Over the last few days, local police, parents and social media influencers, like #KimKardashian, have warned of a viral paranormal phenomenon on YouTube called “MoMo” that reportedly promoted suicide and self-harm to kids.
According to the warning posts, and even email blasts from principals, the character input itself into YouTube videos dedicated to gaming or animated series like Peppa Pig to share suicidal messages. Problem is, it was all a hoax.
“We’ve seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the ‘Momo’ Challenge on YouTube. Videos encouraging harmful and dangerous challenges are against our policies,” a Youtube spokesperson wrote on Twitter in response to the outrage.
As it turns out, the meme is part of a viral hoax that started as a chain letter and spread through WhatsApp in South America last summer, NBC News reports. It then traveled to India and a slew of countries in Europe before it came to the U.S.
