The Momo Challenge after hitting WhatsApp and Facebook also arrives on Youtube? Here’s what’s happening in the video streaming platform
Cadaverous face, bulging eyes and macabre smile: the Momo Challenge nightmare is back. This time, it’s not just spreading on WhatsApp or Facebook, but in videos featured on YouTube. The threat is manifested through images and videos depicting a young girl with a monstrous face, specially designed to create discomfort and terror, especially for children and teens.
The goal of Momo, however, is not only to instill fear, but also to steal money and sensitive data from devices around the world. It is therefore a cyber scam that uses social engineering to trick web users. Many have compared the Momo Challenge to the Blue Whale, the macabre challenge that circulated some time ago on Youtube and led young people to self-inflict wounds, physical punishment and even led them to suicide. The journalist Paolo Attivissimo has denied this last thesis, claiming that the Momo Challenge is actually a huge hoax created ad hoc to sow panic. Where is the truth?
The Momo Challenge arrives on Youtube
Tracing a clear description of the Momo Challenge is difficult. In fact, many people define it as a dangerous virus that comes in the form of a video sent via chat and that, once displayed on the device, is able to steal sensitive data and money from users. On the other hand, however, many or frame it as a real hoax and tend to downplay the phenomenon.
The threat is also famous in Italy. In the summer of 2018, Momo was already circulating in our country, both within WhatsApp and on Facebook. According to many users, if you sent a message to Momo from your cell phone, she would respond with a movie full of threats and violent images and threaten to share the personal information contained in the device.
Now it seems that the virus has transferred to Youtube videos, and could suddenly appear during an episode of Peppa Pig or a movie on Fortnite. A UK elementary school, Haslingden Primary School, has even posted a warning on its Facebook page asking parents to be careful with the content their children are enjoying and warning them about Momo.
No Momo Challenge: Youtube reassures its users
Youtube’s response was not long in coming. On February 27, late in the evening, it published a tweet in which it categorically denies the existence of the Momo Challenge within the platform. The social network admitted that it had not found anything traceable to the threat, and stated that the videos are safe for all users, even the youngest. It also added that all content is thoroughly checked and if any threat was found, it would be removed from the system immediately.