(Eagle News) – Parents are advised to be vigilant of their children’s online activity in light of the “Momo challenge,” a sinister form of cyberbullying that entices kids and young adults to do harm on themselves and on their peers, up to the extreme of committing suicide.
The “Momo challenge” — which uses a creepy image of a long haired woman with bulging eyes and a devilish grin, and having bird-like thin legs – is alarming parents all over the world, including most recently the Philippines where the death of an 11-year old boy has been linked.
The alarm had spread to schools in the United Kingdom which recently issued alerts and advisories to parents after they have noticed the “Momo challenge” popping into Youtube videos for kids.
The Northcott School in the United Kingdom which has pupils, from the age of five to sixteen, issued an important advisory on twitter, on Tuesday, alerting parents about the dangers of this “Momo challenge” which are getting into children’s videos through hacking.
“IMPORTANT: we are aware that some nasty challenges (Momo challenge) are hacking into children’s programmes Challenges appear midway through Kids YouTube, Fortnight, Peppa pig to avoid detection by adults. Please be vigilant with your child using IT, images are very disturbing,” it said in its advisory posted on its twitter page.
The Haslingden Primary School also warned of children’s videos shown on Youtube being spliced to include the “Momo challenge.”
It said that the video clips are appearing on social media sites, including Kids Youtube.
“We have become increasingly aware of highly inappropriate videos circulating online and are being viewed by children across the school. These video clips are appearing on many social media sites and YouTube (including Kids YouTube). One of the videos starts innocently, like the start of a Peppa Pig episode for example, but quickly turn into an altered version with violence and offensive language,” the Haslingden Primary School said in a post on its Facebook page.
It also noted that the Momo challenge being asked of kids included asking them to “turn the gas on or to find and take tablets.”
“Another video clip is going by the name of ‘MoMo’ which shows a warped white mask which is promoting children to do dangerous tasks without telling their parents. Examples we have noticed in school include asking the children to turn the gas on or to find and take tablets,” the school said.
“As you can imagine, this is highly distressing for the children to view,” it said.
The school is asking the parents to “be vigilant when your child is using any device or watching any clips.”
“We would also encourage all parents/carers to remind the children of our school online rules,” it added.
Reports said that at least four children’s deaths – one in Argentina, two in Colombia, and one in France – all last year had been linked to the sinister “Momo challenge.”
The suicide of an 11-year old boy in the Philippines this week, is the most recent death attributed to the Momo challenge.
This has prompted Philippine authorities to investigate this Momo suicide challenge that is being spread through social media.
Parents in various countries like Argentina Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and the United States have also brought this to the attention of authorities.