AI system
- System
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Meta's suicide and self-injury detection and review pipeline on Instagram, with email alerts to the Uttar Pradesh Police Social Media Center at DGP headquarters
- Model
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Not assessed
- Release
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Not assessed
- Application developer
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Meta Platforms - Role
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Not assessed
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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An Instagram post with rat poison and messages of intent, after a breakup. Meta's detection and review system flagged it as a suicide risk at about 8:58 pm on 29 March 2026. A standing arrangement, in place since 2022 per Decode, under which Meta emails such alerts to the Uttar Pradesh Police Social Media Center. The center traces the account's phone number and location and forwards them to district police. A Raebareli police team able to reach the Mill Area address within 12 minutes and take him to a nearby hospital with his family.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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Police say Meta flagged the Instagram post at about 8:58 pm on 29 March and emailed the Uttar Pradesh Police Social Media Center. No source says whether Meta's classifier or a user report started the review. Decode reports that UP alerts arise from “artificial intelligence systems or user reports” reviewed by Meta staff. Everything after the email was human work. The center traced the phone number and location. Raebareli police reached the home in 12 minutes on the DGP's instructions, and a hospital treated him.
- AI contribution
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Police say Meta flagged the Instagram post at about 8:58 pm on 29 March and emailed the Uttar Pradesh Police Social Media Center. No source says whether Meta's classifier or a user report started the review. Decode reports that UP alerts arise from “artificial intelligence systems or user reports” reviewed by Meta staff. Everything after the email was human work. The center traced the phone number and location. Raebareli police reached the home in 12 minutes on the DGP's instructions, and a hospital treated him.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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A police team reached his home within 12 minutes
- Category
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Improved Physical Health
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People.
- Beneficiaries
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Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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A police team reached his home within 12 minutes
- Comparison
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reports escalated without Meta's pattern-recognition acceleration
- Results
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Reference: escalation speed of other reports. Result: escalated to local authorities twice as quickly as other reports.
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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Not assessed
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
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Not assessed
- Currency and prices
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Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
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Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Developer:
Meta Platforms. Operator: Meta Platforms with the Uttar Pradesh Police Social Media Center (Decode: Uttar Pradesh has been part of Meta's suicide-prevention program since 2022). - Jurisdictions
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Benefit: Raebareli,
India. Developer: 
United States. Operator: United States. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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The post is flagged and reviewed while the person can still be treated. Here the alert came at about 8:58 pm and police arrived within 12 minutes. The account leads to a phone number and a reachable address. Decode reports that UP police usually receive a phone number and trace the SIM and live location. Officers and a hospital are available at once. Officials said even a slight delay could have been fatal.
- Replication attempts
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Not assessed
- Later findings
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10 June 2026. A further Meta alert on 7 June 2026 led Meerut police to reach a 25-year-old within eight minutes of a suicide post and get him to hospital.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0159-source-0001–0008
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent, Developer
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People.
- Depth
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People: 4.
- Reasons
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People: An 18-year-old who had taken rat poison was reached within 12 minutes of Meta's 8:58 pm alert. He was treated in hospital and reported stable. Officials said even a slight delay could have been fatal. No clinician is quoted and the rodenticide is not identified. The life-saving reading rests on the police account.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Suicide prevention / online safety. Social media platforms and police.
- Purpose
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Meta's detection and review system is built to find posts and live videos that indicate suicide or self-injury risk. It routes them to trained reviewers and, in imminent cases, contacts local authorities. The Uttar Pradesh Police Social Media Center exists to act on those alerts. This rescue is that purpose.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2026 (precision unassessed). Updated: 22 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: 24892167a818…
References
- Other identifiers
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oecd_aim: 2026-04-01-6e56.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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6 revisions. Latest: 22 October 2026.
Sources
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News report Independent author
TNN (2026). Cops save 18-yr-old from suicide after Meta alert. The Times of India, Lucknow.
At around 8:58pm, Meta flagged the content and sent an alert via email to the social media centre at the UP police headquarters.
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News report Independent author
IANS (2026). Teen's life saved in 12 minutes: UP Police act swiftly after social media suicide alert. Telangana Today.
The information was received by the police through Meta. Action was taken within minutes, and he was saved.
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News report Independent author
a video related to suicide was posted on Instagram, triggering an alert through the Meta Alert System at the police headquarters
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News report Independent author
Mathrubhumi English (2026). 'Alvida' text, poison post, and a 12-min race against death: How UP police saved a teen.
police in Raebareli saved an 18-year-old youth after a distressing Instagram post triggered an automated alert through Meta's monitoring system
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News report Independent author
Srivastava, S. (2026). Meta Flagged A Suicide Post. Police Had Minutes To Save The Man. Decode (BOOM).
flagged—by artificial intelligence systems or user reports—as potentially indicating self-harm are reviewed by Meta and, in high-risk cases, shared with law enforcement partners
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News report Independent author
The Hans India (2026). Cops save man in 8 mins after suicide alert on Insta. The Hans India, 10 June 2026.
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Press release Developer
Card, C. (2018). How Facebook AI Helps Suicide Prevention. Meta Newsroom.
In serious cases, when it’s determined that there may be imminent danger of self harm, Facebook may contact local authorities.
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Press release Developer
Rosen, G. (2017). Getting Our Community Help in Real Time. Meta Newsroom.
Using pattern recognition to detect posts or live videos where someone might be expressing thoughts of suicide