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The "Momo Challenge" was an internet hoax and urban legend that was rumoured to spread through social media and other outlets as a creepypasta.

It was reported that children and adolescents were being harassed by a user named Momo to perform a series of dangerous tasks including violent attacks, self-harm, harming others, and suicide, mirroring the earlier Blue Whale Challenge. Despite claims that the phenomenon had reached worldwide proportions in July 2018, the number of actual complaints were relatively small and many law enforcement agencies have not been able to confirm that anyone was harmed as a direct result of it. Moreover, the Momo Challenge sparked global panic and prompted urgent warnings from authorities and child safety advocates. Reports of children encountering Momo's disturbing messages circulated widely, causing heightened fears among parents and caregivers.

Discussions among YouTube commentators about a new internet phenomenon promoting self-harm similar to the Blue Whale Challenge from Russia surfaced in July 2018, followed in August by news items reporting allegations that cases of self-harm by children in South America and India had been prompted by WhatsApp messages. As with the aforementioned Blue Whale Challenge, and Internet hoaxes similar to Momo presented as challenges, players are then instructed to perform a series of tasks; refusal to do so is met with threats and gory pictures. A police officer in Ohio was concerned to see Momo in his son's copy of the game, worried about the possibility that the mod could lead to participation in the Momo Challenge. After news reports started to outline the link between the Minecraft mod and the Momo Challenge, Microsoft announced it was taking measures to "restrict access to the mod" in question. After weeks of news coverage about unconfirmed cases and warnings issued by the West Bengal police and the Mumbai police, India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in West Bengal indicated on August 29, 2018, that claims reported in the media about the death of two teens being linked to the Momo Challenge were "far fetched and devoid of any evidence". CBI believed most of the large volume of Momo Challenge invitations in India originate locally as pranks sent to spread panic. The Odisha Police already issued an advisory asking the media to refrain from publishing unconfirmed reports linking teen death to the Momo Challenge. Pakistan's Minister of Information Technology announced that the government intended to draft legislation making it a crime to distribute both the Momo Challenge and the Blue Whale Challenge. They also linked the Blue Whale Challenge to the incident.

In February 2019, the Police Service of Northern Ireland posted a public warning on Facebook, and American media personality Kim Kardashian posted on her Instagram Story pleading for YouTube to remove alleged "Momo" videos. Responding to tabloid coverage which asserted the challenge to be true, the NSPCC, the Samaritans, and the UK Safer Internet Centre declared the Momo Challenge a hoax. A parent who alerted the press to the Momo Challenge subsequently said her child had not received messages from "Momo", but was merely told about it in a school playground conversation.

Benjamin Radford stated that "the Blue Whale Game and the Momo Challenge have all the hallmarks of a classic moral panic", "fuelled by parents' fears in wanting to know what their kids are up to. In response to the reports in early 2019, YouTube has said that it has "not received any links to videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge on YouTube" but permits news stories and videos intended to raise awareness of and educate against the alleged phenomenon.

The plot of the 2022 teen horror movie Grimcutty is a direct reference to the Momo Challenge. Blue Whale Challenge, a similar alleged 'suicide game' revolving around the Internet

Quick Facts

• It was reported that children and adolescents were being harassed by a user named Momo to perform a series of dangerous tasks including violent attacks, self-harm, harming others, and suicide, mirroring the earlier Blue Whale Challenge.
• Moreover, the Momo Challenge sparked global panic and prompted urgent warnings from authorities and child safety advocates.
• Responding to tabloid coverage which asserted the challenge to be true, the NSPCC, the Samaritans, and the UK Safer Internet Centre declared the Momo Challenge a hoax.
• Pakistan's Minister of Information Technology announced that the government intended to draft legislation making it a crime to distribute both the Momo Challenge and the Blue Whale Challenge.
• A police officer in Ohio was concerned to see Momo in his son's copy of the game, worried about the possibility that the mod could lead to participation in the Momo Challenge.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Momo Challenge hoax". 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.