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The YouTube Kids app suggests conspiracy videos about aliens, fake moon landing, lizards
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A new report from Business Insider found that the YouTube Kids app suggested a video that contained conspiracy theories to children. - photo by Herb Scribner
A new report from Business Insider found that the YouTube Kids app suggested videos that contained conspiracy theories, including ones that said the Earth is flat and that the U.S. faked all of its moon landings, among many others.

One suggested video even posited to children that use the app that the planet is ruled by reptile-human hybrids, according to Business Insider.

As the Deseret News previously reported, YouTube Kids is a separate app from YouTube that aims to bring children age-appropriate videos, many of which are from cartoons and animated shows.

YouTube came under fire last year when parents noticed videos that contained violent, sexual and inappropriate material could be found in the Kids app.

The problem appears to still exist, according to Business Insider. For example, one search of the word UFO brought up numerous kids videos about aliens, but also one of the top videos claimed to show a UFO shooting at a chemtrail, according to Business Insider. Other videos on the app were filmed by prominent conspiracy theorists, too.

YouTube later removed those videos after Business Insider told the company about its findings.

YouTube also released a statement on Business Insider's discovery:

"The YouTube Kids app is home to a wide variety of content that includes enriching and entertaining videos for families. This content is screened using human trained systems. That being said, no system is perfect and sometimes we miss the mark. When we do, we take immediate action to block the videos or, as necessary, channels from appearing in the app. We will continue to work to improve the YouTube Kids app experience."

Based on the Business Insider report, it doesn't look like YouTube has kept children completely safe from inappropriate videos, according to Mashable.

The problem for YouTube, though, is that with the vast amount of videos on its platform, the company hasn't done a very good job at filtering out what is and isn't suitable for children, Mashable reported.

Exactly a year ago, numerous reports revealed videos appearing to be safe child-friendly videos on the Kids app turned out to be full of violent and inappropriate material, according to the Deseret News.

For example, the videos showed cartoon characters from Peppa the Pig breaking each others bones.

In another featuring Doc McStuffins, children are turned into zombies with bleeding wounds on their faces and chase their mother around the house, the Deseret News reported.

In response, YouTube announced that it deleted thousands of videos from its service, BuzzFeed reported. The company said in a blog post that it would also add 10,000 reviewers to keep an eye on all of the videos posted on the app.

Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer said at the time that hiring more bodies wouldnt necessarily fix the problem, though.

"At the end of the day, large tech companies are run by the bottom line, and I think YouTube has been an incredibly successful platform for Google, and they have simply not paid enough attention to some of the bad stuff that happens on that platform," he said.

Parents Television Council President Tim Winter told the Deseret News in an email that while YouTubes decision made sense, the company still needed to do more.

We applaud Googles decision to increase monitoring of violent and extreme content both the videos and comments on YouTube. This is a great first step towards not only protecting advertisers, but also protecting the health and safety of young viewers who may be watching. Our past research on YouTube found that children entering child-friendly search terms were confronted with highly offensive content in the text commentary posted by other site users. YouTube continues to be a site that needs constant monitoring, and todays announcement should assist with that goal, Winter said.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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