She posted a selfie with the word “goodbye” and threw herself in front of an oncoming train. The first known victim of the challenge was Rina Palenkova in November 2015. On the 50th day, the controlling manipulators behind the game reportedly instruct the youngsters to commit suicide. It involves urging them to complete tasks including waking at strange hours.Įventually exhausted and confused, they are told to commit suicide, and it is feared in Russia that dozens have done so at the bidding of Budeikin or other “mentors”.
![blue whale game blue whale game](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2B2uIoWirPM/maxresdefault.jpg)
On the 50th day of the challenge, the participant is encouraged to take his or her own life.Įvery time you complete a task, you must send photographic or video proof to an administrator or “curator.” While there has been some variance, the tasks that have been translated are all pretty similar. Each day, the participant is told to complete a task. Other names for the game include: “A Silent House”, “A Sea of Whales” and “Wake Me Up at 4:20am”.Ī book called 50 Days Before my Suicide was said to have unwittingly been an inspiration for the challenge aspect of the reported groups. The lyrics that reference a blue whale are: “We can be silent, we can sing/Stay or run away, but still we burn,/A big blue whale can’t break the chain./Surrender or not, but still burn.” It’s also thought that the name Blue Whale came from Russian band Lumen’s song “Burn,” which is about depression. The name Blue Whale is said to come from the phenomenon of the animals intentionally stranding themselves on beaches. VK is the largest online social media network in Europe, but is also available in English which is how many kids in the USA are participating.
![blue whale game blue whale game](https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/images/story/201709/559_090117030758.jpg)
In April of 2016 journalist Galina Mursaliyeva published an article about a “death group” called F57 on the Russian social media site VKontakte, or VK for short. The Blue Whale Challenge is a “game” that has been linked an unknown number of teen deaths. If you search for the tag #BlueWhaleChallenge on social media you’ll get a message like these:Īs someone who has never seen this type of warning on Instagram, Twitter or YouTube I found it incredibly alarming.