With alerts from Meta, UP Police averted 656 suicides since 2023

Meta sends alerts to UP Police whenever a post indicating suicidal intent is uploaded. (Image: Reuters)

The Uttar Pradesh Police has saved at least 656 lives since January 1, 2023, aided by information on suicide-related posts by Meta company, which owns social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

In 2023, the UP Police entered in a partnership with Meta. Under the partnership, Meta alerts the cops through email and phone whenever a post indicating suicidal intent is uploaded on any of its platforms, according to a Time of India report.

A Social Media Centre (SMC) has been set up at the DGP headquarter, which analyses the alerts, traces the person's location and informs the relevant district police for immediate intervention.

"We take great satisfaction in saving 656 lives through our rapid response to alerts from Meta. Many of these interventions happen at late hours, underscoring the commitment and coordination of our social media centres at police headquarters and across districts," Prashant Kumar, DGP, said, according to a TOI report.

Earlier in September, Meta AI helped saved the life of a woman who was attempting to commit suicide in Lucknow, as she was allegedly upset over being abandoned by her husband. According to the police, the woman, 21, was going to die by suicide. She made a video with a noose around her neck and posted it on social media.

While the video was going viral, the Social Media Centre of the office of the Directorate General of Police received an alert from Meta and the police became active. They immediately reached the spot after locating the village and stopped the girl from dying by suicide, PTI reported.

In another instance in January, a 30-year-old from Chitrakoot's Karvi area, who attempted suicide by consuming poison and uploaded a video of it on Instagram, Meta alerted the SMC at 5.40 pm about his post. Police identified the victim through a two-wheeler registration visible in his social media photos. Within 30 minutes, the police reached the victim's house, rushed him to CHC Mangwa and helped save his life.