Elon Musk denies removal of suicide prevention feature on Twitter

Washington: Twitter CEO Elon Musk refuted media reports on alleged suspension of the social media platform's suicide prevention feature, which promoted hotlines and other support services to Twitter users while searching for related content.

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that Musk had ordered for the removal of Twitter's #ThereIsHelp feature as part of the general overhaul he launched since taking over the platform.

"False, it is still there," Musk tweeted.

The function shows potentially vulnerable users the contacts of support organizations, including institutions, which provide help with mental health, COVID-19, vaccines, HIV, gender-based violence, child sexual exploitation, natural disasters and others.

In late October, Musk finalized the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, a US company founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. Following the takeover, Musk changed the company's day-to-day operations, including the termination of Twitter executives who were responsible for the platform's privacy, cybersecurity and censorship, as well as about two-thirds of Twitter's employees.

Last week, the Twitter chief posted a poll asking users whether he should step down as the social media platform's chief executive. The poll closed on Monday morning after 12 hours of voting, and of 17.5 million users who participated in it, around 57.5% voted for Musk to leave as CEO and 42.5% voted for him to stay. (UNI)