Police in Russia are facing a bizarre kind of epidemic, as over 130 suicides are being linked to a sick new social media game.
Dubbed “Blue Whale” the game sounds like something out of an episode of Black Mirror, as a mysterious presence on social media asks young teenagers to cut themselves or commit other self abuse.
The rules are unclear and the person behind the commands hasn’t been revealed, but a number of cases of self harm and suicide have been linked to it.
Veronika Volkova, 16, and Yulia Konstantinova, 15, both fell from a 14 story building this week and the Blue Whale game is thought to be what provoked them.
Russian reports suggest that players are “urged to use a knife or razor to make the shape of a whale on their wrist or leg” and “watch horror movies all day, and to wake themselves at 4.20am, steps leading up to demands to take their own lives on the 50th day of being in the game.”
Shortly before their deaths, Yuli posted a photo of a blue whale and a message that simply read “End” onto her social media page, a platform known as Vkontakte.
Last year, Russian publication Novaya Gazeta reported, “We have counted 130 suicides of children that took place between November 2015 to April 2016.
“Almost all these children were members of the same internet groups and lived in good, happy families.
“What we know absolutely for sure is that adults are working with children, with the help of knowledge of their habits and passions, using their favorite language and culture.”