Terrifying Momo challenge is 'hacking' YouTube Peppa Pig videos

27 February 2019, 12:30

The Momo Challenge targets children on social media. Picture: Getty

The Momo challenge is hacking popular kids' YouTube videos - including Peppa Pig and Fortnite

Twisted suicide challenge game Momo has infiltrated Peppa Pig and Fortnite YouTube videos, which is terrifying parents and kids alike.

Parents have warned that they'd allowed their kids to watch what they presumed to be child-friendly clips, only to find that Momo had been spliced onto the original video.

Many parents have claimed that Momo has infiltrated Peppa Pig videos. Picture: Channel 5

The terrifying face of the Momo character apparently cuts into the video and encourages children to contact her on a WhatsApp number.

Parents have claimed that they've been told their kids will be 'killed in their sleep' if they do not contact the number.

Once the child has been in contact, the 'Momo' character then encourages them to complete a set of challenges.

The online game has been linked with the death of a 12-year-old in Argentina, and is terrifyingly sweeping the UK.

Many schools have now issued warnings to parents about the game.

Northcott Community Special School in Bransholme, Hull, said in a tweet: "We are aware that some nasty challenges (Momo challenge) are hacking into children's programmes.

"Challenges appear midway through Kids YouTube, Fortnite, Peppa Pig to avoid detection by adults.

"Please be vigilant with your child using IT, images are very disturbing."

The twisted Momo Challenge game is terrifying kids and parents alike. Picture: Social media

And a letter to parents from St Bedes RC Primary School in Carlisle, Cumbria, said: "Light-hearted and fun at the outset, this game experience quickly darkens, absorbing players who are encouraged to perform acts of violence and self-harm through a series of progressively risky challenges.

"The challenges issued in this game present a serious risk to the safety, welfare and well-being of children and young people in our schools here in the UK, as does the distressing content when a player refuses to carry on.

"With worrying similarities to the 'Blue Whale challenge', it has also been linked to at least five cases of childhood suicide."

National Online Safety has issued these tips on keeping your children safe from Momo. Picture: National Online Safety

And the NSPCC has also issued a warning, with a spokesperson saying: "Children can find it difficult to stand up to peer pressure but they must know it’s perfectly okay to refuse to take part in crazes that make them feel unsafe or scared.

"Parents should talk with their children and emphasise that they can make their own choices and discuss ways of how to say no.

"Reassuring a child that they can still be accepted even if they don’t go along with the crowd will help stop them doing something that could hurt them or make them uncomfortable."