YouTube moves to stop AI content that 'realistically simulates' dead children

YouTube has updated its policies regarding cyberbullying and harassment on its platform in an attempt to reduce content depicting deceased children or any other realistic simulation of a deadly/violent event describing death.

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The recent change by the world's biggest video platform comes as a wave of popularity has shined a light on true crime content creators using AI-powered tools to generate simulations of true events. These recreations can sometimes feature depictions of deceased children, disturbing instances, and violence. Additionally, there are instances of creators recreating a high-profile child victim's "voice" to describe their own death.

Examples of true crime content creators recreating famous cases featuring children are as follows; the abduction of British two-year-old James Bulger, the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, and Gabriel Fernández, an eight-year-old boy, who was tortured and murdered by his mother and her boyfriend. Under the new policy changes, YouTube will apply a strike to any channel that violates its newly implemented rules, and the offending account won't be able to publish videos, live stream, or post stories for one week.

"On January 16, we'll begin striking content that realistically simulates deceased minors or victims of deadly or well-documented major violent events describing their death or violence experienced," writes YouTube