It has been claimed that the bizarre challenge would suddenly pop out of nowhere in the middle of YouTube videos targeted for kids. It didn’t take long for the Momo Suicide Challenge to invade the world of gaming after several reports claimed that the challenge was now present in a plethora of Fortnite-related videos. Given the mass appeal of Fortnite to the younger generation, parents started to get concerned as there is no way to know if the challenge is present in a video unless they watch it all the way through. YouTube quickly made a statement not long after denying the existence of the Momo Suicide Challenge videos.
A Japanese artist named Keisuke Aiso created the Momo sculpture. The sculptor revealed that the name of the artwork is not Momo, but is called “Mother Bird,” and was initially shown at the 2016 Tokyo art show. Aiso explained that although the reason for the sculpture’s creation was to frighten people, he never intended for it to become a worldwide Internet hoax with the intention of causing harm to kids.
Three years since the creation of the sculpture, the artwork began rotting and falling apart, and so the artist decided to destroy it and throw it away. Aiso also explained to the publication The Sun that “if you’d have seen it in the state it was in, it would have probably looked even more terrifying. The children can be reassured Momo is dead - she doesn’t exist, and the curse is gone.” When asked about his response when his creation got involved in the hoax challenge that went viral online, Aiso said that somehow he felt responsible, but the situation is out of his hands.
Given the massive worldwide attention that the Momo Suicide Game has gotten, modders decided to create a mod that would add a skin of the Momo creature in Minecraft. The controversial mod soon drew attention, which prompted Microsoft to issue a statement saying that the mod is not part of the official Minecraft game, and the company will take action to restrict access to it.
Source: The Sun
