Don’t ignore Momo, say ‘safe online’ experts
ONLINE safety experts have defended issuing a warning over the Momo challenge amid claims it has fuelled the dangerous craze.
National Online Safety, specialists in online safety training for schools, posted a guide for parents and schools earlier this week.
It shared its ‘What parents need to know about Momo’ fact sheet and said: “Today we’ve heard from hundreds of concerned schools and parents about the horrifying #Momo challenge which has reportedly been appearing in children’s YouTube videos, causing panic and upset amongst young people.
“We hope you find our guide useful.”
The guide states: “There have been recent reports that some seemingly innocent videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids (such as ‘surprise eggs’, unboxing videos and Minecraft videos) have been edited by unknown sources to include violence provoking and/or other inappropriate content.’’
Following their guidance, schools issued their own advice to parents, warning of vigilance.
Haslingden Primary School in Rossendale said children had been asked to turn gas on, or to find and take tablets.
Some reports have suggested that schools and media reports about their warnings created a ‘moral panic’ by throwing a spotlight on the character.
But Chris Skinner, senior online safety consultant at National Online Safety, says the warnings are legitimate and parents should not bury their heads in the sand.
For help and advice to keep your children safe online visit internetmatters.org.