The archive / Technology and the internet
2018–2019 · Britain and worldwide
Creepy figure is hiding in children’s videos!
Momo
Panic meter
The verdict
Warnings about a figure urging children to harm themselves spread worldwide. Police and children’s charities found no evidence.
Reality meter
What was said?
In February 2019, warnings spread across Britain about "Momo", a figure with bulging eyes said to pop up in children's videos and on WhatsApp, urging children to take part in dangerous challenges. Schools sent letters home to parents, and celebrities shared the warning.
The verdict: what happened next?
The police and organisations such as the NSPCC and Samaritans stated that they had received no confirmed cases. The image was a photograph of a sculpture by a Japanese artist, made for a horror exhibition.
As with the Blue Whale, it was the warnings, not Momo, that reached the most children.
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