In early July two teenagers committed suicide in the United States. Parents believe that they participated in the game "Blue Whale", the ultimate goal of which is allegedly suicide. The version of the "Blue Whale" in these cases has not yet been confirmed by the police. American schools warned about the "Blue Whale" in the spring - but so far no information about teenage suicides associated with the game, there has been no. "Medusa" tells what is known about the spread of this game in the US.
15-year-old Isaiah Gonzalez of Texas committed suicide on July 8, 2017. He was discovered by his father Jorge. According to him, the child broadcast suicide on the Internet using a mobile phone. Then the 16-year-old girl from Atlanta, Georgia committed suicide. Her family came to the USA from Bulgaria. The girl's own brother discovered pictures of her with whales and inscriptions in Russian, referring to the game "Blue Whale".
Relatives of Gonzalez claim that their child would never have committed suicide. Shortly before his death, he sent friends photos with reports on the performance of certain tasks from the game "Blue Whale" - from watching horror films to drawing cuts. Close girls from Atlanta (her name is not called) claim that she loved to draw, she had a cheerful nature. A few days before the suicide, she asked her mother to go up on the roof, and the woman later, after reading on the Internet about the game, thought that this could be one of the tasks in the "Blue Whale".
In the case of Isaiah Gonzalez, the police did not claim the possible connection of his death with any game; Do not confirm this information and the FBI. Also, no official mention was made of the connection with the "Blue Whale" and the death of a girl from Atlanta. The fact that the children played in the "Blue Whale" is known only from the words of relatives.
It is believed that the "Blue Whale" appeared in Russia; Attention to this phenomenon in May 2016 attracted the publication of journalist Galina Mursalieva in Novaya Gazeta. The article was criticized for unreliable facts and violation of the basic principles of journalistic investigation. Nevertheless, it was read by more than three million people, and in connection with the "death groups" criminal cases were opened - the creator of one of them, Philip Budeikin, was arrested. The State Duma also passed a law on suicide on the Internet, although experts said that there is no connection between the "Blue Whale" and child suicides.
The danger of the "Blue Whale" in the United States began to warn as early as the spring of 2017, simultaneously with the United Kingdom and other countries in which they wrote massively about the spread of the game. In the texts, Mursalieva's article was mostly retold, on the wave of discussion in the press on Reddit appeared translation of 50 tasks from the Russian "Blue Whale". The game was widely spread in the countries of the former USSR, including in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, as well as in Latin America - primarily in Brazil. Social networks, in particular Instagram and "VKontakte", block the hashtags associated with the "Blue Whale" and issue instead of posts on them messages with a proposal for psychological help.
In the States, the danger of the "Blue Whale" was spoken in schools and warned parents; The dissemination of information was also carried out by charitable organizations. This campaign was not of a national nature and was initiated by educational institutions or regional departments of education.
For example, in a district in Connecticut, a local official told the parents about the "Blue Whale" in May 2017 after learning that the game was being discussed even in junior classes.
Many American publications, including Bloomberg, have written that in fact conversations about the "Blue Whale" only divert attention from the true causes of child suicides. Up to now, there have been no reports that one of the American teenagers committed suicide or attempted to end it precisely because of the Blue Whale; There were also no specialized investigations or detentions.
Jellyfish.