2. Dear 6th and 7th graders,
It seems that you have recently fallen prey to the perils of Social Media. The hallways of BUMS have been echoing with talk of the Momo challenge!
We want to spend some time helping you understand Momo and, hopefully, help you know how to help yourself (and your friends).
Sincerely,
Mr. Lance and Ms. Zickefoose

3. Some students have said they are receiving pop-up ads/messages on their WhatsApp, Fortnite and other games or apps.
Momo contacts kids and gives them a series of challenges, eventually daring kids to complete suicide.

4. What in the world is Momo?
It looks creepy! Yikes!
In 2016, the sculpture was created by the Japanese artist Keisuka Aisawa from the special effects company Link Factory and placed on display at the Vanilla Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
Pictures of it subsequently became an urban legend on the Spanish-speaking web and was associated with "a phone number that could be added to WhatsApp."

5. Momo is so widespread that celebrities like Kim Kardashian have taken to social media to warn others:

6. Teachers are worried, parents are worried, kids are freaked out
And you know what,
MOMO is a hoax designed to get kids to complete dangerous dares!!!!!

7. Momo is just one more dare that has us all worked up.
There have been thousands of other hoaxes:
48 hour challenge
Slender Man
Bloody Mary
And tons of other social media challenges. Just about everyone has faced some type of challenge during their growing up years.
We need to work hard to know how to identify a hoax AND to know how to keep ourselves safe.

8. A great couple of ways to tell whether something is a hoax or fake
Is to check out a website called Snopes.com
Snopes exists simply as a fact checker.
A second website is knowyourmeme.com
knowyourmeme focuses on trending news/memes/challenges/etc. and identifies their source and facts.
CHECK BEFORE YOU GET DRAWN INTO A HOAX!

9. Adults get caught up in hoaxes or fake news all the time
Adults get caught up in hoaxes or fake news all the time. It is no wonder that kids have the same problem.
If you take time to check your facts you can really help yourself. Don’t be gullible.
Being gullible can cause you to be very irresponsible.
DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR and SEE!!!!!!!!!!

10. Now its time for your Advisor to tell the truth…
Advisors, have you ever gotten sucked into a hoax, or fake news?
OR, have you ever been caught up in a dare? (Dares and hoaxes both cause irresponsible behavior)
Now, please share your story.

11. Thanks Advisors. Lots of us have made mistakes by getting caught up in hoaxes and dares.
Now it’s the Counselors turn. It’s only fair that we be honest.
On the following slide, try to guess which counselor fell for which dare when we were in Middle School.
Yes, they are both true (we aren’t proud of ourselves).

12. Which was Lance, which was Zickefoose?
During a birthday party…
During a sleep over…
One Counselor was dared to jump off of the house roof into a swimming pool.
Counselor did it, and required stitches because they hit their leg on the edge of the pool.
Parents were not happy, grounded the kid and banned them from returning to their friend’s house.
One Counselor was dared to hold a plugged-in electrical cord on their tongue.
Counselor did it. It really hurt and caused a big burn on the tongue.
Yes, it was noticed by the parents who gave an epic lecture and issued a ban on going back to the friend’s house.
Both Counselors believed that nothing bad would happen; it was just for fun.