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Blue Whale Challenge (Russian: Си́ний ки́т, romanized: Siniy kit), also known simply as the Blue Whale, is a social network phenomenon, first appeared in Russia in 2013, that is claimed to exist in several countries.

It is a "game" reportedly consisting of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, which are initially innocuous and then introduce elements of self-harm, with the final challenge requiring the player to kill themselves. Blue Whale Challenge first attracted news coverage in May 2016 in an article in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta that linked many unrelated child suicides to membership of group "F57" on the Russian-based VK social network.

According to news reports, the cause of death of 15-year-old Hrachya Nersisyan, who died by suicide, was the game "Blue Whale".

Despite several news reports in Brazilian media linking cases of child self-harm and suicide with Blue Whale and several ongoing investigations, none have been officially confirmed. Other games created in Brazil in response to the Blue Whale were the Baleia Verde (Green Whale) and the Preguiça Azul (Blue Sloth).

As of 2025, about 26 suicides in Egypt have been associated with Blue Whale challenge, though the actual number is said to be higher.

Throughout 2017, media in India reported several cases of child suicide, self-harm and attempted suicide alleged to be a result of Blue Whale, and in response, the Indian government's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, requested that several internet companies (including Google, Facebook, and Yahoo!) remove all links which direct users to the game. Involvement of Blue Whale challenge game in any of these incidents could not be established." In June 2023, the government informed the Supreme Court that it is not possible to block the Blue Whale challenge.

In September 2017, the Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology posted a message in his official Instagram account to warn parents and teachers about the spread of the Blue Whale challenge among Iranian teens.

In Italy, press coverage of Blue Whale first appeared on 3 June 2016, in the newspaper La Stampa, which described the challenge as "a bad joke". On 14 May 2017, a TV report by Le Iene about 'Blue Whale' on the national channel Italia 1 linked the challenge to an unconnected suicide in Livorno.

On 12 March 2018, the parents of seven Tunisian children who claimed their children had killed themselves due to the game requested a ban on Blue Whale from the Tunisian courts.

Several movies and TV series have adopted Blue Whale Challenge as a part of their storyline, including: In the episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror titled "Shut Up and Dance" (2016), parallels were drawn to the Blue Whale Challenge. Blue Whale Challenge was shown in the Brazilian telenovela Edge of Desire (2017). Ravindra, is based on the Blue Whale Challenge and explores issues which may lead children into suicidal internet games and challenges. Early Swallows is a 2019 Ukrainian teen drama television show which focuses on teenage issues such as drugs, bullying and the Blue Whale Challenge. 50 or Two Whales Meet on the Beach (2020), a Mexican drama film follows two teens who meet and fall in love while playing the Blue Whale Challenge and decide to follow through on the last task, suicide. The Blue Whale (El Hoot El Azraq) is a 2020 Egyptian film that focuses on the game and the police investigation surrounding the deaths of teens. Martyisdead is a 2019 Czech thriller web series that was inspired by the Blue Whale Challenge. Search Out is a 2020 South Korean thriller film written and directed by Kwak Jeong that was inspired by the Blue Whale Challenge. Pritam & Pedro is a 2026 Indian comedy cyber crime television show which focuses on cyber crime such as hacking and the Blue Whale Challenge.

Quick Facts

• Involvement of Blue Whale challenge game in any of these incidents could not be established." In June 2023, the government informed the Supreme Court that it is not possible to block the Blue Whale challenge.
• Blue Whale Challenge first attracted news coverage in May 2016 in an article in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta that linked many unrelated child suicides to membership of group "F57" on the Russian-based VK social network.
• Other games created in Brazil in response to the Blue Whale were the Baleia Verde (Green Whale) and the Preguiça Azul (Blue Sloth).
• Several movies and TV series have adopted Blue Whale Challenge as a part of their storyline, including:
• Search Out is a 2020 South Korean thriller film written and directed by Kwak Jeong that was inspired by the Blue Whale Challenge.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Blue Whale Challenge". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.