In case you needed more proof that it'd probably be for the best if we all just switched off the internet altogether, YouTube has now said that it's making efforts to stop videos masquerading as children's shows appearing on its service.
A report by the New York Times and The Verge revealed that truly disturbing videos, either made by automated programs and AI, are filtering into YouTube Kids through gaming of the site's algorithms and search parameters. Videos are often tagged and named as shows similar to Peppa Pig, Mickey Mouse, Thomas The Tank Engine and feature some frightening imagery which - on the surface, at least - looks totally normal.
YouTube has said that it is now beginning to take steps to flag and prevent these videos from making their way onto YouTube Kids, the separate app that's supposed to be child-friendly. According to YouTube, any video that's flagged as age-inappropriate which will mean that they'll be prevented from entering YouTube Kids. In August of this year, YouTube demonetised any and all videos that contained family-friendly characters in inappropriate situations.
Some of the videos involved characters such as Spiderman, The Joker, Elsa from Frozen or Peppa Pig in bizarre scenarios, often without any kind of context or story to them. In other cases, the videos - many of which are randomly generated and created by an AI script - featured far more disturbing imagery.
Via The Verge