Concerned parents turn to the police about what is known as the so-called Blue Whale Challenge. In addition, children are asked on social media, or they are pressured to participate in a self-destructive assignment game. The profile photo of the challenging party is invariably a grinning Goofy parody and the man in the photo is not happy with that.
“When I first heard about it, I thought, really?” Says American mask maker Samuel Canini NOS Youth News, which has researched the internet hype. “People have often used my work for memes, there’s not much you can do about that. But I’ve never wanted to make something evil.”
“Threats are fake”
The 45-year-old American announced on Twitter that he is the man behind the infamous mask. Since then, he has had messages from around the world. Because the supposed suicide game is in the news from Vietnam to the Netherlands.
Since last Monday, about twenty calls were made daily with the Kindertelefoon, but it remains unclear how many children have actually been approached. “Children say they are afraid that their private data will be exposed,” said the police, who receive reports from parents. “But you really don’t have to worry about it: all those threats are fake.”
Do not fall for it, that is also the message of the Selected episode of the NOS Youth News about the Blue Whale Challenge:
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