Momo game ‘suicide challenge’ spreads on WhatsApp
A new internet game called Momo is challenging users to commit suicide. The game originated on Facebook and is now circulating on WhatsApp.
The horrific “Momo” WhatsApp 'suicide game' linked to the death of at least one teen has appeared in “Minecraft.”
The terrifying bird-woman icon associated with “Momo” has been added to “Minecraft,” an online game that is wildly popular with kids and teens. The sick icon has been added by so-called 'modders,' people with knowledge of programming who create personalized content for “Minecraft.”
A parent is also warning that ads promoting “Momo” have appeared in YouTube videos about the game.
Parents are being warned that “Momo” could be the next “Blue Whale” – a vile and dangerous social media game linked to at least 130 teen deaths across Russia.
“Momo” begins with a shadowy controller sending violent images to the victim over the messaging app WhatsApp.
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The game then threatens the player if they refuse to follow the game's 'orders'.
The Minecraft mod adds the macabre avatar for “Momo,” a haunting image of a woman with grotesque chicken-like features and bulging eyes that then chases the player while holding a mobile phone showing the WhatsApp icon.
There are fears it could lead youngsters to investigate the dangerous phenomenon, which has also been linked to the theft of personal data, harassment, extortion, anxiety, depression and insomnia.
A police officer in Ohio described how his seven-year-old son was watching Minecraft content on YouTube when an ad about “Momo” popped up.
"It's scary," Lt. Dave Carter told WTOL.
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"He began talking about “Momo” and how weird she looked. So, he ended up looking it up and saw that it was that suicide challenge."
"That came from something simple, that kids all like doing this Minecraft stuff and watching the videos on how to play it and here it comes up in the search.”
Cops in Argentina are investigating if the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in the town of Ingeniero Maschwitz near Buenos Aires is linked to “Momo.”
She filmed a video on her phone shortly before she died, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
Officers suspect someone encouraged her to take her own life and are investigating an unidentified 18-year-old teenager believed to have been in contact with the girl.
GHOULISH ONLINE GAME URGES YOUNG PEOPLE TO END THEIR LIVES
A police statement said: "The phone has been hacked to find footage and WhatsApp chats, and now the alleged adolescent with whom she exchanged those messages is being sought.”
They added they believe the teenager's “intention was to upload the video to social media as part of a challenge crediting the ‘Momo’ game" for the suicide.
Authorities in Europe have also started an information campaign to warn youngsters and parents about “Momo.”
Microsoft told Fox News that it is dealing with the sickening “mod.”
“This content, which was independently developed by a third party, does not align with our values and is not part of the official Minecraft game. This is a misuse of the platform and we are taking action to restrict access to the mod,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.
The comparisons with “Blue Whale” are chilling. “Blue Whale” is a horrifying social media phenomenon where youngsters were encouraged to undertake horrific daily tasks including self-harming, watching horror films and waking up at unusual hours.
The tasks, issued by manipulative social media users, escalate until the 50th day when youngsters are told to kill themselves.
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