If your children watch cartoons such as Peppa Pig on Youtube, you NEED to read this...
Parents have been warned to pay extra attention to what their children watch on Youtube after a raft of FAKE episodes of popular cartoons such as Peppa Pig and Thomas the Tank Engine with disturbing storylines have appeared on Youtube.
The episodes - which appear on the surface to be genuine - are actually crude spoofs, which often feature adult themes and violence.
The issue was flagged up by American mum-of-one and journalist Laura June after she caught her daughter watching a fake episode of Peppa Pig with an upsetting dentist storyline.
Writing on The Outline, Laura explained: "The video, titled '#Peppa #Pig #Dentist #Kids #Animation #Fantasy,' is completely horrifying. Though the animation sort of looks like an actual episode of Peppa Pig, it’s poorly done, and the narrative quickly veers into upsetting territory. Peppa goes to the dentist, who has a giant needle and a lot of scary tools. The pigs are mysteriously forest green rather than pink. Burglars appear to try to burgle."
But it's not just knock-off Peppa Pig videos you have to beware of. There are also fake episodes of many other popular children's shows including Doc McStuffins, Thomas The Tank Engine and Minions and even Disney's Frozen.
And while you may think that these spoof videos are actually intended for adults - as a joke - Laura doesn't believe they are. She argues: "This is not like a video of an animated Peppa Pig getting high with Snoop Dogg (that is also available) made for adults to laugh at. These videos are for kids, intentionally injected into the stream via confusing tags, for them to watch instead of legit episodes of beloved shows."
Youtube, of course, recommend that parents only let their children watch videos through the Youtube for Kids app{
In a statement released to the BBC, a spokesperson for Youtube said: "We take feedback very seriously. We appreciate people drawing problematic content to our attention, and make it easy for anyone to flag a video.
"Flagged videos are manually reviewed 24/7 and any videos that don't belong in the app are removed within hours. For parents who want a more restricted experience, we recommend that they turn off the Search feature in the app."
If you're worried about your children's safety online, read the NSPCC's Online Safety guidelines here.
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