: Laila Mickelwait

Narrator: Laila Mickelwait

Unabridged: 8 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 07/23/2024


Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

The gripping, true story of one woman’s battle to expose and shut down a criminal online porn empire.

Pornhub was the 10th most visited site on the Internet, often praised as a progressive champion of women. Then one day, an activist discovered a secret they had been keeping from the world for over a decade: it was infested with child sexual abuse and rape videos.

Now for the first time, anti-trafficking expert and mother of two Laila Mickelwait tells the story of her battle against Pornhub’s billionaire executives and the credit card companies who helped them monetize the abuse of countless victims—some as young as three years old. Readers will follow her from her first horrifying discovery of criminal content on Pornhub to closed-door meetings with credit card executives, White House and Justice Department senior officials, a powerful hedge-fund manager and more. Through insider accounts from Pornhub moderators and executives, you’ll meet the world’s first online porn tycoon, AKA “the Zuckerberg of porn,” along with Pornhub’s top brass (known internally as “The Bro Club”) who operate in secrecy.

The culmination of years of activism, Takedown is the true, never before told story of how Mickelwait mobilized a movement of two million people and together they accomplished "the biggest takedown of content in Internet history." (Financial Times)

About The Author

Laila Mickelwait is the Founder and CEO of the Justice Defense Fund and the Founder of the global #Traffickinghub movement supported by millions around the world. She has been combating the injustice of sex trafficking for over a decade and is a leading expert in the field.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jillian

I was a bit unsure if I would like this book going into it. I had heard of the author, and I was under the misconception that she might be some sort of intensely right-wing crusader. I was pleasantly surprised! The author comes off as an intelligent and feminist woman on a justice-informed mission t......more

Goodreads review by Anthony

Detailed, thrilling read on the evil that continues to be PornHub and its multi-year struggle holding them accountable for child trafficking, rape and more. While the author clearly states that she is a lapsed Christian not holding an anti-porn stance, it often feels like a more serious stance is ne......more

Goodreads review by Kirstin

“ Takedown” is an absolutely gripping true crime thriller that chronicles Laila’s courageous battle against the internet giant Pornhub. I couldn't put it down! At many points my heart was literally racing with each turn of the page. Her story is both heartbreaking and empowering, a testament to the......more

Goodreads review by Tris

I read this book in two days, and I could hardly put it down. The courage and strength of Laila and this whole team was incredible to read about. Although I’ve seen the news articles about this and was aware of some of the major steps in this process, reading about how it all came together and how f......more

Goodreads review by Cecily

“Takedown” isn’t about pornography—it’s a powerful account of Laila Mickelwait’s relentless battle against rape and child sexual exploitation, enabled by platforms like Pornhub. This book uncovers the unfathomable truth of child sex trafficking, a reality so disturbing that many choose to turn away.......more


Quotes

“The sinister Pornhub porn barons have met their match in Laila Mickelwait. This impassioned book gives eye-popping insights into the darkest corners of the internet and offers hope for the future.” 
—Edward Lucas, author, investigative journalist, former senior editor at The Economist

“In Takedown, Mickelwait gives us what every generation desperately needs: an honest, human story of how we can live our lives with a love that does not look away and a hope that does not give in. I could not put this book down.”
Gary Haugen, CEO and founder of International Justice Mission, author of Locust Effect
 
Takedown is the thrilling and inspirational tale of Laila Mickelwait’s relentless leadership of the campaign against the dark empire of Pornhub. This story of triumph is a must-read for anyone who wants to make a difference.” 
—Gerald Posner, attorney, Pulitzer finalist, and author of Case Closed and God’s Bankers
 
“In this true-crime thriller, a brave young mother leads a movement to fight the world’s biggest pornography company, along with the supposedly respectable corporations, like Visa and Mastercard, that knowingly enabled the global sale of sex crime videos. The story isn’t over, but scores of survivors have already achieved a measure of justice.” 
—Dr. Judith Herman, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author of Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice

“An engrossing story of greed and exploitation, Takedown is a tough indictment of one of the world’s darkest industries that reads like a thriller." 
—Rosanna Arquette, actress, survivor-leader who helped bring Harvey Weinstein to justice, a catalyst of Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement
 
“Laila Mickelwait devoted herself to stopping the human traffickers and enslavers making a fortune online. Cyberspace may be an unregulated digital paradise for traffickers, but Takedown is a guide for the future of abolition.” 
—Kevin Bales, professor of Contemporary Slavery and Pulitzer-nominated author of Disposable People

Takedown is the story of Laila’s courageous fight against some of the most powerful companies in the world on behalf of society’s most vulnerable. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand child abuse, trafficking, and how a community can come together to protect women and children.” 
—Rachael Denhollander, attorney, survivor-leader who helped bring Larry Nassar to justice, and author of What’s a Girl Worth?