This week some children have had some conversations about Momo, a fake online character that has been present in the media. The Momo character can appear quite scary to children and we have talked as a neighbourhood about not talking about it and reminding children that the acceptable use agreement states that they will not share inappropriate material using their computers.
Momo came out in the media recently as a character that was setting dangerous challenges through social media and children’s online games. It is now widely understood as ‘fake news’ and no children have come to harm through these challenges.
Last week we talked with children about ‘fake news’ and had some wonderful discussions about what we need to do to be critical about what we read. The ‘Momo’ character is a prime example of this.
We understand that ‘Momo’ may bring up some emotions for children and are supporting students at school with discussions. If you wish to have further discussions at home the BBC have some supporting documents which may be helpful.