News Photo by Justin A. Hinkley This screenshot shows a YouTube video featuring “Momo,” a character from a Japanese art exhibit who, according a debunked-but-nontheless-viral internet hoax, would appear in children’s videos online and encourage children to harm themselves or others.

ALPENA –While parents may have many valid reasons to be concerned about their children’s safety online, not every threat is real.

A press release shared Friday by Alpena Public Schools addresses a viral urban legend that has parents worried about what their children may be seeing online.

Staff, students, and community members have expressed concern regarding the supposed “Momo Challenge,” according to APS Parent Involvement Coordinator Lee Fitzpatrick. The creepy hoax has people talking, but it appears that, in this case, talk is all there is.

The Momo challenge, which has garnered significant online attention in recent months and headlines from international news outlets, supposedly involves the use of a disturbing face (actually a piece of Japanese modern art) embedded into videos, telling children to do harmful things to others and themselves.

With with the infinite number of YouTube and other videos available online, there can be no proof nobody has created such a video, the existence of the challenge has been widely discredited.

Digital hoaxes and bogus threats, often hard to distinguish from a real issue of concern, are an established part of digital life, relying on people’s anxiety and naivete to take on a life of their own.

The administration at APS, after hearing concerns voiced by parents and teachers and noting an increase in the search for the Momo challenge on school networks, decided to comment publicly on the issue. While school leaders were reluctant to grow the hoax by giving it publicity, they felt it was important to address parents’ fears of their children being harmed by the supposed threat.

“When this type of thing comes up, then it’s a great time to have a conversation with families and with kids about the dangers of the internet and what can be done to protect kids,” said Fitzpatrick.

While the Momo challenge is not real, there are plenty of online threats that should be taken seriously by parents, officials say. Cyberbullying, while not as titillating as something like the debunked Momo challenge, is a very real and very serious issue that calls for parental vigilance.

“Bullying has taken on a whole new life when you can do it without doing it face to face,” Fitzpatrick said, encouraging parents to educate themselves about the issue and discuss it with their children.

The school district fights a constant battle to stay on top of what needs to be blocked on school computers, according to Fitzpatrick. Parents may contact APS’s technology department through their child’s school to ask questions about how schools and parents can help keep students safe. Internet safety updates will be available on APS social media.

“In the world we live in, we can’t ever forget that, as parents, we are the final gatekeeper on what our kids are looking at,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have to be diligent. Even when it’s not something that’s true, it’s good that people are bringing it up and having conversations about it.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com.