Minecraft Kids Content Is Absolutely Terrifying

CalebIsSalty
14 Sept 202429:00

Summary

TLDRThe video script delves into the concerning rise of inappropriate and exploitative content on YouTube, particularly targeting young children through Minecraft-related videos. It highlights how some creators use shocking and suggestive themes to garner views, often impersonating trusted family-friendly brands. The script criticizes YouTube's apparent inaction despite the platform's guidelines and the potential harm to children's mental health. It calls for awareness, parental monitoring, and potential media attention as solutions to curb this exploitative content.

Takeaways

  • 😀 Minecraft kids content on YouTube is a popular and profitable niche, but it has been overtaken by creators producing low-quality and inappropriate content.
  • 🔍 The video discusses the shift in the Minecraft kids content community from wholesome to exploitative, with some creators using shock value to gain views.
  • 🎥 The script highlights the issue of 'AAL school' and similar channels that impersonate trusted brands to produce inappropriate content for children.
  • 👀 There's a concern about the impact of violent and sexually suggestive content on the development and mental health of young viewers.
  • 💰 The video points out the financial incentives for creators to produce such content, with billions of views translating to significant ad revenue for YouTube.
  • 🚫 YouTube's response to this issue is criticized as insufficient, with the platform appearing to prioritize revenue over child safety.
  • 🔗 The script mentions the use of direct messaging features by some creators, raising questions about their intentions and the potential risks to children.
  • 📉 There's a call for better regulation and monitoring of YouTube content aimed at children, as well as a warning to parents about the potential dangers.
  • 🔍 The video suggests that without significant media attention or a change in YouTube's policies, the situation is unlikely to improve.
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 As a precaution, the video advises parents to monitor their children's online activities or consider alternative, safer forms of entertainment.

Q & A

  • What is the main issue discussed in the video script?

    -The main issue discussed is the proliferation of inappropriate and exploitative content on YouTube, particularly within the Minecraft kids content niche, which targets young audiences with shocking, violent, and sexually suggestive imagery for profit.

  • What changes have occurred in the Minecraft kids content community according to the script?

    -The script suggests that the Minecraft kids content community, which was once wholesome, has been overrun by creators producing low-quality, exploitative content that exposes children to inappropriate themes for the sake of gaining more views and ad revenue.

  • Why is the content considered 'low effort' as mentioned in the script?

    -The content is considered 'low effort' because it is described as 'mind numbing slop' that is hastily produced to capitalize on shock value and controversial themes, rather than providing quality, educational, or entertaining value to the audience.

  • What role does the YouTube algorithm play in the spread of this content as per the script?

    -The YouTube algorithm is mentioned as being manipulated by creators who use shocking titles, thumbnails, and content to gain more clicks and views, thereby getting their videos recommended alongside genuine family-friendly content.

  • What is the significance of YouTube Kids in the context of this issue?

    -YouTube Kids is significant because it is a platform where children under the age of five often consume content, making it a target for creators who want to exploit the algorithm and expose children to inappropriate content for profit.

  • How does the script describe the impact of this content on children?

    -The script describes the impact as potentially traumatic and damaging to the development of young children, who are in formative years and can be negatively influenced by violent and sexually suggestive content.

  • What is the role of advertisers and monetization in this issue according to the script?

    -Advertisers and monetization play a central role as the script suggests that the revenue generated from ads displayed on these videos incentivizes YouTube and content creators to overlook the inappropriate nature of the content.

  • Why does the script mention the creator's previous video on this subject?

    -The script mentions the creator's previous video to highlight the overwhelming support it received and the numerous personal stories of horror from viewers, which motivated the creator to delve deeper into the issue.

  • What is the 'Rabbit Hole' referred to in the script?

    -The 'Rabbit Hole' is a metaphor used in the script to describe the deep and disturbing revelations about the extent of the problem with inappropriate kids content on YouTube, which is worse than initially imagined.

  • What action does the script suggest viewers or parents can take in response to this issue?

    -The script suggests that parents monitor what their children watch online or consider deleting the YouTube app to prevent exposure to inappropriate content, recommending alternative, safer content for children.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Minecraft Kids Content Controversy

The paragraph discusses the evolution of Minecraft kids content on YouTube from wholesome to exploitative. It highlights the shift from content creators with good intentions to those producing low-quality, inappropriate, and shocking content for profit. The speaker feels compelled to investigate further due to audience support and personal obligation, hinting at uncovering even more disturbing aspects of this niche.

05:00

👀 The Exploitation of YouTube Kids

This paragraph delves into the prevalence of Minecraft videos on YouTube Kids, an app with over 600 million downloads. It criticizes parents for using the app as a passive entertainment source without supervision, leading to children being exposed to inappropriate content. The paragraph contrasts a creator who produces safe content with another who uses deceptive tactics to gain views, including impersonating trusted creators and producing violent or sexual content.

10:01

📉 The Downward Spiral of YouTube Shorts

The speaker explores the even more concerning issue of 'Minecraft animation shorts' on YouTube, which are often softcore pornography masked as family-friendly content. These videos exploit the YouTube algorithm and the short format's limitations to gain massive views. The paragraph criticizes the platform for not taking action against this content, despite its clear violation of community standards.

15:01

🚫 YouTube's Inaction and Creator Censorship

This paragraph discusses the experiences of creators who have tried to expose the issues with inappropriate children's content on YouTube. Despite their efforts to censor sensitive material, their videos are demonetized, while the original problematic content remains monetized. The speaker questions YouTube's motives, suggesting the platform might be turning a blind eye due to the significant revenue generated by these channels.

20:02

🧠 The Lasting Impact on Children's Development

The paragraph addresses the serious developmental and psychological effects of exposing young children to violent and suggestive content. It references studies that show such exposure can lead to trauma and brain development issues. The speaker also shares comments from individuals who have been negatively affected by this content, emphasizing the urgent need for change.

25:04

💸 The Financial Incentive Behind Inappropriate Content

This paragraph examines the financial incentives that drive creators to produce inappropriate content for children. Despite YouTube's efforts to clean up the platform, the speaker argues that the system is easily exploited, and the potential for profit is a significant factor in the persistence of this issue. The paragraph also highlights the ease with which a single person can operate multiple channels to produce such content.

🔍 Uncovering the Operators Behind the Content

The speaker investigates the individuals behind these channels, uncovering one operator's multiple channels and their attempts to communicate with young viewers outside of YouTube. The paragraph raises questions about the intentions of these operators and the potential dangers they pose to children. It also discusses the broader implications of this issue and the difficulty in resolving it.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Minecraft kids content

Minecraft kids content refers to videos and other media created around the popular game Minecraft, specifically targeting a younger audience. In the video, this term is used to discuss the evolution of this content from wholesome and educational to exploitative and inappropriate, with some creators using shock value and controversial themes to attract views and generate revenue.

💡YouTube algorithm

The YouTube algorithm is the system that YouTube uses to recommend videos to its users. The video discusses how some creators manipulate the algorithm by using provocative titles, thumbnails, and content to gain more views and clicks, which in turn leads to higher ad revenue. This practice is criticized for potentially exposing children to inappropriate content.

💡Demonetization

Demonetization on YouTube refers to the removal of ads from a video, which means the creator will not earn revenue from it. The script mentions that some creators who expose the issues with kids' content on YouTube have faced demonetization, suggesting a possible bias or flaw in the platform's content moderation and revenue systems.

💡Impersonation channels

Impersonation channels are those that mimic or impersonate well-known and trusted content creators to deceive viewers, especially children, into watching inappropriate content. The video describes how these channels use familiar characters in shocking or violent ways to gain views, exploiting the trust that children have in those characters.

💡YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is a feature that allows users to create and watch short, vertical videos on YouTube. The video script highlights how Shorts can be exploited to display inappropriate content to children, as the platform's algorithm may recommend such content based on the video's initial seconds, which can be misleadingly family-friendly.

💡Ad revenue

Ad revenue is the income generated from advertisements displayed on videos. The video discusses the financial incentives behind creating inappropriate kids' content, suggesting that the high view counts on such videos translate into significant ad revenue for creators, which may be a motivating factor for the proliferation of such content.

💡Content Farms

Content Farms in the context of the video refers to operations that mass-produce low-effort, low-quality content aimed at generating ad revenue. These farms often use automation and exploitative tactics to produce a high volume of videos with minimal cost, some of which are targeted at children and may contain inappropriate material.

💡Appropriate content

Appropriate content refers to media that is suitable for a particular audience, in this case, children. The video contrasts the concept of appropriate content with the exploitative and inappropriate content found on some Minecraft kids channels, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding children from harmful material.

💡Child safety algorithms

Child safety algorithms are systems designed to filter out inappropriate content from being shown to children. The video script criticizes the effectiveness of these algorithms on YouTube, arguing that they are easily circumvented by creators looking to exploit the platform for financial gain.

💡Mental health issues

Mental health issues are problems that affect how a person thinks, feels, behaves, and handles stress and daily life. The video suggests that exposure to inappropriate content at a young age can lead to lasting trauma and mental health problems, emphasizing the serious consequences of the content discussed.

Highlights

Minecraft kids content on YouTube is popular but has been overtaken by low-quality and inappropriate content.

Some YouTubers produce content with shocking violent and sexually suggestive imagery for more views.

The video discusses the exploitative nature of some Minecraft content creators targeting children.

Oper GX is highlighted as a browser that helps the creator edit videos efficiently.

Oper GX's GX mods feature allows for extensive customization of the browser experience.

The video explores the dark side of Minecraft kids content, including potential psychological impacts on children.

A channel called apmau is presented as a better example of kid-friendly Minecraft content.

The video discusses the monetization of inappropriate children's content on YouTube.

The YouTube Kids app is criticized for recommending inappropriate content to children.

The video creator calls out specific channels that use manipulative strategies to gain views.

The video discusses the potential trauma and brain development issues caused by watching violent and suggestive content at a young age.

The video highlights the lack of action from YouTube despite awareness of the problem.

The video suggests that YouTube's algorithm and monetization model may be complicit in the spread of inappropriate content.

The video discusses the creator's previous video on the subject and its reception.

The video mentions the potential legal and ethical issues surrounding the content on YouTube Kids.

The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to monitor children's content consumption and potentially remove the app.

Transcripts

play00:00

[Music]

play00:07

Here We Go

play00:09

[Music]

play00:11

Again Minecraft kids content is among

play00:14

some of the most popular and profitable

play00:16

niches on the YouTube platform and has

play00:18

been ever since the game came out it's

play00:21

what I and probably you if you're

play00:23

watching this video consumed in some

play00:25

capacity growing up however somewhere

play00:28

along the way things changed and what

play00:31

once was a community filled with

play00:33

wholesome YouTubers mostly who made

play00:35

their content with good morals and

play00:37

intentions in mind has now been almost

play00:39

completely overrun by selfish vultures

play00:42

who abuse this Niche daily spitting out

play00:44

low effort mind numbing slop content

play00:47

that constantly exposes their viewers to

play00:49

all sorts of shocking violent and

play00:52

sexually suggestive imagery for a few

play00:54

extra clicks all of this was covered in

play00:56

my previous video on the subject however

play00:59

what I didn't mention was that I left a

play01:02

lot of things out in that video

play01:04

disgusting harrowing things that

play01:06

probably would have gotten my channel

play01:07

completely demonetized but after seeing

play01:10

the overwhelming support for my last

play01:12

video and the infinite amount of people

play01:14

commenting their personal horrifying

play01:16

stories with this content I feel

play01:18

obligated to get to the bottom of this

play01:20

Rabbit Hole a rabbit hole worse than you

play01:22

and I could have ever imagined

play01:28

[Music]

play01:33

but first allow me to introduce today's

play01:35

sponsor oper GX it's no secret that my

play01:37

videos including this one take hundreds

play01:40

of hours of editing to produce and in

play01:42

order to keep me entertained while

play01:43

editing I like to watch a lot of YouTube

play01:45

videos on my second monitor probably

play01:47

like how you're watching this video

play01:49

right

play01:50

now don't think I don't see you but for

play01:52

the longest time I had a major problem

play01:54

in which my old browser was taking up so

play01:57

much RAM to show these videos where it

play01:59

would often literally crash my computer

play02:01

however after switching to oper GX and

play02:03

using features such as GX control which

play02:05

allows you to limit how much RAM and CPU

play02:08

your tabs can use I've been able to edit

play02:10

for hours and watch my boy Sam suck in

play02:12

peace with no issues now I know what

play02:15

you're thinking Caleb I've already heard

play02:17

of Opera GX and I know that they have

play02:19

other amazing features such as a

play02:20

built-in VPN and ab locker and force

play02:22

dark mode that works on any page but did

play02:25

you know that oper GX now literally has

play02:27

infinite customization this is thanks to

play02:29

their new feature GX mods where in just

play02:31

a few simple clicks you can access and

play02:33

download any of the thousands of

play02:35

pre-made mods that are available in

play02:37

their store allowing you to change

play02:39

things like your wallpaper background

play02:40

music and keyboard and browser sounds to

play02:42

a theme that maybe represents your

play02:44

favorite

play02:47

game or have everything be a metal

play02:50

[Music]

play02:53

pipe for some reason the choice is yours

play02:56

and it's as simple as clicking this mods

play02:58

tab here and searching the mod mod store

play03:00

for the one you prefer my favorite

play03:02

recently has got to be this Minecraft

play03:04

fireplace which honestly brings such a

play03:07

cozy Vibe perfect for accompanying my

play03:09

late night gaming or editing sessions

play03:11

but probably the best part about GX mods

play03:13

is that you can mix and match them like

play03:15

I did here when I downloaded this

play03:16

lavender purple key switches mod to

play03:18

change all of my typing noises to sound

play03:20

like

play03:21

this which is just so satisfying I could

play03:24

honestly listen to it all day and if

play03:26

that's not enough for you Opera GX has

play03:28

so many more helpful features like their

play03:30

own version of chat gbt built into the

play03:32

sidebar so if you ever need help with

play03:34

some homework research or in my case

play03:36

some inspiration for editing this

play03:38

thing's got your back not to mention all

play03:39

of your bookmarks and extensions can

play03:41

just Port right over so why not try it

play03:43

out today download oper GX for

play03:45

completely free right now and support

play03:47

the channel by going to oper gx. g/b Sal

play03:51

2 or simply click the link in the

play03:53

description thank you to them for

play03:54

sponsoring this video and now it's time

play03:57

to go down the rabbit hole

play04:01

all right guys you ready to have the

play04:02

scariest night of our Liv I am all

play04:06

righty let's figure out where to go

play04:08

first the video you just watched is from

play04:11

a channel called apmau apmau is one of

play04:13

the many content creators on this

play04:15

platform who makes Minecraft videos

play04:17

specifically cater towards a very young

play04:19

audience upon first glance this content

play04:22

might seem pretty cringeworthy and

play04:24

that's because it is I was originally

play04:26

going to make this comparison to the

play04:27

Minecraft youtubers I watched growing up

play04:29

but honestly especially compared to them

play04:32

this content is very hard to watch but

play04:35

despite this there's still one reason

play04:37

all of these channels old and new have

play04:39

stuck to and continue to churn out

play04:41

familyfriendly orientated Minecraft

play04:43

content money while you and I may never

play04:46

watch an afound video in our lives there

play04:48

is clearly a massive younger audience

play04:50

for it not necessarily on YouTube but

play04:53

rather it's subsidiary app YouTube kids

play04:55

in a census done back in 2021 the United

play04:58

States government discovered that around

play05:00

75% of households with children under

play05:02

the age of five owned some sort of

play05:05

tablet for their kids and in 2023 it was

play05:08

reported that YouTube kids had over 600

play05:10

million individual downloads with that

play05:13

number growing exponentially each year

play05:15

unfortunately it's becoming increasingly

play05:17

common nowadays for newer parents to

play05:19

rely on apps like this as a way to keep

play05:21

their child entertained without having

play05:23

to put in any actual effort letting them

play05:25

sit and watch hours of content

play05:27

unsupervised under the guise that it's a

play05:29

complete safe way for them to consume

play05:31

content and the result channels like

play05:33

apmau earning almost half a billion

play05:35

views and millions of dollars each month

play05:38

fortunately for us apmau is one of the

play05:40

better examples out of this whole Niche

play05:42

she does things by the books and aside

play05:44

from it being a little cringey their

play05:46

content is educational suitable and safe

play05:49

for kids apmau school on the other hand

play05:53

is absolutely unacceptable they too make

play05:57

Minecraft related videos targeted

play05:58

towards children

play06:00

however the methods in which they gain

play06:01

their views are a little different

play06:04

instead of building a reliable and

play06:05

trustworthy brand that both parents and

play06:07

the young viewers who watch can trust

play06:10

they resort to imitating an already

play06:12

well-known and trustworthy

play06:13

family-friendly content creator and

play06:15

uploading content that uses their

play06:16

original characters in all sorts of

play06:19

sexually suggestive or straightup

play06:21

violent ways for shock value in order to

play06:23

get more clicks this manipulative

play06:25

strategy tricks the YouTube algorithm

play06:27

into recommending them alongside videos

play06:29

of the real content creator they're

play06:31

impersonating sometimes resulting in

play06:33

these fake videos gaining Millions more

play06:35

views than the original I mean this

play06:37

channel alone has made roughly over

play06:39

$100,000 in just a short year and a half

play06:42

they've been posting content they also

play06:44

have

play06:45

$118,000 subscribers which is more than

play06:48

me so uh please subscribe and of course

play06:50

AAL school is just one small example of

play06:53

the many perpetrators who make money

play06:56

this way pretty much every Minecraft

play06:57

kids YouTuber you can think of has one

play07:00

if not multiple of these garbage filled

play07:02

impersonation channels made using their

play07:04

brand all the which are individually

play07:06

made with this sole purpose of

play07:08

generating insane amounts of money

play07:10

inadvertently exposing a plethora of

play07:12

disgusting and inappropriate themes in

play07:14

their content to millions of unexpecting

play07:17

children included but not limited

play07:20

to take off the take off the take off

play07:23

the Wii take off the money phone take

play07:25

off the car take off the and the white

play07:28

take off the take

play07:30

[Music]

play07:34

but it's okay I have a

play07:37

gun we just tied you to the bed just

play07:39

don't shout and everything will be fine

play07:41

we're going to the girls house we knock

play07:43

them out and then tie them to the bed we

play07:46

take scissors and cut their

play07:49

clothes but like I said I've already

play07:51

discussed this before in my previous

play07:53

video however what I was very stupid to

play07:55

neglect at the time was that long form

play07:57

video isn't the only form of media a

play08:00

person can consume on this platform with

play08:02

the other obviously being YouTube shorts

play08:04

to which I've come to learn not only has

play08:07

all of the same problems but for a

play08:09

myriad of reasons is actually so much

play08:12

worse by doing as little as searching up

play08:14

Minecraft in the YouTube search bar we

play08:16

can find a plethora of different

play08:18

channels posting these quote unquote

play08:20

Minecraft animations in the shorts tab

play08:22

all with preview images that if left

play08:24

uncensored would probably get this video

play08:26

demonetized and all with tens times

play08:29

hundreds of millions of views each the

play08:32

main difference between anything I've

play08:34

talked about in the past and these quote

play08:35

unquote Minecraft animation shorts is

play08:38

the way in which the content gets

play08:40

recommended to viewers as mentioned

play08:42

previously the most common strategy for

play08:44

these fake quote unquote familyfriendly

play08:45

channels to lure in new viewers is to

play08:48

create the most shocking and attention

play08:49

grabbing title and thumbnail they can

play08:51

whether that be by using gruesome

play08:53

violent or sexually suggestive imagery

play08:55

in order to stand out in the viewers

play08:57

recommendation feed in comparison to

play08:58

other videos subsequently resulting in

play09:01

more clicks more views and more money

play09:03

after all that's the only reason they

play09:05

even exist in the first place however

play09:07

YouTube shorts work a little differently

play09:09

since YouTube limits their shorts to a

play09:11

maximum length of only 60 seconds as

play09:13

well as having no support for custom

play09:15

thumbnails these channels instead lure

play09:17

the viewers in with the actual content

play09:19

of the video and yeah very quickly it

play09:22

becomes apparent that these quote

play09:23

unquote animations are just straight

play09:25

softcore pornography using Minecraft to

play09:28

mask itself as familyfriendly content to

play09:30

bypass the YouTube kids algorithm to get

play09:32

like I said tens sometimes hundreds of

play09:35

millions of views each not to mention

play09:37

the fact that these channels

play09:38

specifically abuse the system and take

play09:40

advantage of the way YouTube shorts are

play09:42

set up everyone knows that YouTube

play09:44

shorts has this sort of Boom scroll SL

play09:46

infinite scroll interface where instead

play09:48

of giving the viewer a bunch of random

play09:50

recommendations and then allowing them

play09:52

to specifically choose what kind of

play09:53

content they want to consume the app

play09:55

practically just shoves a bunch of

play09:57

random videos in the viewer's face

play09:58

without a voice and no matter how much

play10:00

they might not be interested they will

play10:02

always watch at least a small portion of

play10:04

it before scrolling away channels like

play10:07

113 know this and that's why they made

play10:09

sure to put Minecraft characters that

play10:11

look like this in the very first second

play10:14

of each video it's not even like they're

play10:15

trying to hide it this channel Alex and

play10:17

Steve animation which has 5.3 million

play10:20

subscribers and over 1.6 billion views

play10:24

not only does the exact same thing but

play10:25

they also have a direct link to a

play10:27

patreon account that creates fully nfw

play10:30

drawings and videos accessible by

play10:32

anybody with just one click the craziest

play10:34

thing is this isn't even the first time

play10:36

someone's spoken out about these issues

play10:38

a handful of creators have already made

play10:40

similar videos both calling out YouTube

play10:42

on this massive problem as well as

play10:44

encouraging Their audience to mass

play10:46

report any bad channels they've

play10:47

mentioned but every time YouTube

play10:49

manually demonetizes and shadowbans the

play10:52

video and the algorithm specifically for

play10:54

showcasing clips of all the nasty things

play10:56

these channels upload in fact friend of

play10:59

the Channel and fellow YouTuber the Mr

play11:01

Epic uploaded two separate videos

play11:03

calling out these channels to YouTube

play11:05

while taking the extra step to manually

play11:07

blur and censor anything that might be

play11:09

considered non- Advertiser friendly yet

play11:11

still despite his best efforts both

play11:14

videos would get demonetized all the

play11:16

while the original content that was

play11:17

being used in his video and all of the

play11:19

channels related to it are not only

play11:21

still active but continue to remain

play11:23

fully monetized as well so basically I'm

play11:26

just wondering what happened with those

play11:28

two videos that got demonetized can you

play11:30

kind of explain the situation around

play11:32

that first one which I uploaded last

play11:35

year that one was demonetized after

play11:37

about I think 2 days interestingly what

play11:39

happened was rather than the video just

play11:41

outright being like sto being pushed and

play11:44

sto being showed it actually like did

play11:45

this weird thing I haven't seen before

play11:47

where it like intentionally blurred the

play11:49

thumbnail I had seen that happen before

play11:50

but I was like oh oh well that sucks the

play11:52

second video I then uploaded which was

play11:54

only a few months ago now I was a lot

play11:56

more careful like I went out of my way

play11:58

to censor even more interestingly this

play12:00

time I actually got more information

play12:02

because uh I had like a partner manager

play12:03

who I got around the time and uh he gave

play12:05

me an update saying that basically it

play12:07

was the thumbnail once again despite me

play12:11

obviously censoring it more than the

play12:12

original thumbnails but also this one 2

play12:15

second clip of like I don't even know

play12:18

what characters they are they're like

play12:19

some weird like Kids characters in like

play12:21

a somewhat provocative looking position

play12:23

from another YouTube video mind you and

play12:25

uh that was basically it and this was

play12:27

after a human reviewer Plus my partner

play12:29

manager pushing to get it um un AG

play12:32

restricted and nothing could change so

play12:34

yeah and at this point you may be

play12:35

wondering why why would YouTube despite

play12:38

obviously having the resources and

play12:40

ability to do so still not take any

play12:42

action to fix this glaring issue with

play12:44

YouTube and YouTube kids but at the same

play12:46

time actively silence anyone who decides

play12:48

to speak out and make a video about it

play12:50

well we can't be certain but my personal

play12:53

theory is that YouTube has been aware of

play12:55

it the whole time

play12:59

[Music]

play13:07

I mean think about it these channels

play13:09

generate billions of views and by proxy

play13:12

an unfathomable amount of money this

play13:14

revenue is generated entirely from the

play13:16

money advertisers pay to have their ads

play13:18

displayed on these videos which honestly

play13:21

can be a problem in itself I'm sure

play13:23

Apple would be just delighted to know

play13:24

that their ad is getting placed on a

play13:26

video in where a popular children's

play13:27

character gets buried live like what

play13:30

YouTube splits this ad Revenue with the

play13:32

Creator giving 55% of the share to them

play13:35

and keeping 45% for themselves once you

play13:38

start to factor in the hundreds of other

play13:40

channels uploading the same

play13:41

inappropriate content that simply

play13:43

haven't been documented yet most likely

play13:45

thousands if we include the accounts

play13:47

outside of the Minecraft n posting the

play13:49

same if not even worse content with

play13:51

other well-known characters you can

play13:53

start to paint the picture of Why

play13:54

YouTube theoretically might want to turn

play13:56

a blind eye it makes up a small but no

play13:59

chunk of their revenue each year in

play14:01

YouTube's eyes throwing all morals

play14:03

ethics and damage this content is

play14:05

inflicting on the millions of children

play14:07

who use this platform every single day

play14:09

getting rid of it means that YouTube

play14:10

would be passing up a significant amount

play14:12

of money and we all know they would

play14:14

never do that YouTube ads are getting

play14:17

worse so YouTube is testing serers side

play14:20

ads on YouTube which means that instead

play14:21

of using an ad blocker on YouTube to

play14:23

bypass the annoying ad that you get uh

play14:26

you're going to be forced to watch it so

play14:28

instead they decided to take the much

play14:29

easier route of ignoring the problem for

play14:31

as long as possible knowing they have

play14:33

plausible deniability cuz they could

play14:35

just blame their algorithm or something

play14:36

like that oh we had no idea this was

play14:38

such a big problem it's just an issue

play14:40

with our algorithm and quietly rake in

play14:42

massive amounts of money while

play14:43

simultaneously silencing individual

play14:46

creators who make videos attempting to

play14:48

expose and raise awareness about this

play14:49

issue because unfortunately we are a

play14:51

much smaller and easier Target to deal

play14:53

with my if my videos which are like more

play14:56

sensored than the ones online are

play14:58

getting flagged and the human Reviewer

play14:59

is saying that hey this is not

play15:01

appropriate we can't have this and how

play15:03

are like complete full channels allowed

play15:05

to exist right like they need to fix

play15:07

their human review system and either

play15:08

allow my content or they need to block

play15:10

other content that I'm I've increasingly

play15:13

censored right like it can't be this

play15:14

weird Middle Ground where somehow my

play15:16

videos are being censored yet the other

play15:18

ones are

play15:19

[Music]

play15:26

not in my previous video I touched on

play15:28

the proven and Lasting side effects that

play15:30

watching this content from such a young

play15:32

age can do to an individual in the long

play15:35

term multiple Studies have proven that

play15:37

children's ages 0 to8 the primary target

play15:39

of both YouTube kids and these channels

play15:42

are in the most formative years of their

play15:44

life everything they do learn and

play15:46

consume in these years play a huge part

play15:48

into shaping the type of person they'll

play15:50

be for the rest of their lives this is

play15:52

why traditional kids programming such as

play15:54

PBS Kids always ends with a positive

play15:56

educational and age appropriate lesson

play15:58

being learned it's because all shows on

play16:00

the network are specifically designed to

play16:02

support a child's development in these

play16:04

crucial years and promote healthy

play16:06

positive behavior as seen in their

play16:08

official educational guidelines but you

play16:10

know a platform isn't properly regulated

play16:12

and is quickly becoming more popular

play16:14

than traditional programming YouTube and

play16:16

YouTube kids studies show that children

play16:19

exposed to violent and suggestive media

play16:21

at such a young age can develop lasting

play16:23

trauma and create serious damage to the

play16:25

development of the brain and that's

play16:27

exactly what's reflected in in the

play16:29

comments of my last video ever since I

play16:31

was N9 I've been exposed to sexual

play16:33

content on YouTube and ever since then

play16:35

my life has gotten a lot worse I keep

play16:37

getting random headaches and can't focus

play16:39

on one thing for more than 60 Minutes at

play16:41

a time I've also had a lot of memory

play16:43

losses due to this content and have

play16:44

sadly developed Antion not me but my

play16:46

friend used to watch these videos he

play16:48

developed a severe eviction it took him

play16:50

months to stop when I was little a bunch

play16:52

of these Minecraft and elate videos

play16:54

popped up and from then for 8 years I

play16:57

have I am one who was exposed this this

play16:59

is an extremely big problem is really

play17:02

effective messes with the mind bro I

play17:03

used to watch this and it's given me

play17:05

horrible trauma and got me addicted to I

play17:07

just turned 18 a week ago and YouTube

play17:09

back in 2016 2017 messed me up in such a

play17:12

big way I struggled with so much

play17:14

depression and being exposed to so much

play17:16

vile content ruined my perception on

play17:18

myself and how I act subconsciously and

play17:20

I've lost a lot of my most important

play17:22

years in lessons where I should have

play17:23

been properly taught about that stuff

play17:25

when I was

play17:26

ready in their official blog post from

play17:28

February 2021 YouTube announced that the

play17:31

YouTube kids app had over 35 million

play17:33

weekly users since then the app has

play17:36

almost doubled its total number of

play17:37

downloads so if we do a little bit of

play17:39

math here accounting for both of these

play17:41

numbers and other things like Trends and

play17:43

higher user engagement this means that

play17:45

every day the estimated 70 to 80 million

play17:48

users of this platform have a good

play17:50

chance of being exposed to these kinds

play17:52

of videos and then having to deal with

play17:54

the life-altering longlasting effects as

play17:56

a result

play18:00

at first glance people might point the

play18:02

blame at the individuals running these

play18:03

disgusting channels and while they are

play18:06

definitely at fault here I believe it's

play18:08

actually YouTube that should be held the

play18:10

most responsible on any social media

play18:12

platform there will always be malicious

play18:14

people looking to exploit the system for

play18:16

their own personal gain however as long

play18:18

as the platform is aware of this and

play18:20

actively tries to fix and prevent those

play18:22

exploits from happening then the

play18:23

situation can be managed effectively

play18:25

however YouTube hasn't exactly had the

play18:28

best track record record of doing

play18:32

that in 2017 parents began to complain

play18:36

that strange videos were popping up on

play18:38

YouTube kids so lately every time I go

play18:40

on YouTube there's these really strange

play18:42

videos showing up on my trending page I

play18:43

mean they seem to be aimed at young kids

play18:45

but they're super creepy and disturbing

play18:47

these videos almost always use what are

play18:50

otherwise household family-friendly

play18:51

characters such as Spider-Man and Elsa

play18:54

doing a variety of blatantly

play18:55

inappropriate or disturbing things but

play18:58

tagged in such a way as to circumvent

play19:00

YouTube's child safety algorithms and

play19:02

appear on the homepage of YouTube kids

play19:04

this phenomenon would not go unnotice as

play19:07

more and more of these channels began to

play19:08

pop up all with hundreds of millions of

play19:11

views each the number of concerned

play19:12

parents complaining and demanding a fix

play19:14

from YouTube began to significantly

play19:16

increase and eventually this disturbing

play19:18

Trend would catch the attention of major

play19:20

news outlets who would also begin to

play19:22

raise their alarm Bells via a bunch of

play19:24

extremely well-written articles if you

play19:26

ever let your child watch YouTube videos

play19:28

we have got a warning for you some

play19:29

people are creating disturbing cartoons

play19:31

making them appear kid-friendly only to

play19:33

get your children to watch inappropriate

play19:35

content that's all covering an event

play19:38

commonly referred to as elate yet

play19:40

despite receiving mainstream attention

play19:42

Mass reports and millions of individual

play19:45

complaints YouTube did almost nothing to

play19:47

fix the situation until November 27th of

play19:50

that year when in a buzzfeed article

play19:53

YouTube finally announced they were

play19:54

cracking down on the problem removing

play19:56

over 150,000 of these inappropriate

play19:59

videos and demonetizing over 2 million

play20:01

more please note that this announcement

play20:04

while positive and overall a pretty big

play20:06

win for the platform just so happened to

play20:08

occur only 3 days after a bunch of Major

play20:11

Brands and advertisers had pulled out

play20:13

due to the entire Scandal YouTube years

play20:15

later would also get fined $170 Million

play20:18

by the FTC partially for having such a

play20:21

glaring issue with their quote unquote

play20:23

kids content and child safety rules as a

play20:26

result of this YouTube would also update

play20:28

their guidelines to ban any

play20:29

inappropriate use of quote family

play20:32

entertainment characters and also

play20:33

Implement a brand new labeling system

play20:36

forcing creators to decide whether or

play20:37

not their videos are made for kids if a

play20:40

video is determined to be made for kids

play20:42

it will lose a majority of features that

play20:44

normal videos have such as the comment

play20:46

section and most importantly

play20:48

personalized ads and a majority of AD

play20:50

Revenue but if that's the case then how

play20:52

are these channels which are clearly

play20:54

targeted towards children still able to

play20:56

make so much money and the answer is

play20:59

about as simple as it is aggravating to

play21:02

be honest it really doesn't matter what

play21:04

option the Creator chooses as both types

play21:06

of content even ones specifically marked

play21:09

as not for kids actively get recommended

play21:12

through the YouTube kids app as long as

play21:14

the video looks family friendly enough

play21:16

in the eyes of the algorithm by loading

play21:17

up the thumbnail with a bunch of bright

play21:19

colors and swapping out any potentially

play21:21

dangerous words like with prank or with

play21:25

love curse it will get recommended just

play21:28

a same and there's a really easy way to

play21:30

prove this that you can do yourself just

play21:32

go to literally any of the channels I've

play21:34

mentioned so far click on a random video

play21:36

and take a look at the engagement on the

play21:38

actual video for example this video has

play21:41

213,000 views yet only 1100 likes and

play21:44

only 40 comments this is because when

play21:46

you watch a video on YouTube kids it

play21:48

doesn't have any of the extra buttons or

play21:50

features it only allows you to watch the

play21:52

video but since the video is still

play21:54

coming from YouTube it still counts as a

play21:56

view and the only engagement that's

play21:57

actually getting left on the video is

play21:59

from other kids using the regular

play22:00

YouTube app probably using their parents

play22:02

account and yeah it's pretty easy to

play22:04

tell by the quality of the comments here

play22:06

kind of funny how even though YouTube

play22:08

implemented these supposed changes to

play22:10

make the platform safer it appears it's

play22:12

now easier than ever to run one of these

play22:14

content Farms due to its simple editing

play22:16

style low production costs hell even the

play22:19

recent developments in AI technology

play22:21

specifically for voice lines and text to

play22:23

speech it's no problem for a single

play22:25

person with no moral comass and enough

play22:27

free time to start operating a network

play22:29

of these channels pumping out dozens of

play22:31

these videos a week all while facing

play22:33

absolutely zero public repercussion or

play22:35

backlash and remaining completely

play22:37

Anonymous in other words it's the

play22:40

perfect

play22:42

crime but let's take a step back for a

play22:44

moment and explore a rather outlandish

play22:47

question what if the owner actually

play22:50

wants to be

play22:52

found this is Neil for the sake of

play22:55

anonymity that's obviously not his real

play22:57

name but as you can probably guess by

play22:58

now Neil makes a living by owning and

play23:01

operating one of these Minecraft kids

play23:03

content Farms however for many reasons

play23:05

we'll dive into shortly they might just

play23:07

be the worst of the worst because it's

play23:10

one thing to upload this disgusting

play23:12

content with the goal of monetary gain

play23:14

but what's even more worrying and truly

play23:16

vile is owning channels like these than

play23:19

trying to communicate with your audience

play23:21

and lure them off the

play23:24

site earlier this year on January 26th a

play23:27

YouTuber named named the beak uploaded a

play23:29

video showcasing his discovery of a very

play23:32

strange set of channels which

play23:33

impersonate characters from The Amazing

play23:35

digital circus a very popular children's

play23:38

animated series on YouTube which for

play23:40

whatever reason has absolutely taken off

play23:43

and garnered over half a billion views

play23:46

in just the first two fulllength

play23:48

episodes in other words it's just

play23:50

another example of these channels

play23:51

exploiting familiar and trusted

play23:53

family-friendly characters for views and

play23:55

tricking children into watching content

play23:57

that is all but familyfriendly let's

play23:59

take a quick look at what Neil thinks is

play24:02

acceptable to

play24:03

[Music]

play24:24

post every single thumbnail every single

play24:27

video on all of these channels

play24:29

completely violate YouTube's content

play24:31

guidelines however this isn't even the

play24:33

weirdest part in his video the beak

play24:36

discovered that both of these channels

play24:38

advertised a link which invited anybody

play24:39

who clicked on it the ability to

play24:41

directly message Neil on telegram a

play24:43

messaging platform Infamous for its

play24:45

overwhelming focus on privacy with

play24:48

messages sent over there having endtoend

play24:49

encryption and being for the most part

play24:52

completely untraceable yet some time

play24:55

after the beaks video was posted the

play24:56

owner suddenly removed these telegram

play24:59

links and change the contact email for

play25:01

both of the pomy and Jack's channels

play25:03

interesting now I'm not trying to assume

play25:05

the worst here but I really can't find a

play25:07

reasonable explanation as to why an

play25:10

owner of multiple channels which make

play25:12

over sexualized Minecraft content

play25:14

targeted towards very young children

play25:16

would ever need to include a direct

play25:18

messaging feature in their About Me

play25:19

section and more importantly why would

play25:21

they feel the need to delete the

play25:23

telegram link almost immediately after

play25:25

being exposed about it while assumptions

play25:27

can be made we may never truly know the

play25:29

answer I was still pretty curious about

play25:32

this Neil guy though so I did a bit more

play25:34

digging around eventually I had the idea

play25:36

to paste the Channel's original email

play25:38

address into the YouTube search bar

play25:40

which brought me to a whole bunch more

play25:42

of these channels that he owned

play25:44

impersonating even more YouTubers like

play25:46

apmau and Meen then I decided to try the

play25:49

same tactic with this new email and

play25:51

found yet another impersonation Channel

play25:53

he owned which contains another sketchy

play25:55

link this time leading to a Kofi page

play25:57

that sells NSFW content of their

play26:00

characters which of course comes with

play26:02

another direct messaging feature and

play26:05

just to confirm that despite all the

play26:06

changes these channels are still owned

play26:08

by the same person they both use the

play26:11

exact same AI text to speech voices and

play26:13

music in their videos pomy please lather

play26:16

up with the washcloth and also this part

play26:18

of my back okay Jax but you're already

play26:20

very clean you have no idea how long

play26:23

I've been waiting for this jump onto my

play26:25

bed and strip off all your clothes the

play26:27

thumbnails have the exact same very

play26:30

specific art style as if you know they

play26:32

were commissioned by the same artist the

play26:34

titles are all very similar often using

play26:36

the same set of keywords across all

play26:38

channels like what is he planning and

play26:40

what is he up to also all of the

play26:42

channels were created roughly around the

play26:44

same time in mid to late 2023 it's a

play26:47

common theme for all of these YouTube

play26:48

automation people and content Farms to

play26:50

start all of their channels at once and

play26:52

that's exactly what happened here with

play26:54

the Jax and hasbin hotel Channel even

play26:56

being created on the same day and most

play26:59

importantly the NSFW Kofi page has perks

play27:02

listed in Russian writing which just so

play27:05

happens to be the exact same language

play27:07

Neil's real first name is displayed on

play27:10

his old telegram

play27:11

[Music]

play27:16

link inappropriate imitation channels

play27:19

wildly obscene thumbnails abhorent

play27:22

YouTube shorts weird content Farm owners

play27:24

that advertise NSFW patreons and direct

play27:27

messaging features the long repeated

play27:29

negligence of YouTube and the result of

play27:31

it all the potential danger and long-

play27:33

Lasting mental health issues of millions

play27:36

of children around the world this is the

play27:38

Minecraft kids content Rabbit Hole yet

play27:41

one unanswered question remains what

play27:43

does the endgame of this issue look like

play27:46

will it ever reach a boiling point will

play27:48

YouTube ever step in and how do we fix

play27:50

this well I think either a that uh too

play27:54

many of the people making the videos

play27:55

will end up getting falsely flagged or

play27:56

demonetized and then they just stop

play27:58

making the videos cuz they can't make

play27:59

money from it anymore or B it somehow

play28:02

gets like significant media attention to

play28:04

the point where they actually decide to

play28:05

take action because I feel like right

play28:07

now no no one really knows about this

play28:09

stuff or really cares right you never

play28:10

hear about it so I think those are the

play28:11

two options I don't think anything's

play28:13

really going to change because I I feel

play28:14

like they don't have any reason to

play28:15

change anything right and there it is

play28:18

YouTube at this current moment throwing

play28:20

all morals and ethics aside has no

play28:22

reason to change or fix this issue not

play28:25

exactly the resolution you and I were

play28:27

probably hoping for but unfortunately

play28:29

it's the honest truth if you're somehow

play28:32

a parent or sibling of someone who might

play28:34

be at risk of this content my best

play28:36

advice would be to Simply monitor what

play28:37

they're watching online and if that's

play28:39

too hard just delete the app entirely

play28:42

and let them watch like Arthur or

play28:44

something I don't know and lastly thank

play28:46

you for watching

play28:49

[Music]

play28:58

oh

Rate This

5.0 / 5 (0 votes)

Etiquetas Relacionadas
Minecraft ContentYouTube KidsChild ExposureInappropriate VideosViewer SafetyAlgorithm ExploitationContent FarmingParental ConcernPlatform ResponsibilityMental Health Impact
¿Necesitas un resumen en inglés?