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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wonder if Momo actually exists

338 replies

Mammylamb · 27/02/2019 18:36

Have any of you actually seen it for yourself? Or is it an internet hoax?

OP posts:
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GenericHamster · 28/02/2019 07:42

My son's friend's school sent out a graphic letter about it yesterday. His friend took the letter to afterschool club and showed everyone including my son. Virtually a whole room of kids ended up crying. Mass hysteria. Over a letter that should've been emailed, not put in the hands of kids. It mentioned killer suicide games and self-harm in the first paragraph! I know how to do internet safety talks. It doesn't start with showing them scary pictures... I'm so cross with the school and my child doesn't even go there!

Billballbaggins · 28/02/2019 07:55

It’s a hoax, well it’s ‘real’ now because some parents and the media have caused mass hysteria about it. Kids are talking about it at school due to their parents/the news. Nobody can show a single video with this Momo shit in. There probably will be videos now because it’s become ‘a thing.’ It will blow over and be something else soon.

BingBongBingBong · 28/02/2019 07:56

🤣

To wonder if Momo actually exists
ThunderStorms · 28/02/2019 08:10

www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/watch-vile-momo-song-appearing-2592159

The thing is it's real because it’s online. They only need to google to find things like above and show each other and scare each other witless.

JustOneShadeOfGrey · 28/02/2019 08:18

@billballbaggins it wasn’t this parent who caused the upset in this house. I’ve been picking up the pieces since 3.30pm yesterday. I’d never heard of it. I was on the back foot. It was school who showed graphic images and caused the upset and sent shocked and shaken kids home on the special ed bus without any warning to parents.

Don’t blame all parents.

slashlover · 28/02/2019 08:52

The thing is it's real because it’s online. They only need to google to find things like above and show each other and scare each other witless.

There are Slenderman videos on youtube. There are conspiracy videos on youtube. There are videos on Budd Dwyers suicide on youtube. YouTube has content which is not kid friendly. Kids can google it.

HOWEVER, it is not popping up in kids videos. The only reason kids know about it is because the news, schools, police and their own parents are telling them about it. Parents are showing their kids the pictures FFS.

Bananasarenottheonlyfruit · 28/02/2019 09:02

From this morning's papers:

www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/28/viral-momo-challenge-is-a-malicious-hoax-say-charities?CMP=fb_gu

BejamNostalgia · 28/02/2019 09:42

Honestly, I really don’t believe this has happened much if at all. I don’t believe most of the posters claiming it’s happened to them either.

There’s a video of a little girl supposedly explaining her experience going round today. It’s absolute nonsense, you can see she’s been coached and her Mum’s just put it up trying to make money from hits.

For a start, the daughter says it was in a Peppa Pig video and the daughter looks 10/11 so I don’t believe she’d be watching Peppa.

chazwomaq · 28/02/2019 10:08

8 pages and not a single link. That in itself tells a story.

This is the closest I could find - a video someone else referenced above from the "Egg family" channel. It's nothing like the "challenge" telling kids to do doing naughty stuff reported in the papers.

slashlover · 28/02/2019 10:54

And it says Momo THREE TIMES in the video title.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 28/02/2019 11:36

From this morning's papers

Good article Smile

"experts and charities have warned that the “Momo challenge” is nothing but a “moral panic” spread by adults."

"while there is no evidence that the Momo challenge has initially caused any harm itself, the ensuing media hysteria could now be putting vulnerable people at risk by encouraging them to think of self-harm"

"The NSPCC said there is no confirmed evidence that the phenomenon is actually posing a threat to British children and said they have received more phone calls about it from members of the media than concerned parents."

"A Samaritans spokesperson was similarly sceptical, saying: “These stories being highly publicised and starting a panic means vulnerable people get to know about it and that creates a risk.” They recommended media outlets read their guidelines on reporting suicide and suggested press coverage is “raising the risk of harm”."

"The rumour mill appears to have created a feedback loop, where news coverage of the Momo challenge is prompting schools or the police to warn about the supposed risks posed by the Momo challenge, which has in turn produced more news stories warning about the challenge."

"the recent coverage appears to have started with a single warning posted by a mother on a Facebook group for residents of Westhoughton, a small Lancashire town on the edge of Bolton"

Multiple police forces have issued formal warnings about the supposed risks of the Momo challenge, in addition to hundreds of schools. In one example, a Hull primary school posted on its Facebook page an unsourced claim that clips of the Momo challenge image are “hacking into children’s programmes”, with no evidence of what is meant by this claim.

"A YouTube spokesperson said the claims were completely false: “Contrary to press reports, we have not received any evidence of videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge on YouTube. Content of this kind would be in violation of our policies and removed immediately.”

Several outlets, including the Mirror and many local newspapers, have also claimed that the Momo game has been linked to 130 teen suicides in Russia, with no supporting evidence.

An identical claim was made in 2017 about a similar supposed viral suicide craze called Blue Whale, which was also linked to exactly 130 teen suicides in Russia. This figures came from a much-criticised single report in the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, with later reporting suggesting that not a single death could be conclusively linked to the game."

GrandTheftWalrus · 28/02/2019 12:18

Again just a video of the momo thing. Not it popping up in a normal video.

caughtinanet · 28/02/2019 12:26

No I’m quite clearly saying if you don’t trust the adults who have care of your child 30+ hours a week to deal with something like this, you should rethink leaving them in their care

I trust the teachers at my dcs primary school to teach them well and keep them physically safe but when it comes to internet safety I don't as I don't feel their level of internet savvyness is high enough. I don't expect that of them, that's my responsibility

slashlover · 28/02/2019 12:46

I trust the teachers at my dcs primary school to teach them well and keep them physically safe but when it comes to internet safety I don't as I don't feel their level of internet savvyness is high enough. I don't expect that of them, that's my responsibility

Especially when the police, the news, our local council etc. don't have a clue.

PrancingP · 28/02/2019 14:30

This is the video that momo appears in. As you can tell from the description it explains it has momo in and if kids are being supervised you would notice momo being involved in it.

spugzbunny · 28/02/2019 14:38

@PrancingP but someone has made that video. I could make that video too. So could you with some simple software. Just get a peppa pig video and add momo. You can even see in the title that it's got momo in it!

Bananasarenottheonlyfruit · 28/02/2019 14:41

Where is there a version that is NOT tagged with MOMO?

PrancingP · 28/02/2019 14:44

@spugzbunny

Thats how momo is in the videos. It's not in official peppa pig videos. It's in videos that are made or uploaded by anyone. There is no hacking.

Problem is parents will leave kids on the tablet and this will come up as a suggestion, because it is relevant being peppa pig, kids will click it and parents just hear the normal peppa pig episode and think nothing of it until momo appears and child starts screaming.

This video is posted alot on YouTube by various accounts but all of them say momo is in it.

PrancingP · 28/02/2019 14:48

@Bananasarenottheonlyfruit

It doesn't seem to exist!

They all have momo in the title or hashtagged in the descriptions.

The whole thing about not knowing about it being in the video is parents not noticing the videos the child has clicked on.

Celebelly · 28/02/2019 14:50

www.bbc.com/news/technology-47393510

Frankiestein402 · 28/02/2019 14:53

Hoax/viral basically but in a related vein there is an innocuous looking game out there 'doki doki literature club' that appears to be a well drawn story / interaction but suddenly springs suicide of all the characters - appears yr5-yr7 friendly but is most definitely not.

Bananasarenottheonlyfruit · 28/02/2019 14:55

Exactly PrancingP. It's about people not supervising their (mostly) pre-school age kids and what they are clicking on. If someone could link even one video where it isn't clearly identified as containing this image, I might begin to agree there is an issue. Even then, it is not 'hacking' or a 'suicide game', just idiot video makers getting a childish kick from scaring kids.

slashlover · 28/02/2019 14:57

@PrancingP

Look at the date, it was uploaded YESTERDAY in response to the hysteria.

StealthPolarBear · 28/02/2019 14:58

We've had an email from the school. I understand what you're saying about that video but bloody hell it's terrifying.

hannah1992 · 28/02/2019 15:02

It isn't popping up in the middle of videos.

People are creating videos like the peppa one above saying momo pops up in peppa pig etc. They're doing it so people subscribe or whatever.

There's 2 differences here,

  1. if you were supervising your child and they came across that video it has momo in the title so you'd know it was dodgy.
  1. If you were not supervising your child they may click on it after watching other peppa videos and you would know no different u til you had an upset child

This isn't the only dodgy thing on YouTube or anywhere else. The internet is full of dodgy stuff. Education is key not panicking

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