Chinese video platforms urged to delete violent 'Elsagate' content

Chinese video websites have said they will delete or block videos with inappropriate content disguised as popular cartoons from the U.S., media reported on Sunday.

The statement came after an article in Sina Weibo on Tuesday drew attention to Elsagate, a trend in which seemingly innocent animation and reality show videos that actually involve bloody, pornographic and violent content were uploaded to Youtube.

Tencent video stated on Saturday they will delete these videos, and have set up a specific team to monitor its video platform around-the-clock.

Tencent has permanently shut down 121 accounts and blocked more than 4,000 search keywords. In addition, they will lodge reports to the authorities if any organization is found to be deliberately uploading inappropriate videos.

In one example, the character Elsa from the hit animation film Frozen is seen undergoing throat and brain surgery, according to the news website Knews.

While there have been crackdowns on Elsagate videos abroad, similar videos can still be found across Chinese video platforms, including Tencent, Youku and Iqiyi.

In addition to those copied from Youtube, reality show videos in Chinese which include scenes of adults beating children with rulers and of a boy giving a girl an injection after lifting up her skirt, also circulated online.

One of the crackdowns focuses on a series of videos categorized as "parent-child interaction" on Youku, but which actually carries violent and obscene content. More than 700 episodes have been uploaded, which have been viewed 90 million times. These videos could still be watched as of Sunday.