Blue Whale Challenge Surfaces Again, Northants Police in England Issues Warning to Parents Against Dangerous Social Media Challenge That Ends in Suicide

Northamptonshire Police in England has issued a warning to parents over the deadly social media challenge, called Blue Whale Challenge. The cops also listed down signs to find out if your children were part of this challenge. They have asked parents to be mindful of what children are accessing online. In a long Facebook post today, Northants Police recommended parents to look out for posts relating to Jonathan Galindo, a man that may also be seen with his face painted like Mickey Mouse or a dog. The warning comes just days after an 11-year-old British schoolboy was blackmailed into cutting his own wrists by an anonymous Instagram. Momo Suicide Challenge on Whatsapp: What Parents Can Learn From The Blue Whale Challenge And Keep Their Children Safe.

Northamptonshire Police took to Facebook saying, "Social Media Warning – Blue Whale Challenge. We are aware of a disturbing social media challenge circulating which encourages teenagers to take part in a series of 50 challenges that culminate in committing suicide." Momo Suicide Challenge – A Suicide Game on Whatsapp That’s As Dangerous As the Blue Whale Challenge of 2017.

Northants Police List Down Things Parents Should Look Out For

• Children receiving messages or posts relating to Jonathan Galindo, a man that may also be seen with his face painted like Mickey Mouse or a dog (below)

• Receiving or making references to #f57, #f40 or #IMaWhale

• Extreme changes to their eating or sleeping habits

• Wearing long-sleeved loose clothing to disguise any self-harm marks

• Taking photographs of activities and sending them to accounts that parents do not recognise.

Northants Police's Warning Against Blue Whale Challenge:

Blue Whale Challenge is an online suicide game aimed at teenagers making them do 50 tasks for 50 days. The final step of the tasks makes people take their own lives. It surfaced online in 2016 after many deaths of teenagers were reported in different countries. The source was later traced to this online challenge in which teenagers were involved. The tasks in the challenge are quite gruesome often in which people are expected to watch horror movies at odd hours among many others. The challenge originated in Russia in 2016 and is heavily linked to the name Jonathan Galindo, the photo shared with the Facebook post by cops.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2020 10:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).