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WTF IS THAT |
Momo is a nickname given to a sculpture of a young woman with long black hair, large bulging eyes, a wide smile and bird legs. Pictures of the sculpture are associated with an urban legend involving a WhatsApp phone number that messages disturbing photographs to those that attempt to contact it, linked to a game referred to as the "Momo Challenge" or "Momo Game."
History[]
Origin[]
On August 25th, 2016, Instagram user nanaakooo posted a photograph of the sculpture.
j_s_rock's photograph.
ma_kimodo_shi's photograph.
On August 26th, Instagram users @ma_kimodo_shi and @j_s_rock posted photographs of the sculpture.
The sculpture was created by the Japanese special effects company Link Factory. Pictures of it subsequently became an urban legend on the Spanish-speaking web and was associated with "a phone number that could be added to WhatsApp."
Spread[]
On July 10th, 2018, Redditor AlmightySosa00 submitted a cropped picture of the sculpture to /r/creepy, where it received upwards of 4,700 points (89% upvoted) and 900 comments within 48 hours.
On July 11th, YouTuber ReignBot uploaded a video on the viral photographs of the sculpture titled "Exploring The Momo Situation," which discussed the WhatsApp phone number urban legend. Within 24 hours, the video gathered upwards of 96,000 views and 3,700 comments.
That day, a picture of the sculpture was submitted in a post titled "Momo thread" on 4chan's /x/ (paranormal) board.
Momo Challenge[]
On July 25th, 2018, the Buenos Aires Times reported that police were investigating if the WhatsApp "Momo Game" was involved in the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The police delivered a statement saying they discovered WhatsApp chats on the girl's phone, leading them to believe her "intention was to upload the video to social media as part of a challenged aimed at crediting the Momo game." On August 2nd, Fox News reported on the news, referring to the WhatsApp game as the "Momo suicide challenge," comparing it to the Blue Whale Challenge. On August 8th, YouTuber Repzilla uploaded a video titled "How the Momo Challenge uses Psychology to Kill," which referred to it as a "suicide challenge" similar to the Blue Whale Challenge.