‘The Blue Whale’ game is based on a 50-day dare in which the player has to tackle each challenge – posted online daily – and post selfies on the private group. On the final day, participants are urged to win the game by committing suicide. While over 100 teen suicides have reportedly been linked to the game, no direct evidence has been found.
HOW DID THAT SPREAD:
On November 16th, 2016, the Russian news site RBTH reported that a VK group administrator had been detained by police for urging children to commit suicide. On February 20th, 2017, YouTuber Sasho Panchuk uploaded a video titled “The guy plays Blue Whale jump from roof,” in which a Russian teenager pretends to jump off a roof. The video has since been removed.
On February 21st, the news site RadioFreeEurope published an article, reporting that the “Blue Whale” suicide game had become a “shadowy online phenomenon” across Russia and Central Asian countries. On February 27th, The Sun reported that police were investigating the deaths of Russian teenagers Yulia Konstantinova and Veronika Volkova who were suspected of committing suicide after communicating with a “sinister social media group.” That day, Snopes published an article, labeling the claim that the “Blue Whale” game was “responsible for more than 130 in Russia” as “unproven.”
DEATH OF MUMBAI BOY:
The recent case in Mumbai, however, is the first alleged occurrence in India, and that too is being investigated. Nevertheless, the implication of the case has sent shock waves across the country and not without cause. The online game is indubitably and potentially self-harming and menacing, and yet there are children who are supposedly reaching out to the curator to affirm their participation. It might be one big conjecture, but it has certainly raised some uncomfortable questions.
/
মন্তব্যসমূহ
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন