For the past week or so, the Momo Suicide Challenge has been widely publicized in mainstream media. There were reports that videos of Momo threatening kids were being spliced into YouTube videos of Fortnite and Peppa Pig, which then spiraled into a sort of mass online hysteria. No evidence of the supposed Momo Challenge videos have materialized until after it blew up in the media, but now it appears to be becoming a genuine problem.

Illinois sheriff Ron Hain has decided to "alert" the public about Momo after his son received a threatening spam video featuring the creature, and parents at a local school reported that their child received the spam video as well. Exact details of the spam video, like if it featured Momo spliced with Fortnite or Peppa Pig footage, haven't been revealed by Hain.

However, Hain did go into detail about some of the supposed threats that the Momo video made to the kids. According to Hain, it encouraged kids to do things like turn on their stoves or fill their homes with gasoline, or else be killed by the Momo creature.

It seems that now that the Momo Suicide Challenge has become so widely publicized, people have started making actual videos to capitalize on the phenomenon. We have personally seen some YouTube videos featuring Momo (published to the site after the reports about the supposed Fortnite and Peppa Pig videos that were apparently a hoax), though it appears people are now also using spam email to try to scare kids with the creature.

Since there now seems to be actual Momo videos and content being made, it may be wise for parents to talk to their kids about the situation so they can prepare them in case they ever run into a video with it. Perhaps if parents warn kids ahead of time that Momo is just a ridiculous prank and not real, it will make them less likely to get upset if they're watching a cartoon only for Momo to be spliced in the middle of it. Maybe telling the kids the news that the Momo sculpture has been destroyed will put their minds at ease as well.

Hopefully now that the sculpture has been destroyed and most everyone seems to be aware of the Momo Suicide Challenge, it will lose its impact on people. In the meantime, it seems likely that law enforcement agencies will continue issuing public warnings about it as long as they keep getting reports from scared kids and concerned parents who run into it on YouTube and other Internet sites.

Source: Chicago Tribune