Man 'arrested and held in psychiatric unit' after posting fake suicide threat on Facebook

Shane Tusch threatened to hang himself from the Golden Gate Bridge in a post

(Getty)

A man was reportedly arrested by police and placed under mental health watch for nearly three days for posting a fake suicide threat on Facebook in order to test its suicide prevention programme.

Shane Tusch, an electrician from San Mateo, California, threatened to hang himself from the Golden Gate Bridge in a post, the BBC reports.

A Facebook user alerted the police to the post who responded by detaining him. Facebook also suspended his account.

Mr Tusch claimed he was subjected to medical tests and said the person who reported him was almost "a complete stranger".

He wrote on Facebook: "Facebook needs to leave suicide prevention to family and friends.

"There are no checks and balances! I was only proving a point that Facebook should not be involved in this.”

Facebook added extra tools in February to make it easier for users to report posts they’re worried about.

If a post is reported, a box appears to users saying: “Hi, a friend thinks you might be going through something difficult and asked us to look at your recent post”. It then gives users the option to “reach out to a friend or helpline worker” or to “get tips and support”.

If it believes there is an imminent threat, it can contact police and ask them to check on the user.

Facebook said it could not comment on the incident.

Anyone in need of confidential support can contact the Samaritans in the UK 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90.