(Natural News) Most parents understand that the internet can be a dangerous place for children, and there are plenty of high-tech ways to minimize their exposure to undesirable content. However, none of these methods can completely sidestep the need for parents to pay attention to what their children are doing. Even if you've helped your child safely navigate to videos of their favorite cartoon characters on YouTube, don't think you can sit back and relax content in the knowledge that their impressionable young minds won't be corrupted – it's actually quite the opposite.

YouTube has a lot of videos you wouldn't want your kids to see, but even those that appear to portray familiar faces like Peppa Pig and the Frozen characters are not as safe as they might sound. Some very disturbing videos masquerading as acceptable children's viewing material are even finding their way into the YouTube Kids app, which is supposed to be a safe environment in which kids can find videos that are appropriate for their ages.

The issue was the topic of a recent Medium post by James Bridle, who addressed the problem in-depth. YouTube has been inundated with a slew of low-quality videos with algorithmically created, nonsensical titles that combine an odd and disturbing assortment of topics. Some are simply bizarre, but others can be quite harmful.

For example, popular children's characters are being used in violent and sexual situations, and kids are being shown these videos within the YouTube Kids app. There, children can stumble across videos showing the dogs from Paw Patrol committing suicide and Peppa Pig drinking bleach straight from the bottle. There are videos that show a Claymation version of Spiderman urinating on Frozen's Elsa and characters from Nick Jr. shows visiting strip clubs. In another video, Mickey Mouse is hit by a car and dies in a pool of blood while a horrified Minnie looks on helplessly.

Some of them feature real kids being tortured or otherwise appearing to be in peril, such as families playing roughly with kids. In one, a little girl's forehead is shaved and she appears to bleed. Others put forth more controversial ideas, such as those that depict male characters like Spiderman pregnant or dressing in drag.