"Momo": claiming that a dangerous viral game has reappeared and alert parents on how to take care of their children – 03/17/2019

The Momo Challenge is a supposed "challenge" that pushes boys and self-flagellated or perform risky actions. It was first known last year. But now, in the last days, there are complaints that he has come back weighed down. And this time, hidden in videos aimed at young children and across different digital platforms.

The complaints, they said to Clarin from the public prosecutor Tutelar, has grown in the last hours, especially in the parent groups who warn of the presence of this character who had already appeared some time ago on Facebook pages.

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Despite the concerns of several parents, it is unclear how Momo began to circulate through social networks. There is a video for children, for example, which according to the public prosecutor's office was viralized via WhatsApp, which suddenly intervened by this sinister character, who carries a knife in his hand and incites self-flogging.

Some international journals specializing in technology have said that the Momo Challenge is really a kind of urban myththis has never existed and this has never been proven by the ad hoc case reports of children who have had traumatic experiences in contacting this character.

For this reason, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the City of Buenos Aires (MPT) has launched a campaign containing a series of recommendations, under calls received by the agency. Many people have demonstrated the appearance of a video with a character called "Momo" in the networks and videos that their children watch.

However, from the Attorney General's office, they confirmed that at least 30 families they have already communicated to express their concern and because their children, after seeing the images of Momo, have begun to have nightmares and can not sleep anymore.

The appearance of Momo is terrifying: He has bulging eyes, long straight black hair, pale skin and a grim smile. According to some complaints, Momo appears in the middle of videos of Pepa Pig, on YouTube Kids. And this encourages the boys to perform a series of actions such as self-inflicted damage.

This challenge reminds another sinister game which appeared more than two years ago, also on the Internet. The blue whale Due to the rules of the game, this potentially dangerous and self-damaging online game is attributed to teen suicide. It has been on the Internet since May 2016 and is based on the Russian social network Vkontakte.

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In regards to Momo effectYael Bendel, head of the Public Ministry of Trusteeship, said, "We are working with our interdisciplinary teams to deal with this new phenomenon and its impact on children. They have nightmares, they can not fall asleep, they are afraid of being alone and they even behave in a self-damaging way. Therefore, we launch a campaign and raise the corresponding complaint. "

For the purpose of prevention, the Ministry badured that it was essential to be attentive to the use of media, social networks, online games and videos watched by girls and boys. And he issued a series of recommendations to deal with them:

– Help girls and boys set up privacy and geolocation options.

-Check that they add as contacts only known people.

– Evaluate beside them messages or requests for friendship from foreign friends, as this can be a trap.

-Speaking of the importance of not transmitting personal information and photos to people who do not come from their usual environment.

Warn them not to enter unknown pages and recommend that they download only the applications on the official sites.

-Be aware of sudden changes in character or habits. They can be victims of a crime.

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Those who are interested in receiving advice or information can contact the contact lines of the Office of the Prosecutor: 08001227376, or Whatsapp: 1570377037.

PS