The “Blue Whale Challenge” entices participants to engage in risky behavior and ultimately the taking of one’s own life.
The “Blue Whale Challenge” entices participants to engage in risky behavior and ultimately the taking of one’s own life.
Photo:Wechat
While information is limited on the “game,” multiple media reports indicate that participants are assigned to complete challenges over a 50-day period. Multiple reports indicate the tasks also include risky behaviors including sitting on the edge of a roof, as well as watching horror movies and waking up at uncommon hours. They are then instructed to kill themselves on the final day of the sick ‘challenge’.
Teenagers are urged to use a knife or razor to make the shape of a whale on their wrist or leg, say Russian reports.
They are also urged to watch horror movies all day, and to wake themselves at 4.20am.
Game masters are telling girls to carve words or symbols into their bodies for the game called Blue Whale, depicted here with a bloody cut in a teenager’s forearm Photo:Dailymail
Police are said to be probing at least 130 suicides across Russia which they fear are linked to the online craze.
Photo:Dailymail
Two schoolgirls, Yulia Konstantinova, 15, and Veronika Volkova, 16, fell to their deaths from the roof of a an apartment block in industrial Ust-Ilimsk.
Yulia left a note saying ‘End’ on her social page and earlier had posted a picture with a big blue whale. Her friend wrote: ‘Sense is lost…End.’
She had earlier posted a picture with big blue whale, seen as a symbol of a social media movement encouraging children to take their own lives. Photo:Dailymail
After the arrest of a supposed ringleader, there was a reduction in cases, but now there is major new fear of vulnerable teenagers being swayed by the barbaric death social media accounts.
Last year an alleged ringleader named as 21-year-old Philip Budeikin was detained, and he has been charged with organising eight groups between 2013 and 2016 which ‘promote suicide’ Photo:Dailymail
The authorities in Britain, New Zealand, Italy and France have warned teenagers of the dangers of getting involved in the game. But they are in China now.
Photo:wechat
Tencent has found at least 12 groups on its QQ instant messaging service using keywords related to the Blue Whale game, the China News Service reported.
Tencent’s QQ security team said it was continuing to halt the spread of Blue Whale on its network and urged users to report any suspicious groups, the China News Service reported.
“Young people who struggle with identity issues, fitting in with peers, those who are disconnected from others would be at risk of targeting,” Dan Reidenberg, the US representative for the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
“In addition, youth who struggle with mental health issues and thoughts of suicide would be particularly vulnerable to something like this.”
He advised parents to monitor young people’s online activity and to educate young people about the risks of surfing the internet.
