An internet challenge, known as ‘Momo Challenge’ which drastically ends up with the player having to commit suicide is now seemingly being used to torment and disturb children on children’s YouTube as well as messaging apps such as WhatsApp.
The emerging of this challenge has once again been the subject of a sequence of warnings. UK authorities have clear up that the so-called ‘momo challenge’ is a trick with no evidence of its actuality.
We Don’t Know If The Momo Challenge Is Real, And That’s The Problem
The suspected Momo Challenge isn’t a latest one and became viral previously in the last year on WhatsApp. From the beginning only, the challenge was creating headlines for quite some time but vanished soon after.
The internet challenge basically features a character known as ‘Momo’ with her large eyes popping out. The challenge allegedly includes a sequence of tasks to be accomplished sooner or later leading to a suicide. This challenge is alike to the ‘Blue Whale’ challenge which allegedly headed to some kids committing suicides.
As pe the recent report, the face of ‘Momo’ is turns out to be actually taken from “Mother Bird”, a sculpture made by Keisuke Aisawa.
The new reports say that the Momo Challenge unexpectedly appeared online in the UK with its stories shared by over a thousand times on Facebook. Some people have also claimed that the challenge appeared in Peppa Pig which is a popular kid’s programme. However, YouTube on the other hand said there’s no sign of such videos appearing on the platform.
As per YouTube, the officials shared a message by tweeting, “We want to clear something up regarding the Momo Challenge: We’ve seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the Momo Challenge on YouTube. Videos encouraging harmful and dangerous challenges are against our policies.”
Charities in the UK like the Samartitans and NSPCC also disproved statements of this challenge’s presence saying that there’s no proof and it is being used to provoke horror or distress amongst kids. The UK’s Safer Internet Centre has also confirmed that this internet challenge is fake.
Principal security researcher at Kasperksy Lab, David Emm said, “We’ve seen the Momo ‘challenge’, which is creating panic and hysteria across the internet, cropping up in different countries for nearly a year now. It is important to remember that this not a genuine cyber threat in terms of infecting or corrupting devices or seeking to steal, however, it is a malicious joke intending to shock and unsettle and, as the craze gathers momentum and media hype increases, more people are going to be tempted to scare their friends or, more worryingly, use the meme to harass and intimidate.”
The widespread news of this challenge carried cautions from schools and the police about the risks of self-harm. Even though there is no sign of this Momo Challenge, the “fake news” has spread producing fear and tension among kids and adults alike.
In all occurrences, guidance from cyber security experts is the same to be careful about anyone that who might add up to your any social media account sharing this challenge. “Adding someone on WhatsApp may seem harmless or even fun at first but it can be very damaging in the future once they are a ‘contact’, especially if this new connection then asks you to act out something you usually would not feel comfortable in participating in,” said Jake Moore, cyber security specialist at ESET.
