Twitter under Elon Musk is already sporting a different look with views on tweets being displayed to users, and golden as well as grey ticks being stamped on different handles. Speculation is already rife about a higher character limit, which might take Twitter in a completely different direction from its signature microblogging format. Now, a feature which directs users towards suicide prevention hotlines if they look for a specific kind of content, has gone missing from the social media site.
Tool being enhanced?
Responding to reports about the change, Twitter has said that the suicide prevention mechanism has been removed temporarily, since the prompts are being revamped. The feature called #ThereIsHelp will be back by next week, and has topped searches for mental health, gender-based violence, HIV and covid, in several countries. Although Musk claimed that he had reduced impact and reach of harmful content on users, the abrupt removal of the suicide prevention tool had sparked concerns.
Hateful content continues to affect users
The absence of the feature also comes at a time when researchers and activists have reported a rise of hateful content being disseminated via tweets. Major social media sites including Facebook and Twitter have been connecting people with mental health resources to address consumer safety concerns. Twitter claims that it is making changes in order to protect people in the same way as Google does using search results.
Musk denies suicidal thoughts
Earlier this month, Musk himself was asked during a Twitter Space session, if he was having suicidal thoughts, to which the entrepreneur responded by claiming that if he kills himself, its not really him. The billionaire tried to imply that it could be an assassination.
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