Government has issued an advisory to guard against the Momo challenge

The government has issued an advisory to guard against the ‘Momo challenge’, an online ‘game’ that is allegedly driving people to commit suicide in parts of the country.

The ‘game’ features the image of a girl with a distorted face and eyes bulging out called the “Mother Bird by Link Factory”, according to reports. West Bengal police recently said the challenge claimed the lives of two people, months after similar reports



connected to the ‘Blue whale challenge’.

“It went viral... especially on WhatsApp,” the advisory by the ministry of electronics and IT stated. The advisory has also asked people to look out for signs and symptoms including ‘becoming withdrawn from friends and family’ and ‘persistent low mood and unhappiness’. It also asked parents to check in with their children and assess if there was ‘unusually secretive behaviour’ on their part.