*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.
Reuters reported on Friday that a suicide prevention hotline number had been removed from Twitter for a few days.
The hotline was part of the #ThereIsHelp pop-up banner that was displayed when certain topics were searched. Along with the suicide prevention hotline, the feature also included safety resources for mental and physical health issues, natural disasters, violence, and COVID-19, among others.
On Saturday, Twitter owner Elon Musk took to his platform to negate the Reuters report, calling it "fake news."
He tweeted:
"1. The message is actually still up. This is fake news."
"2. Twitter doesn't prevent suicide."
1. The message is actually still up. This is fake news.
2. Twitter doesn’t prevent suicide.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 24, 2022
He later replied to Reuters Tech News:
"False, it is still there."
However, Twitter's head of trust and safety Ella Irwin confirmed to Reuters:
"We have been fixing and revamping our prompts."
"They were just temporarily removed while we do that."
She assured:
"We expect to have them back up next week."
Disagreeing with Musk, Irwin also stated:
"We know [the resources] are useful."
The disappearance of the hotline sparked outrage against many users.
are you calling your head of trust & safety ella irwin a liar, because she’s quoted in the piece saying otherwise
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) December 24, 2022
Seemed odd & shocking they removed it in the first place !
— end-coercion-in-care (@NHSandLAabuse) December 25, 2022
On Saturday, Twitter Inc restored the feature, which has been renamed "Help is Available."
The banner now pops up in many countries when key words connected to self-harm, suicide, and domestic violence are searched.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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