Blue Whale (game)
The Blue Whale Game (Russian: Синий кит, translit. Siniy kit), also known as "Blue Whale Challenge", is a 21st-century social network phenomenon that is claimed to exist in several countries, beginning in 2016. The game reportedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide
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"Blue Whale" came to prominence in May 2016 through an article in a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, that linked many unrelated child suicides to membership of group "F57" on the Russian-based VKontakte social network. A wave of moral panic swept Russia.[3] However the piece was later criticised for attempting to make a c
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Russian journalist Galina Mursaliyeva first drew attention to "death groups" in an article published in the Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta in April 2016.[6] The article described the death groups "F57" on Russian social media site VKontakte, that she claimed had incited 130 teenagers to commit suicide.[7] 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."[7] Others say it is "believed to be a referenc"
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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 innocuous to begin with (get up at 4:30 am, watch a horror movie), and move on to self harm leading to the participant committing suicide on the final day. Claims of suicides connected to the game have been reported worldwide.
Mursaliyeva's article was criticised at the time of its release for lacking credible data and balance. "The 130 cases of suicide cited in the article appeared to be calculated by the author."[11] No link between the game and any suicide has been proven.