A Michael Jackson ‘Momo-style’ video has been warning a creepy figure dressed as the singer will come into people’s rooms in the middle of the night and shout ‘hee hee’.
Mexican authorities have been forced to put out a message to citizens reassuring them that a viral meme claiming a Jackson figure will come into their rooms at 3am and shout ‘hee hee’ is not real.
The police in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur sent out the message to citizens concerned by the ‘El Ayuwoki’ meme.
The meme features an image of a bizarre Michael Jackson statue and claims the figure will go into the reader’s bedroom at 3am and shout the singer’s trademark ‘hee hee’ – as he was famous for doing in his songs.
A creepy clip posted online shows the zombie-like Jackson as his hit, Smooth Criminal, plays in the background.
The ‘Ghoul Michael Jackson’ sculpture, that has been dubbed El Ayuwoki and shared online
The ‘Momo-style’ meme warns the creepy Jackson sculpture will appear at 3am and shout the singer’s trademark ‘hee hee’ at them
As the camera zooms into the figure’s face, scary horror-movie sound effects kick in and screams of terror can be heard.
The statue’s head moves slowly from side-to-side as Jackson’s music begins again and the camera zooms in for a close up of the figure’s blood-shot eyes.
The meme reportedly originated in 2009, the year Michael Jackson died, when a video of the statue performing Jackson-esque moves appeared online.
The image of the statue has now been used for the meme.
The police statement reads: ‘Although a lot of people believe this is a kind of demon or ghost from the Internet, there is nothing supernatural in this matter.
‘The kids and teenagers are looking to share it and believe in it because it is trendy, which could generate sleep issues, panic or anxiety.’
The name ‘Ayuwoki’ comes from the Michael Jackson song ‘Smooth Criminal’.
‘Ayuwoki’ is how the lyric ‘are you okay’ would be spelt phonetically in Spanish.
The Momo figure has spread fear around the world after the Japanese art sculpture was spliced into children’s YouTube clips telling them to harm themselves
Police in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur were forced to issue a warning that the ‘Ayuwoki’ meme was not real
One post social media post showed a man waiting for the Jackson figure with the caption in Spanish: ‘When I go to sleep and hear a hee hee…’
Jackson famously sings ‘Annie are you okay?’ in ‘Smooth Criminal’.
Argentinian news website, Infobae, said that the creators of the statue explained that the animated sculpture was made to represent Elvis Presley but for an unknown reason it ended up dressed as the King of Pop.
Some on social media have shared their own responses to the El Ayuwoki meme, including one man who posted a picture of himself holding a gun in bed waiting for the Jackson figure to appear.
He wrote under the picture in Spanish: ‘When I go to sleep and hear a hee hee…’
The he bug-eyed Momo character has been said to have plagued social media in recent weeks, urging children to harm themselves.
YouTube clips spliced with the ghoulish Japanese art sculpture have reportedly terrified youngsters around the globe, despite the company saying it has not seen any evidence of this.
The release of the Leaving Neverland documentary has seen the number of memes using the image increase in Mexico.
The disturbing HBO documentary, shown on Channel 4 in the UK, saw two alleged victims tell in graphic detail how the ‘King of Pop’ abused them over several years.
The El Ayuwoki meme caused the Mexican authorities to reassure people that a Jacko statue will not come into their homes and shout ‘hee hee’ at them
One post showed a cartoon of the El Ayuwoki meme with the caption in Spanish: ‘My sister sent me this now I am very afraid’
In the programme, James Safechuck who was ten years old when he met Jackson in 1986 on the set of a Pepsi advert, alleges he was abuse for a number of years by Jackson.
The 41-year-old alleges that Jackson, who throughout his life denied any allegations of sexually abusing children, showered him with gifts while grooming both him and his family.
Wade Robson, an Australian now aged 36, was five when he first met Jackson after winning a dance competition in his home town of Brisbane, and alleges he was abused while staying at the singer’s 2,700-acre Neverland ranch in Santa Barabra County, California.
The response to the documentary has seen radio stations in New Zealand and Canada pulling Jackson songs from the airwaves.
BBC Radio 2 has been forced to deny reports it had stopped playing Jackson’s music.
Other stations around the world, including Smooth FM in the UK and outlets in Australia, New Zealand and Canada announced they would stop playing star’s songs in the wake of the abuse claims.