Twitter says #ThereIsHelp, launches a dedicated search prompt for HIV

Twitter today 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. This launch is an extension of Twitter’s efforts to help people access high-quality public health information and resources, and 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, and is currently 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. 

With this prompt, when people search for keywords associated with HIV and/or AIDS, the top search result will now include a notification in Hindi and English, encouraging them to reach out for credible information and sources of help — be it websites or hotlines of local public health authorities or nonprofit organisations. Some of the search keywords include but are not limited to:

• English: #AIDS, #HIV, #PEP, #PrEP, #KnowYourStatus 

• Hindi: #विश्वएड्सदिवस

Data from Twitter shows that 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. We also recognized 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,” said Shagufta Kamran, Public Policy, Twitter India. 

For the launch of the #ThereIsHelp HIV search prompt, Twitter has partnered with the National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health (@NACOINDIA). As per a report by the NACO, there were around 2.35 million patients living with HIV in India in 2019. Nationally, there were more than 69,000 estimated new HIV infections in 2019, and more than 58,000 AIDS-related deaths were estimated in the year. 

Various global, national and local organisations use Twitter to identify and reach out to vulnerable people. In its efforts to serve the public conversation, Twitter works in partnership with these organisations to support the dissemination of authentic information on the service. For #WorldAIDSDay, in addition to the NACO (@NACOINDIA), Twitter has partnered with several other organisations including Alliance India (@AllianceinIndia), Naz Foundation (@Naz_Foundation), Snehalaya (@Snehalaya), Swasti, the Health Catalyst (@SwastiHC), Taaras Coalition (@TaarasCoalition) and UNAIDS Asia Pacific (@UNAIDS_AP). 

As we commemorate World AIDS Day today, a special thanks to team of @Twitter as @AllianceinIndia will be now part of HIV/AIDS Search Prompt on @TwitterIndia. We are committed to stand with the communities of people we work with. #WorldAIDSDay2021 #WorldAIDSDay #विश्वएड्सदिवस

— Alliance India (@AllianceinIndia) December 1, 2021

#WorldAIDSDay infocheck! When searching for HIV / AIDS and other related trigger terms, a proactive prompt directs users to authoritative information from NACO and a @TwitterIndia List of nonprofits working in this space ! Try it out now! Let's do what it takes to #EndAIDS

— Swasti, The Health Catalyst (@SwastiHC) December 1, 2021

This #WorldAIDSDay , we have partnered with @Twitter for a proactive HIV Search Prompt to help users searching for #HIV or #AIDS and related terms with authoritative information from Gov. and Nonprofit partners. Thank you for the partnership @TwitterIndia ! @UNAIDS

— UNAIDS Asia Pacific (@UNAIDS_AP) December 1, 2021

In association with UNAIDS (@UNAIDS), Twitter will also be launching a special red ribbon emoji to raise awareness of HIV. The emoji, which is the symbol for #WorldAIDSDay, 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. 

Twitter’s role as a service for public conversation is especially critical in the context of public health. Through #ThereIsHelp and its other partnerships, Twitter wants to make a valuable contribution to the ongoing and larger efforts required to address the serious issue of HIV/AIDS, and will continue to work closely with public health authorities and leading NGOs to help people find reliable information that enhances their health and wellbeing.