Twitter has removed a feature called #ThereIsHelp that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, according to sources who claim the move was ordered by new owner Elon Musk. The feature had shown at the top of specific searches contacts for support organizations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, COVID-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters, and freedom of expression. Its removal has not been previously reported and the reason for its removal is unclear.
The sources who claimed the removal was ordered by Musk declined to be named due to fears of retaliation. Washington-based AIDS United and Thai group iLaw, both of which were promoted in #ThereIsHelp, said the disappearance of the feature was a surprise to them. The disappearance of the feature could add to concerns about the well-being of vulnerable users on Twitter.
Musk has claimed that impressions of harmful content are declining since he took over in October, but researchers and civil rights groups have tracked an increase in tweets with racial slurs and other hateful content. Twitter and Musk did not respond to requests for comment on the removal of the feature. AIDS United said a webpage linked to by the Twitter feature attracted about 70 views a day until December 18, and since then has only received 14 views.
The executive director of Twitter partner Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network tweeted about the missing feature and said “stupid actions” by the social media service could lead his organization to abandon it. Eirliani Abdul Rahman, who had been on a recently dissolved Twitter content advisory group, said the disappearance of #ThereIsHelp was “extremely disconcerting and profoundly disturbing.” Internet services including Twitter, Google, and Facebook have tried to direct users to well-known resource providers when they suspect someone may be in danger due to pressure from consumer safety groups.
Twitter had launched some prompts about five years ago and some had been available in over 30 countries. Just as Musk bought the company, the feature was expanded to show information related to natural disaster searches in Indonesia and Malaysia. A study published in August showed that monthly mentions on Twitter of some terms associated with self-harm increased by over 500 percent from about the year before, with younger users particularly at risk when seeing such content.
The lead intelligence analyst at the non-profit Network Contagion Research Institute said prompts that had shown in search results just days ago were no longer visible by Thursday. Musk has said he wants to combat child porn on Twitter and has criticized the previous ownership’s handling of the issue, but he has cut large portions of the teams involved in dealing with potentially objectionable material.
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