However, the platform’s terms of service explicitly forbid "content that depicts minors engaged in violent acts." Yet, enforcement is a game of whack-a-mole. Creators bypass filters by labeling videos as "educational," "self-defense training," or "drama resolution."
The comments are a war zone. 34,000 comments. Top comment: "The little one has heart, but the older one has weight class. Subscribe to me for more fights." Second comment: "Someone call CPS."
The final fight in the "FightingKids" genre should be our fight to turn it off. If you or someone you know is involved in producing or appearing in child combat content, resources for help include the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (CyberTipline) and the Crisis Text Line.
YouTube has responded by tightening its hate speech and harassment policies, but the "FightingKids" genre persists by rebranding. Today, you are less likely to find a channel called "Kids Fighting" and more likely to find "Teen Uprising Academy" or "Street Self Defense 101"—the same content, a new wrapper. Let us look at a single video, since deleted but archived: "Epic Sister Slap Fight (She deserved it)." Uploaded in 2021. Duration: 4:32. Views before deletion: 47 million.
Psychologists call this . These children learn that violence is a spectator sport. They perform anger for an audience. In school, they do not have friends; they have co-stars . Their self-esteem is tied to their "win/loss record" in the YouTube archive.
