5.9 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Whale Challenge | 1/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Whale_Challenge | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:29:41.776773+00:00 | kb-cron |
Blue Whale Challenge (Russian: Си́ний ки́т, romanized: Siniy kit), also known simply as the Blue Whale, is a social network phenomenon, first appeared in Russia in 2013, that is claimed to exist in several countries. It is a "game" reportedly consisting of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, initially innocuous before introducing elements of self-harm and the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. Blue Whale Challenge first attracted news coverage in May 2016 in an article in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta that linked many unrelated child suicides to membership of group "F57" on the Russian-based VK social network. A wave of moral panic swept Russia. The piece was criticized for attempting to make a causal link where none existed, and none of the suicides were found to be a result of the group's activities. Claims of suicides connected to the game have been reported worldwide, but none have been confirmed. The game has been banned in some countries, including Egypt, Kenya, and Pakistan. However, experts have said that since the game is not played on any specific website or app, it may be difficult or even impossible to fully ban it.
== Background == In November 2015, Renata Kambolina, a Russian teenager, posted a selfie with the caption "nya.bye" before committing suicide; her death was then discussed in internet forums and groups, becoming mixed with scare stories and folklore. Further suicides were added to the group stories. Soon after, Russian journalist Galina Mursaliyeva first wrote about these "death groups" in an article published in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in April 2016. The article described the "F57" groups on Russian social media site VK, which she claimed had incited 130 teenagers to kill themselves. Mursaliyeva's article was criticized at the time of its release for lacking credible data and balance, with the 130 cases of suicide cited being particularly problematic. The number was originally suggested by the father of one of the teenagers, Sergey Pestov, who came to the figure 130 by using Russian media sources to look for child suicides he believed were linked to online groups; he then produced a brochure which implied that foreign intelligence operatives were responsible for encouraging Russian children to commit suicide. After an investigation by Evgeny Berg for Meduza, Mursaliyeva responded by saying in fact there had been at least 200 suicides. The origin of the name "Blue Whale" is uncertain. Some reports say that it comes from a song by the Russian rock band Lumen. Its opening lines are "Why scream / When no one hears / What we're talking about?" and it features a "huge blue whale" that "can't break through the net." Others believe it to be a reference to beaching, where whales become stranded on beaches and die. The game is said to run on different social media platforms and is described as a relationship between an administrator and participant. Over a period of fifty days the administrator sets one task per day; the tasks seem innocent to begin with ("get up at 4:30 a.m.", "watch a horror movie"), and move on to self-harm, leading to the participant killing themselves on the final day. As professor at Russian State University for the Humanities, Alexandra Arkhipova found that the administrators were children aged between 12 and 14, drawn to the story as it became widely reported and not, as the hysteria had intimated, predatory adults.
== Social concerns == While many experts suggest Blue Whale was originally a sensationalized hoax, they believe that it is likely that the phenomenon has led to instances of imitative self-harming or suicide contagion effects. And studies have found that those effects can spread through discussion in the media, even discussions about the dangers, as the trend became circulated online and trigger words became more normalized. It also is believed to have led to copycat groups, leaving vulnerable children at risk of cyberbullying and online shaming. By late 2017, reported participation in Blue Whale was receding. Internet safety organizations across the world have reacted by giving general advice to parents and educators on suicide prevention, mental health awareness, and online safety in advance of the next incarnation of cyberbullying.
"People join narratives to explain their experiences ... that is possibly why some children have said they participated in the rumoured challenge despite there being no proof of its existence." American skeptic Ben Radford researched the phenomenon, calling it the "moral panic du jour" and equating it to the Dungeons & Dragons controversies of the 1980s. Radford also states "this is only the latest in a long series of similar moral panics and outrages shared on social media ... the best antidote ... is a healthy dose of skepticism". The podcast Squaring the Strange included his analysis of the dangers for parents when these stories are spread. Case studies have also been done to reframe online suicide games as a type of cyberbullying. Although the victim does voluntarily start playing the game, it includes the key elements of cyberbullying: manipulation, coercion, and psychological pressure. And it was also found that while the victims did initiate their participation in the game, many of the kids who played were struggling in school with poor grades or absenteeism, suggesting a need for intervention by the schools to prevent the decline in mental health that lead students to seek out the Blue Whale.
=== Police warnings === Police in Russia have extensively issued warnings about the game. Police in numerous other countries have issued warnings, including in Armenia, Brazil, France, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.