That I find Elon Musk’s journey at the helm of Twitter absurd, and that the billionaire has earned my antipathy for several reasons, such as censorship of journalists, is known to anyone who reads me with minimal frequency. Also, and I’ve made this clear on more than one occasion, it doesn’t stop me from recognizing him if he’s doing something right, and I don’t think it’s right to use false news and biased information, either to criticize his leadership and/or attract more readers. And I consider myself lucky to be part of a team where we all agree on that.

I say this because over the past few hours, word has been circulating that Elon Musk has ordered the removal of suicide prevention information from Twitter that is displayed when users perform certain searches and access certain content. This measure has long been adopted by many online services, and if it has served to save even one life during this time, it is already more than justified.

We’re talking about a horribly controversial topic, yes, but also an open sore on the skin of many people who at some point find themselves overwhelmed by circumstances of any kind and decide that the end has come. Whether it is due to an acute pain crisis (in the broadest sense of the word), due to a situation that seems unsolvable, etc., it is difficult to put yourself in the shoes of those who reach that crucial point, but it is also true that offering such people what we have within reach and it costs much less to deter them.

Ever since I first read about it, I can’t remember if it was yesterday or the day before yesterday, initial surprise has been replaced by skepticism. Would Elon Musk really issue an order to remove such information from Twitter? Why? It is true that for many he won the role of the villain of the year, but from all his performances it is easy to understand what motivation led him to such a step. Not so in this case.

So after several hours of uncertainty, Twitter’s director of trust and safety Ella Irwin made a public statement saying: «We fixed and improved these prompts we have only temporarily removed this feature during the process, it will be back in a few days«. In addition, some users claim that the information is already being displayed again under certain circumstances. In the case of the Spanish version of Twitter, as you can see in the image above, the information continues to be displayed normally.

I will say that it seems like a mistake to delete the current information while I wait for an improved version of it to be added, and I think that’s the criticism that should be made in that case. I can’t imagine, for example, an emergency service that is about to receive new ambulances and, while waiting for them, decides to take the current ones out of service, leaving them without assistance vehicles. However, it seems to me like a mistake, for better or worse, but one that we as humans could all make at any given time.

If it is ever confirmed that there really was an intention to permanently delete suicide prevention information on Twitter, I would be at a loss for words to refer to said social network and its owner, but if we ask ourselves what Twitter (and for that matter) could have gained Musk) with such a decision, it is difficult to find an answer, and I do not think that his intention is to further destroy the image of the social network.

Just a few days ago, the newspaper El Mundo reported about it The number of suicides in Spain increased to 4003 people in 2021, more than ten cases a day. To give an idea, as reported by RTVE, Spain closed 2021 with 1,533 road deaths, the lowest figure in the historical series. So less than half. But unlike the constant campaigns to prevent road accidents, suicide is still invisible today and carries a stigma that comes from afar. And for that reason, I would like to end this message with the exact text that Twitter displays when you do a suicide-related search:

We can help you
You are not alone. If you or someone you know is going through a bad time, @sanidadgob can help:
📱 Pay attention to suicidal behavior, call: 024
24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
Free, confidential, inclusive and immediate

💻 Visit: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/linea024/home.htm
Attention for hearing impaired people: https://linea024.svisual.org/