YouTube to Users: For the Love of God, Stop Eating Tide Pods

The #TidePodChallenge may finally be over with this move.

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Image via Getty/Richard Levine/Corbis

Tide

YouTube and Facebook are trying to put a stop the insanely dangerous trend that's got people eating (and vaping!) Tide pods.

Google, which owns YouTube, announced that they'll be taking down videos of people participating in the viral challenge and administering a strike for violating their rules, which can lead to their channel being completely terminated.

"YouTube’s Community Guidelines prohibit content that’s intended to encourage dangerous activities that have an inherent risk of physical harm,” said a Google spokesperson in a statement to Fast Company. "We work to quickly remove flagged videos that violate our policies."

Facebook will also be monitoring its content and removing anything related to the viral challenge. "We don’t allow the promotion of self-injury and will remove it when we’re made aware of it," said a Facebook spokesperson to CNNMoney.

Tide has since issued a statement as well. "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people who use our products," a Tide spokesperson told Buzzfeed News. "Our laundry pacs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes and they’re used safely in millions of households every day. They should only be used to clean clothes and kept up, closed and away from children. We have been consistently proactive in providing consumers with the right usage guidance and tools to enable them to use the product safely."

But for those who just can't stay away from a viral trend, there's a donut that looks like a Tide Pod but is actually safe to eat (so you don't have to risk your life and all that). Hurts Donuts will be offering the sweet treat at their Springfield, Missouri location on Wednesday. They even made a helpful infographic to make sure people know what to eat and what not to eat. The donut looks pretty yummy, too.

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