Momo Challenge: Blue Whale-esque game on WhatsApp that may be encouraging teens to kill themselves

Founder of Microsoft Corporation and American business magnate Bill Gates once said: "The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow." That is how the world of the web was perceived a few years ago, but of late there seem to be several things going on that make one wonder if the internet is really a boon.

Just when we thought that the buzz around the Blue Whale Challenge had finally died down, here comes another online suicide game that has been terrorising teenagers. The "Momo" challenge has kicked up a storm online and parents and authorities have been rather concerned about the game, which is suspected to be encouraging teenagers to kill themselves.

The game is said to be popping up all over the world in the last few weeks but is reportedly quite widespread in Argentina, Mexico, the US, France and Germany. Like the Blue Whale Challenge, Momo too targets vulnerable teens and the "instructors" get in touch with these youngsters over WhatsApp, reported the Daily Mail.

The teens are first sent creepy and grotesque images and then ordered to follow a series of instructions and take up dangerous challenges, eventually being forced to kill themselves. If the teens refuse to follow the orders, they are reportedly threatened over messages.

The avatar used for the Momo game itself is a terrifying image of a woman with exaggerated features and bulging eyes. The image is, in fact, a sculpture by Japanese artist Midori Hayashi and has no links to the game.

Now, the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in Argentina is being linked to the online game. The teen had reportedly filmed a video on her phone before taking her life and the police believe that she was urged to commit suicide, reported the Buenos Aires Times. The officials are also said to be looking for an 18-year-old who had got in touch with the girl.

Speaking of the suicide, the police said in a statement: "The phone has been hacked to find footage and WhatsApp chats, and now the alleged adolescent with whom she exchanged those messages is being sought." Investigators believe that the teen had made the video of her death "to upload the video to social media as part of a challenge crediting the Momo game."

The Blue Whale Challenge

Around the same time last year, the internet had been abuzz with reports of teens killing themselves as part of the Blue Whale Challenge. The game's title was derived from blue whales that are often believed to strand themselves on beaches in a bid to commit suicide.

Even in the Blue Whale Challenge, the group administrator assigned daily tasks to the members over a period of 50 days. While the tasks initially involved watching horror movies and self-harm, they got creepier by the day eventually encouraging the members to commit suicide on the 50th day.

Later, Philipp Budeikin was identified as the creator of the Blue Whale Challenge and he confessed to have convinced about 16 girls to end their lives.

"Do something beautiful at least once in your life, it is so good to die young. Life is awful, it will not get better. You are rare, a selected one," is what he told his victims. However, Budeikin, 21, seemed to have no remorse and instead explained that he was "cleansing the society" of "biological waste" who were "happy to die."

Revealing that he even got tonnes of love letters from young girls he added: "They were dying happy. I was giving them what they didn't have in real life: warmth, understanding, connections."