Don't Freak Out About The 'Momo Challenge,' Which Is Not A Real Thing
Last week, British tabloids ran a number of articles warning parents about the "Momo challenge," an ostensible online scheme intended to induce self-harm in children. This week, American publications are following suit, with CBS News credulously reporting on a Sacramento parent who claims her daughter nearly blew up their apartment after watching online videos containing threatening messages from Momo. Kim Kardashian, one of the most influential parents in the world, added fuel to the fire on Tuesday by posting Instagram stories warning her followers about the nefarious Momo. There's only one problem: There's no evidence that harmful Momo videos and messages targeting children actually exist.
The Momo figure, who has wide eyes and a creepily stretched-out mouth, is based on a statue called "Mother Bird" designed by Japanese artist Keisuke Aisawa for a special effects company called Link Factory, according to Intelligencer and the Atlantic. According to online rumors, Momo sends messages via Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube videos encouraging children to do a series of dangerous things culminating in suicide. A report connecting a child's suicide in Argentina to Momo appeared last summer; it was never confirmed that Momo played a role in that suicide. The panic over Momo reignited this month after a couple of social media posts from concerned parents went viral, and tabloids and local news stations ran with the story. In response to parental concerns, some schools have sent home letters only legitimizing fears about Momo, like this one:
And a police department in Northern Ireland even warned citizens on Facebook about Momo's "suicide game targeting our kids," lending further credibility to the rumors about Momo.
Despite the panic, the tech platforms that bad actors are supposedly using to sow discord using Momo's image haven't found any evidence of a "Momo challenge." YouTube released a statement debunking the challenge on Wednesday:
After much review, we've seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the Momo Challenge on YouTube. Videos encouraging harmful and dangerous challenges are clearly against our policies, the Momo challenge included. Despite press reports of this challenge surfacing, we haven't had any recent links flagged or shared with us from YouTube that violate our Community Guidelines.
[YouTube]
The statement clarified that videos discussing the Momo challenge — whether to warn people about it or to debunk it — are allowed under YouTube's terms of service. WhatsApp told reporters that it's "easy to block any phone number and we encourage users to report problematic messages to us so we can take action." There have been no confirmed reports of any children killing themselves because of messages from Momo, according to the Atlantic.
Ironically, parents who spread warnings about the Momo challenge may ultimately contribute to anxiety among children who would otherwise never have heard about Momo.
"Even though it's done with best intentions, publicising this issue has only piqued curiosity among young people," said Kat Tremlett, harmful content manager at the UK Safer Internet Centre…
Tremlett said she was now hearing of children who are "white with worry" as a result of media coverage about a supposed threat that did not previously exist.
"It's a myth that is perpetuated into being some kind of reality," she said.
Many observers have drawn a link between the Momo challenge and other dubious online moral panics, such as the "Blue Whale challenge" (another alleged "suicide game" targeting children and teens) and the "condom challenge" (in which teens were supposedly choking while attempting to snort condoms through their nostrils). The Atlantic's Taylor Lorenz explains how these urban legends simultaneously play on parents' fears about the internet and oversimplify the pitfalls of the internet:
The problem is, these stories are only ever a distraction. They offer false reassurance and an easy fix to the wrong problem. If you can protect your child from the Momo challenge, the thinking goes, you can protect them from bad things on the internet. Unfortunately, maintaining kids' safety online is a much more complicated and delicate task. "This whole 'Momo is making kids commit suicide' is a digital version of playing Beatles records backwards to hear Satanic messages," said Ben Collins, a journalist who covers misinformation. "It does a real disservice to all the harmful stuff targeting children and teens on YouTube."
In other words, by all means monitor your kids' online activity, watch the videos they're watching and talk to them about bad online actors (including tech companies themselves!). But don't worry about the Momo challenge, a phenomenon that seems optimized to frighten parents, not kids.
The Momo challenge isn't real, but mental health challenges are. If you're thinking about hurting yourself, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
