Twitter on Wednesday launched another expansion of its #ThereIsHelp notification service with a dedicated search prompt for HIV-related information.
“The notification prompt will provide valuable and authoritative resources around HIV and encourage people to reach out and get help when they need it,” Twitter said in an official release.
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The new prompt will be available across Asia Pacific and the Americas: Brazil, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, SP-Latam, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.
The #ThereIsHelp notification service was launched by Twitter last year. Currently, the prompt is available for suicide prevention, vaccination, child sexual abuse, Covid-19 and gender-based violence, This notification service is now being extended for HIV/AIDS as well.
Conversations about HIV
With this prompt, the top search result for keywords associated with HIV and/or AIDS, will now include a notification in Hindi and English, encouraging users to reach out for credible information and sources of help. This includes websites or hotlines of local public health authorities or nonprofit organisations.
Some of the search keywords include but are not limited to ‘#AIDS,’ ‘#HIV,’ ‘#PEP,’ ‘#PrEP,’ and ‘#KnowYourStatus’ in English and ‘#विश्वएड्सदिवस’ (World AIDS Day) in Hindi.
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As per data from the microblogging platform, conversations about HIV spikes around #WorldAIDSDay on December 1 every year. In 2020, there were close to 9 million Tweets about HIV globally, out of which over 1 million Tweets were generated in December 2020.
“We’re committed to protecting the health of the public conversation on Twitter — ensuring individuals can find credible information from authoritative sources is a key part of that mission,” said Shagufta Kamran, Public Policy, Twitter India.
“We also recognised that it is crucial for the public to have access to a free and #OpenInternet in combating the stigma around HIV. Therefore, we’ve partnered with public health authorities and local nonprofit organizations across Asia Pacific to provide people with access to accurate information about HIV, getting the help that they need, and launch dedicated #ThereisHelp notification prompt for HIV. We look forward to continuing the collaborations to help promote inclusion and diversity and fight against inequalities, as well as HIV stigma and discrimination,” added Kamran.
The social.media major has partnered with the National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health (@NACOINDIA) for the launch of the HIV search prompt.
Searching for information
In order to search and find credible information around HIV on the Twitter app, users can click on the Explore tab type and enter their HIV related keyword or query into the Search option on the top.
They will then be able to see a prompt on ‘ThereIsHelp.’ They can click on it to access credible information and facts on the issue.
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On desktop, users can go to Home and type and enter their HIV related keyword or query into the Search option on the top right to see the prompt on ‘ThereIsHelp.’ They can click on it to access the information.
Additionally, the platform will also be launching a special red ribbon emoji in association with UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) to raise awareness toward HIV.
The emoji is the symbol for World AIDS Day and will be available from November 24 to December 05, 2021, and will automatically appear in Tweets when people Tweet with the hashtags ‘#WorldAIDSDay’ or ‘#विश्वएड्सदिवस.’
