FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – A caution for parents -twisted YouTube videos are tricking children.
Trolls are posting fake children’s videos can be found on YouTube and YouTube Kids.
They feature lookalikes of favorite characters – such as Elsa from “Frozen” or Spider-Man and Peppa the Pig, but the videos are edited to become violent or sexual
Characters are shown being injected with syringes, set on fire, attacked, bleeding and turning into zombies.
YouTube Kids is supposed to screen content for children under 18 and the company says flagged videos are manually reviewed.
Fresno Police Lieutenant Mark Hudson’s advice is prevention. “As a parent you just, you’re aware of it number one, and then number two you try to prevent them from going on a site like that or youtube page and just talk to your kids about it” – Lt. Mark Hudson, Fresno Police Dept.
YouTube suggests parents who want a more restricted experience can turn off the “search” feature, turn on the restricted mode, watch content and flag it.
Click below to listen to the story by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
(Photo: YouTube)
