YouTube bans dangerous pranks after Bird Box challenge

Platform acts after challenge leads to people walking through traffic and driving while blindfolded

YouTube has banned creators from depicting "dangerous challenges and pranks", after a wave of incidents prompted by a viral challenge involving driving blindfolded pushed it to act.

The so-called Bird Box challenge, inspired by the Netflix film of the same name, saw YouTubers imitating scenes from the movie in which characters must perform common tasks while blindfolded. A culture of one-upmanship meant that rapidly progressed to online celebrities such as Jake Paul walking through traffic and driving their cars while unable to see, leading to a Utah teenager crashing her car into oncoming traffic repeating the stunt.