Officers with The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service would like to advise the public of a possible online threat directed at youth.

An online trend that gained popularity in 2018 called the momo challenge has been recently observed by a few youth in our community.  The recent videos have been embedded in popular online videos intended for children and may have some disturbing messages/images.  These messages and videos sometimes include content that encourages children to harm themselves or others and not to tell their parents about it.

We encourage all parents to stay vigilant with regards to their children’s activities online and to maintain an open line of communication with their children about potential risks.  It is important to:

  • Educate yourself about the internet and popular sites or apps your child is visiting,
  • Review all sites that your child visits or interacts with on a regular basis,
  • Speak with your child about not sharing any private information,
  • Encourage your child to tell you immediately if someone is pressuring or threatening them online, especially if that person says not to tell their parents.

The internet is a valuable tool that is constantly changing.  Because of this it is important to regularly monitor and review your child’s activities online to ensure that they are having the best and safest experience possible.

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24 COMMENTS

  9. No buddy knows whats going on… they call it a “Challenge” then you say its people posing on whatsapp and youtube with this face as there photo, trying to convince people to harm themselves…

    its just a shocking picture of a Japanese art. People bullying or threatening other over the internet to do stuff isn’t new. Just because someone coined momo challenge this time doesn’t make it new and the people freakin out over it doesn’t have the time to look into it.

  13. Remember back in the day, it was email chains? “If you dont forward this to 50 people in 10 minutes, the girl from the ring will come to your house and kill you tonight”
    I personally just explained exactly that to my kids, let my oldest know that she should ALWAYS talk to me if she comes across ANYTHING that makes her uncomfortable. New platforms, new ways of invoking terror.

    • Because people pick up on trends and dont actually research and they’re ignorant about the internet so they go and flee to the police as soon as possible without thinking first. He is right. This stuff is old as hell. It’s just picked up speed and will die down soon. Go look up other YouTube kids problems and you’ll see it’s not just this face.

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