YouTube to ban dangerous and emotionally distressing pranks videos

YouTube clips that depict dangerous or emotionally distressing “pranks” have been banned from the platform, the BBC reports.

Buzzfeed said “Nearly a year after YouTube pledged to remove images of graphic bestiality from its platform, simple search queries that include the word “girl” along with “horse” or “dog” (“girl horse” or “girl and her horse”) return dozens of videos promoted with thumbnails of women seemingly engaged in sexual acts with those animals.

While these bestiality-thumbed videos do not depict explicit sexual acts, they are often quite suggestive, featuring women in sundresses caring for animals or crotch shots of women as they bathe or play with horses or dogs. Some of these videos have racked up millions of views. Beyond being clearly in violation of YouTube’s policies, they suggest the company is struggling to make good on its April 2018 pledge to develop “better tools for detecting inappropriate and misleading metadata and thumbnails so we can take fast action against them.”