There are certain internet urban legends and viral hoaxes that never die, no matter how long it has been since they originated, and sometimes, like in the case of Slenderman, they spill over into real life in horrifying ways.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case with the "Momo Challenge," contrary to popular belief. In 2018, articles and claims that children were being conned into a dangerous online game started circulating, with outlets claiming children were being targeted by WhatsApp users operating under the guise of a character named Momo. They would then try coaxing kids into performing dangerous challenges or even self-harming.
The Momo Challenge is far from the first online rumor of this kind, as there have been many different urban legends regarding life-threatening internet tasks. It's a popular trope in pop culture, too, with even the recent Netflix thriller series The Snow Girl tackling its own version, called "The Soul Game," in its recent second season.
But the Momo Challenge never actually existed, at least not in the way the media made it appear at the time.
In many ways, the challenge was similar to chain letters that often circulated via email, threatening a curse to anyone who didn't forward it along to more people.
BBC News notes that even though articles claimed the challenge "had been 'linked' to the deaths of 130 teenagers in Russia," those reports were never "corroborated by the relevant authorities."
In short, there has never been any proof that such a challenge truly existed, at least not on any widespread scale that actively harmed hundreds of people.
Snopes has also written about the supposed threat and linked it to a 2018 article about a 12-year-old girl who reportedly committed suicide after playing the game, but authorities never verified that her death "was encouraged by her participation in a viral 'game.'"
Similarly, a few other reports cropped up later, calling back to the Momo Challenge, and again, "no definitive link was documented."
Snopes details other cases mentioned by media outlets reporting on the challenge at the time. Even the US media covered the story and documented various emails and letters sent to parents warning them about the potential threat.
The Washington Post similarly reported on the challenge, questioning its veracity and noting how little evidence exists to support a genuine threat.
Where did the original Momo photograph come from?
There is, indeed, a creepy photo of a being called "Momo" that has circulated widely online since 2016. It shows a woman with stringy black hair, a sinister smile, and protruding eyes.
That image still crops up often on social media and even in real life, with people going on to turn Momo into a horror character of sorts, making masks of it and everything. Hulu even released a monster movie called Grimcutty that is clearly in reference to the Momo Challenge and its resulting fallout.
Cursing your timeline with sculptures by Keisuke Aiso, the Japanese artist who inadvertently created the 'Momo Challenge' https://t.co/01LuHgwAzW pic.twitter.com/1iIxUKVfPN
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) March 9, 2019
So, where did that photo originate? The actual photograph is of a 2016 sculpture titled "Mother Bird," by Japanese artist Keisuke Aiso.
When talking to The Sun in 2019, Keisuke assured anyone who might still fear Momo that the sculpture had been destroyed.
"It doesn’t exist anymore, it was never meant to last. It was rotten and I threw it away. The children can be reassured Momo is dead - she doesn’t exist and the curse is gone.”
Why is the Momo image so disturbing?
Even though the challenge might not be real, there's still a reason people had such a visceral reaction to the sculpture and a reason why it still crops up on the internet years later.
The appearance of "Momo" veers into the uncanny valley territory, where it looks almost human but with certain proportions completely off so as to distort your perception, thus making it uncomfortable to look at.
Popular Science dug into the specifics behind the story and why we find the Mother Bird sculpture so unnerving, noting that the way Momo looks is particularly creepy because it has "the general pattern of the human face, but the proportions are unfamiliar and impossible under normal circumstances in our minds."
The horror genre frequently exploits the uncanny valley to great effect to create discomfort and disturb viewers. It's why horror movies like Jordan Peele's Us and David Lynch's Inland Empire are so effective.
If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.