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By Aila Slisco
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Twitter owner Elon Musk is facing fierce backlash following the publication of a report saying he ordered the social media platform to remove a tool intended to help prevent suicide.
Reuters reported on Friday that Musk demanded removal of the #ThereIsHelp feature, which shared suicide prevention hotlines and other information when users searched for specific content. The report cited two people familiar with the deletion, who spoke anonymously because they "feared retaliation" from Musk.
The #ThereIsHelp feature also reportedly shared information related to other mental health issues, child sexual exploitation, vaccines, HIV, COVID-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression. Reuters said that it "could not immediately establish why Musk would order the removal of the feature."
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The decision was poorly received by most on Twitter, with some users accusing Musk of endangering lives and questioning why he reportedly ordered the feature's removal.
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"What kind of Grade A jerk do you have to be to cut suicide prevention and educational measures for the hell of it?" tweeted podcaster and Army Colonel Ryan T. Kranc. "We now have an answer to this question."
"As if Twitter couldn't get any worse, Musk has now gotten rid of the feature that promotes suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users," @NorskLadyWolf tweeted. "The man is pure EVIL."
"Hey @elonmusk," tweeted James Whatley, chief strategy officer for the gaming agency Diva. "This is as dangerous as it is stupid. Reverse it."
"My suicide attempt went viral. WaPo wrote about it," writer Josh Raby tweeted. "Within 6 weeks, I'd received 7000+ DMs. People with the gun in their hand. Moms of lost daughters. I interacted with them all. Removing even one faded road sign from the online highway we share is evil."
"@elonmusk why no love for the suicide prevention feature?" asked Zac Hall, senior editor at Apple news website 9to5Mac. "Seems weird."
"Terrible, terrible terrible," journalist Will Guyatt tweeted. "All of those who spoke of Musk transforming Twitter for the better need to pipe down."
"Elon Musk is truly a horrific human-being," tweeted David Fucillo, head of sports betting at Vox. "People will continue supporting him b/c they're buffoons, but this is just horrible."
"Elon is either a hateful prick or catastrophically negligent," @HeyGeek tweeted. "Neither is great."
Musk has faced significant criticism for a number of Twitter policy changes since he finalized his purchase of the platform in late October.
Human rights advocates denounced Musk's decision to fire the platform's entire human rights department only one week after competing the purchase.
Musk has also been under fire for reinstating previously banned accounts belonging to figures that include neo-Nazis.
Meanwhile, despite his self-professed devotion to "free speech," Musk banned and threatened to sue a 20-year-old college student who shared public information about his private jet. He also banned accounts belonging to some journalists who covered the story.
Last week, the billionaire shared a Twitter poll asking if he should "step down as head of Twitter," promising that he would "abide by the results of this poll. A majority of users voted in favor of him stepping down.
Days later, Musk commented "interesting" in response to a tweet claiming, without evidence, that the poll was rigged by "deep state bots."
Musk was still leading the platform as of Friday, having promised on Tuesday that he would resign as soon as he finds "someone foolish enough to take the job."
Newsweek has reached out to Twitter for comment.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours every day, or dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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