The ‘blackout challenge’ and why it’s so dangerous

Death of Scottish teen linked to social media craze blamed for Archie Battersbee tragedy

Hand holding smartphone showing TikTok
The viral challenge is alleged to have caused dozens of deaths worldwide
(Image credit: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A mother has told how her teenage son died after passing out in front of his friends online while allegedly performing the same TikTok challenge blamed for the death of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee.

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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.