Al-Monitor- Blue Whale�is an online Russian game consisting of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period,�with the final challenge requiring players to commit suicide.


On Oct. 21, two teenage girls�sought to commit suicide in the central Iranian city of�Esfahan. A 15-year-old died, and a 16-year-old suffered�serious injuries.

The next day, Esfahan's police chief confirmed media reports about the reason behind the suicide and suicide attempt. �Before throwing themselves off the building, these two teenage girls had recorded [an audio message] saying goodbye to their families, and stated that their reason [to commit suicide] was their playing of the Blue Whale�game.�

The minister of communications and information technology subsequently�denied media reports�about the incident, saying what happened in Esfahan had nothing do with Blue Whale. �The cyberspace threats are real and we shouldn�t deny that, but we should inform [people] and increase�their awareness. � We shouldn�t make people�afraid of cyberspace.�

Read more here