Florida mom finds suicide instructions in YouTube and YouTube Kids video

OCALA, Fla. – A Florida mother discovered a video on YouTube and YouTube Kids that offered instructions on how to commit suicide.

Dr. Free Hess, a pediatrician in Ocala, was shocked last week to find the video by a man known as "Filthy Frank." Hess immediately began to warn parents by alerting others on her blog, CBS News reports.

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According to the report, the instructions on how to commit suicide come between clips of a Nintendo game. The man in the video tells children, "remember kids, sideways for attention, longways for results," while mimicking cutting motions on his forearm.

"End it." is how the man, whose real name is George Miller, ends the instructions.

After Hess posted her warning, YouTube removed the video claiming it violated their guidlines. But she says similar versions of the same video were seen on YouTube just last year.

"Exposure to videos, photos, and other self-harm and suicidal promoting content is a huge problem that our children are facing today." writes Hess. "Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death in individuals between the ages of 10 and 34 and the numbers of children exhibiting some form of self-harm is growing rapidly."

According to Hess, 157,000 people between the ages of 10 and 24 are admitted to emergency departments for self-inflicted injuries and/or suicide attempts.

"...we have to start doing something NOW and we should start by educating ourselves, educating our children, and speaking up when we see something that is dangerous for our children." Hess wrote to conclude her blog post.

And... the Splatoon cartoon with the suicide clip is indeed on YouTube Kids as well 🤬 This was recorded by me directly from YouTube Kids at 1:45pm on 2/24/19. #ThisIsNotOK #YouTubeWakeUp #ProtectOurKids #ParentsDemandAction #PediMom

Posted by PediMom on Sunday, February 24, 2019