Twitter CEO Elon Musk has denied that the micro-blogging platform removed suicide prevention feature for its users, saying the reports were “fake”.
Media reports earlier claimed that Twitter removed a feature that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources.
“False, it is still there,” the new Twitter owner said in a tweet.
The reports, quoting Twitter executives, claimed the feature was removed and was being revamped.
Replying to a user, Musk said: “Twitter doesn’t prevent suicide”.
“The message is actually still up. This is fake news,” he added.
The disappearance of the #ThereIsHelp banner, even if it was only momentary, led to criticism of Twitter from some consumer safety advocates, reported Engadget.
A Twitter user said: “Mental health support and crisis prevention tools to help integrate with social platforms is incredibly important. Tumblr for example has been doing a great job now”.
“Fake News and its publishers should also be blocked on Twitter for a certain period of time,” another Musk follower posted.
The #ThereIsHelp banner pointed users to suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources when searching for certain content on Twitter.
