FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 1, 2026
Contact: Ashwin Verghese, Communications Director, [email protected], 508-263-0289
YouTube: Stop ‘AI Slop’ for Kids, Says Letter from Fairplay, Over 200 Experts, Including Jonathan Haidt
As AI-generated content spreads across YouTube, leading national organizations and experts — including “The Anxious Generation” author Jonathan Haidt, pediatrician and researcher Dr. Jenny Radesky, American Federation of Teachers, and the National Black Child Development Institute — are demanding YouTube protect children from “AI slop.”
In a letter written and organized by Fairplay and sent today to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google (which owns YouTube), and Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, the 230-plus organizations and experts say AI slop “harms children’s development by distorting their sense of reality, overwhelming their learning processes, and hijacking their attention.”
YouTube is pushing slop onto children, including toddlers and infants, the letter says. It cites reports that:
- 40% of the recommended videos that followed popular preschool shows on YouTube like “Cocomelon” contained AI-generated content.
- 21% of all new users’ recommended Shorts contained AI slop.
- False science information from AI videos were being recommended to older kids as “educational.”
“Despite [YouTube’s] promises to keep kids safe, the proliferation of AI slop content demonstrates once again that YouTube prioritizes profit over the well-being of its most vulnerable users,” the letter says. “In fact, multiple content creators brag about earning millions off of plotless, mesmerizing AI content for young children, and the top-watched AI slop channels targeting kids have earned over $4.25 million in revenue annually so far.”
The letter is signed by 135 organizations and 102 experts. The signers include ParentsSOS, the American Counseling Association, Children & Nature Network, Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc., Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA), Design it For Us, The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, National Center for Online Sexual Abuse (NCOSE), Outdoor Play Canada, Mayor Melissa Elliott of Henderson, N.C., paediatrician Dr. Michelle Ponti, Sherry Turkle, Gaia Bernstein, and Dr. Dana Suskind.
The letter is being launched alongside a petition from Fairplay calling on YouTube to “Stop AI Slop for Kids!”
The letter lays out six changes YouTube should make to how it displays and distributes AI content on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Those changes are:
- Clearly labeling all AI-generated content on YouTube.
- Barring AI-generated content from YouTube Kids.
- Prohibiting child-directed videos (“Made for Kids”) on YouTube that are AI-generated.
- Prohibiting algorithmic recommendations of AI-generated content to users under age 18.
- Implementing a toggle switch in parental controls so that parents can turn off AI-generated content even if children search for it. This switch should be off by default.
- Stopping all investment in the creation of AI-generated videos for children.
The letter follows the announcement that Google is investing $1 million in Animaj, an AI studio that creates AI videos for children, including babies and toddlers who should not have any screen time at all.
It also follows last week’s verdict in Los Angeles holding YouTube liable in a landmark social media trial focused on social media addiction and kids.
“If Google wants to continue marketing YouTube and YouTube Kids to children, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that its platforms are safe and developmentally appropriate,” the letter says. “Given the absence of evidence that AI slop is safe for children and the potential for these videos to mesmerize and harm kids, Google must take swift action to protect children on its platforms.”
The letter is part of Fairplay’s leading work on protecting children from the dangers of AI. In November, the organization released the world’s first advisory urging parents not to buy AI toys.
Rachel Franz, Director of Fairplay’s Young Children Thrive Offline program, said: “Pushing AI slop onto young children is just another testament to how YouTube and YouTube Kids are designed to maximize children’s time online — including babies. AI slop hypnotizes young children, making it hard for them to get off their screens and move onto essential activities like play, sleep, and social interaction. What’s more, YouTube’s algorithm makes it impossible for kids to avoid AI slop. YouTube must stop shoving AI slop onto children now, before it further damages an entire generation of kids.”
Jenny Radesky, MD, Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician and Media Researcher, said: “First YouTube introduced Shorts with Made For Kids content without wondering what impact it would have on young viewers, and then – no surprise – AI slop started competing for kids’ attention on those very feeds. It’s time for platforms to start respecting the attention and minds of young children, not just treat them as a resource to be extracted.”
Sebastian Mahal, Co-Chair, Design It For Us, said: “Through neglectful design, YouTube is allowing AI slop to proliferate on its product, repeatedly recommending it to young people, and doing so without clear disclosure. AI Slop often contains false information and distorts reality. In some cases, seemingly benign animations can turn out to be sexual or violent in nature. Young people don’t want to be targeted with this type of experience by YouTube’s algorithm. After a California jury found YouTube liable for failing to protect young people on its platform, one would think YouTube would finally take its responsibility to its young users seriously.”
Dr. Leah Austin, President & CEO, NBCDI, said: “A safe and appropriate internet is one of the National Black Child Development Institute’s Eight Essential Outcomes. That outcome cannot be achieved if YouTube continues to push unhealthy slop onto our kids. Compared to their White and Latino peers, Black children are more likely to interact with internet videos and use YouTube for learning, nursery rhymes, and daily material. Because of this, their safety on online sites is crucial rather than discretionary. We call on YouTube to take responsibility and stop the spread of harmful AI-generated content to young people.”
Dana Suskind, Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, and Co-Director of TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at University of Chicago, said: “This content — riddled with errors and disturbing images — isn’t just benign entertainment; it’s toddler misinformation. And it’s arriving during a critical developmental period, when children’s brains are being wired, truly, for a lifetime.”
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About Fairplay
Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.