Rumours of the Momo Suicide Challenge first appeared on Whatsapp but have since spread to games and even YouTube. Trolls have been spotted targetting YouTube videos for kids perpetuating the myth, including Fortnite and Peppa Pig videos. Steps have been taken to get rid of the issue but the Momo Suicide Challenge keeps coming back bigger than ever.
A recent incident of the Momo Suicide Challenge was allegedly spotted by a mother in England and now parents are concerned about the content that their children are watching online. The following is what the mother had to tell the national press about the incident:
The video paused half way through, but he didn’t press pause. Then the Momo face popped up and was making weird noises. He couldn’t hear everything it said but it was saying ‘I’m going to kill you’ and he thinks it said ‘I will hurt your friends.’ He turned it off straight away and ran downstairs. He was absolutely terrified. He wouldn’t leave my side at all after it happened. He wouldn’t stay in a room alone and he had to sleep with me in my bed last night.
This is very disturbing indeed and you can imagine why children are scared and why their parents are worried. YouTube did comment on the matter but denied that the Momo Suicide Challenge exists on the platform. The following is what a YouTube spokesperson said regarding the matter:
“Contrary to press reports, we’ve not received any recent evidence of videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge on YouTube. Content of this kind would be in violation of our policies and removed immediately.”
Whatsapp has also commented on the matter, keeping in mind that is where the Momo Suicide Challenge was first sighted. The following is what the company had to say regarding the matter:
“WhatsApp cares deeply about the safety of our users. It’s easy to block any phone number and we encourage users to report problematic messages to us so we can take action.”
The Momo Suicide Challenge is very disturbing indeed so you might want to keep an eye on what your children are watching online. Let us know what you think about all this and what kind of steps should be taken in order to avoid this from happening.
