Online Warning: Mother Bird Asks Kids To Harm Themselves

Something you may not have heard, especially if you don’t have or are not around children is the Blue Whale Challenge. Unfortunately, a new challenge very similar to that one (which claimed the lives of two teenagers), is making the rounds and the news headlines now. This time, the Momo Challenge is re-appearing in the middle of YouTube Kids shows such as Peppa Pig and within the game Fortnite in hopes that parents won’t notice.

The Blue Whale Challenge instructed kids and teens to perform a series of tasks before taking their own lives. The Momo Challenge does something very similar. Children are contacted by a stranger on WhatsApp or by other means and encouraged to complete tasks to avoid being “cursed.” In some cases, photographic proof is required and sometimes the act is self-harm. The game ends with Momo telling the participant to commit suicide and actually record it and post it to social media.

This is a terrifying “game” that uses an image of a sculpture called “Mother Bird,” created by a Japanese artist. There is no evidence that the artist or anyone associated with the artist is connected to this challenge, however. Schools and law enforcement are sending out alerts for parents and others to watch for appearances of this challenge. It may be helpful to search for a photo of the Mother Bird sculpture and show it to children so they know what it looks like. Then tell them to immediately come to you if this “character” contacts them in any way.

Other advice is to always make sure to know what kids are watching, be it on television, YouTube, or even through other

apps. The filters for these are reasonably good these days, but those who do want to cause harm seem to find a way around them. Monitor the viewing of children and have conversations with them about what may appear when they are watching shows. Make them comfortable coming to you or a trusted adult if there is any questionable content. Also be sure to let them know they should never provide personal information about themselves or anyone else to any person on the Internet without consulting a parent or guardian.

In the past and even with this challenge, the cybercriminals wanted information that they could sell for profit. Now, while this is still the case, times have changed and there are demented people out there corrupting these even further and trying to create physical harm to others.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, does take these seriously and tries to quickly remove any questionable content brought to its attention by viewers. However, there seems to be a lot of it these days and it may take longer than we’d like for them to remove it. In the meantime, make sure children, young adults, and everyone else using the Internet is aware of what to do should anyone ask for information or certainly make such dangerous suggestions as happens with this Momo Challenge.

Stickley on Security
Published March 24, 2019