A linguistic arms race is raging online – and it isn’t clear who’s winning.
On one side are social networks like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. These sites have become better and better at identifying and removing language and content that violates their community standards.
Social media users are on the other side, and they’ve come up with coded terminology designed to evade algorithmic detection. These expressions are collectively referred to as “algospeak.”
New terms like these are just the latest development in the history of linguistic concealment. Typically, such codes have been employed by small groups. Given the reach of social media, however, algospeak has the potential to more broadly influence everyday language.
An online standoff
Due to the sheer volume of posted content, social media platforms use algorithms to automatically flag and remove problematic material. The goal is to reduce the spread of misinformation as well as to block content considered offensive or inappropriate.
Yet many people have legitimate reasons for wanting to discuss sensitive topics online.
Victims of sexual assault, for example, may find it therapeutic to discuss their experiences with others. And those who struggle with thoughts of self-harm or suicide can benefit from online communities that provide support. But algorithms may identify and remove such content as a violation of a site’s terms of service.
But those who repeatedly run afoul of a site’s policies may find that their posts have been downranked or made less visible – a process called shadow banning. And repeated violations can lead to a temporary or permanent suspension.
To get past content filters, social media users are making use of coded language instead of the banned terms.
References to sex, for example, might be replaced by an innocuous word like “mascara.” “Unalive” has become an agreed-upon way to refer to death or suicide. “Accountant” takes the place of sex worker. “Corn” stands in for porn. “Leg booty” is LGBTQ.
A history of hidden language
Although circumventing content filters is a relatively new phenomenon, the use of coded terms to conceal one’s meaning is not.
For example, the 19th-century Russian satirist Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin made use of “Aesopian,” or allegorical, language. He and others used it to circumvent censorship in Tsarist Russia. For example, the forbidden term “revolution” would be replaced with a phrase like “the big job.”
Many subcultures have developed their own private codes that are only really understood by in-group members. These are referred to by a variety of names, such as argot, cant or slang.
Polari was a private language used by gay men in early 20th-century Britain, at a time when public sentiment against homosexuality was running high. “Rough trade,” for example, referred to a working-class sex partner.
Rhyming slang has also been employed to obfuscate one’s…