Isn’t the very article about economists taking a closer look at the general sex worker index more than merely saying someone called it?

If you are using a VPN, then sort of. It depends on the details. They need to at least be a no-log VPN for it to be remotely true, and even then, fingerprinting a user isn’t that difficult. Though for most, DDG is only a search engine, and a search engine definitely isn’t hiding squat on its own.

I mean, if you’d stop to think for a moment, I’d think the stripper index does have some credence to it beyond the others exactly because of the things you cited…

Sex work is taboo, so the people who seek it are going to be the people who ostensibly “need” it. Most people can take or leave a theme park visit. People addicted to tits aren’t going to give it up so easily. So… the very reasons you question it are exactly why it is a stronger market indicator.

IMO, it’s all good if their pick isn’t just who ever is the hot item that year, and if the pick actually does a good job.

I mean, Kirk Lazarus was a great character that used blackface in the 2000s… So, I’d say yes, depending on the purpose of the character.

DuckDuckGo doesn’t hide your IP. Your IP is a fundamental networking number used to route traffic to your computer. It can also change for many home internet service providers over time, so it’s a bit stupid of Reddit to use them, though they might be using more advanced fingerprinting mechanisms and merely saying IP.