The Dangers of Momo Challenge Videos on YouTube (Interview with Antonia Markiewitz and Lara Kobilke)

Stories After Dark

The Momo Challenge caused a worldwide panic in 2018, spreading through WhatsApp and YouTube, making parents fear for the lives of their children. It was eventually dismissed as a hoax, with YouTube initially saying they saw no evidence of videos promoting it on the social media site. But the existence of the videos and the dangers they presented particularly to children were undeniable. This is a snippet of my conversation with researchers Antonia Markiewitz and Lara Kobilke who in one of their many studies looked into the effects of the Momo Challenge and other suicide-related content on YouTube. Listener discretion is advised due to discussions of suicide in this interview. • Listen to the full episode on Patreon where you can also support the show: patreon.com/storiesafterdark / WHO's guidelines on responsible suicide reporting: https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/resource_media.pdf / ReportingOnSuicide.org's best practices and recommendations: https://reportingonsuicide.org/wp-content/themes/ros2015/assets/images/Recommendations-eng.pdf / Episode photos: instagram.com/p/CMR8ssqrrGo / References: storiesafterdark.ph / Facebook page: facebook.com/storiesafterdarkph / Twitter: twitter.com/afterdarkph / Share your feedback, case suggestions and personal stories: [e-mail]