The world was first introduced to "Momo" last summer. At the time, the creepy Tim Burton-esque creature was said to be a photograph associated with a WhatsApp account that had been linked to the suicide of a girl in Argentina. The WhatsApp account reportedly responded to anybody who engaged with it with a series of progressively dangerous tasks. These culminated with Momo ordering the individual to take their own life.
The physical image of Momo was taken from a sculpture created by artist Keisuke Aisawa, who has no affiliation with the alleged disturbing content that's been created around it. The artist had named the sculpture Mother Bird.
Momo then disappeared from the public consciousness until last month, when a warning about what has since been dubbed the "Momo Challenge" was posted by the Craigavon police department in Northern Ireland.
Following this warning, the image has allegedly appeared in content aimed at children (such as Peppa Pig videos online), with a number of disturbing examples of children's reactions to the challenge emerging online.
However, due to the fact there has still not been any solid proof of its existence, many people have speculated that Momo is nothing more than a hoax.
But that doesn't seem to be the case for mom Brittany Roussell, 27, who posted the following video to her Facebook account earlier this week. The disturbing footage sees the mom asking her young daughter about the Momo challenge.
This is the chilling response her six-year-old daughter provided:"When you call her she's going to hang up - and then it can start getting freaky," the child said.
"You're going to text her if we could be friends and she will say: 'Yes, we can be best friends.' But when you come to her house, when she sends you the address, she’s gonna actually kill you.
"I don't do that app because I don't want to get killed. I don't want that to happen to me so make sure y'all stay safe, OK?"
To gain further insight into this clip, VT spoke to Roussell about her daughter's comments. She explained that she first asked her daughter about Momo after learning about the challenge online:
"I asked her did she know Momo and showed her the picture I [saw] going around the internet so I wanted to see if my kids seen her [sic]."
And while Roussell did not see the content her daughter allegedly watched, she said that the six-year-old "told me she was watching Peppa Pig while [Momo] came up and talked to her trying to be best friends."
Roussell does not know any other parents who have been affected by the Momo Challenge.
And while some reactions to the challenge have been humorous, the internet is awash with claims from parents who have said that their children have been affected by Momo.
Earlier this week, photographs emerged of a young girl who had reportedly cut her hair off as a result of one of Momo's challenges. This has sparked comparisons to the notorious Blue Whale Challenge from 2016.
However, because there is no concrete proof of this challenge, it has been reported by news outlets, including the Guardian, that it is a hoax designed to encourage parents to talk to their children about online safety.
Regardless, if you are a parent and concerned about the Momo Challenge, there are resources available to minimize the dangers the alleged threat could pose to your child:
