Elsagate is a neologism referring to the controversy surrounding videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids that are categorized as "child-friendly", but which contain themes that are inappropriate for children.
Most videos under this classification are notable for presenting inappropriate content; those include graphic violence, sexual situations, fetishes, obscene language, drugs, alcohol, injections, disease, explicit toilet humor and dangerous or upsetting situations and activities.[1]These videos often feature popular characters from family-oriented media, sometimes via crossovers, used without legal permission.
The term itself is composed of "Elsa", a character from Disney's Frozen, known for frequently appearing in such videos, and "-gate" (a suffix for scandals).[1] However, the Elsagate controversy has also included channels such as Toy Freaks that feature real children instead of child/family-friendly characters, raising concern about possible child abuse.