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Egypt bans Blue Whale social media game over suicide claims
[Al Jazeera] Egypt's top Islamic body has banned a social media game that allegedly entices teenagers to commit suicide, saying it contains elements that are prohibited by Islam.Dar al Iftaa, the Egyptian institute responsible for religious matters, issued the ban on the game after Egyptian media reported several suicides that were allegedly related to the game, despite the lack of evidence. One of the suicides was by the son of Hamdy al-Fakharany, a former Egyptian member of parliament for the Moslem Brüderbund, prompting the religious authority to issue the ban. Khalid al-Fakharany, 18, did away with himself after playing the game, according to his sister's Facebook posts. Several suicides in Jordan and Tunisia have also been linked to the game. The Blue Whale Challenge gained notoriety in 2016 and 2017 after several suicides in the United States, Brazil, India, Russia and Europe  ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...were purportedly linked to it. The game consists of a series of 50 challenges handed out by an organiser over social media. The tasks, to be completed in 50 consecutive days, start out benign but get increasingly more violent as the days progress, eventually incorporating self-harm among other things. On the last day, the user is supposed to commit suicide. In a response to the challenge gaining traction over the last two years, several countries raised concerns about the game. Posted by: Fred 2018-04-09 |
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