'Momo' may be 'dead,' but experts say avoiding the next hoax is up to us
[...] So how did we get here? How did this apparent hoax, now just the latest fodder for internet memes, wind up causing panic among parents in countries from India to Colombia, from the UK to the United States, and from the Houses of Parliament to U.S. police agencies?
[...] Laura Hazard Owen, deputy editor of Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, called the "Momo challenge" phenomenon "the most fascinating/unique fake news story I've covered in awhile." The problem, she said, was that most of the news stories warning people about "Momo" appeared to be based on hearsay. One local news station, she pointed out, "simply interviewed a 5-year-old," while others ran with anecdotes from parents who had heard from their child that they had heard from another child... you get the point.
[...] "Unless you can watch all media, TV and news, consciously, step back from it, get a little distance and ask yourself what's being said, you're going to be taken in," Dr. Mramor argued. "It's like when you're watching a scary movie and get sucked into the plot... be a conscious consumer," she said. "And if more people were, this would never have happened. We wouldn't even be talking about this story."
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Thursday March 14 2019, @01:41AM
I agree with bzipitidoo. Worrying is IMHO the emotional version of the human immune system. When human life was tough and hazardous, then worry served a useful purpose, to rethink and anticipate those dangers that surrounded us, particularly women with children. Now, with vastly safer modern human societies, it triggers on imaginary dangers. People will always worry, even if they don't have anything useful to worry about. That's why Momo happened.
As for the school officials, it's a standard case of responsibility and accountability avoidance. Warning about "Momo" costs them nothing, but is great theater, giving the false impression that they're doing their job, even as it imposes burdens on the more gullible parts of the students' families.