Momo challenge: The real victims of the hoax are the parents who believe it

Momo is just another moral panic, and parents are falling for it once again. But, says David Barnett, the kids will probably be all right

Momo is lifted from a piece of sculpture called Mother Bird, created by a Japanese special effects company (AFP/Getty)

Last week I received an email from my children’s school with the subject header: Momo – Please be Aware. The message warned of sinister videos targeting young people online which are “promoting children to do dangerous tasks without telling their parents (it threatens to hurt the viewer if they do not keep it a secret. Examples we have noticed in school include asking children to turn the gas on or to find and take tablets.”

Three hours later the school sent another email, saying that many parents had been in touch telling them that Momo was a hoax. The school pointed out that they were responding to guidance from the local authority, and that they have had pupils report Momo incidents to them verbally.

Well, of course Momo is a hoax. Because if it were real it would mean that some kind of supernatural being with exaggerated round eyes, a sinister smile and lank, dark hair was somehow infiltrating the internet and telling children to harm themselves.