Late last week, The Associated Press published a hypocritical Elon Musk smear article following the Twitter platform's name switch to "X" and the term "tweets" to "posts." In typical fashion, AP pushed the idea that Twitter was a "safe space" before Musk took over and claimed that: "Changing language is not quite so simple."
In case you don't see the irony in the legacy media's headline, let Townhall break it down for you. AP uses sly language to imply the changed terminology is ill-advised, stating that we've been tweeting for well over a decade and noting that "tweet" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011 and was also entered into the Associated Press Stylebook in 2010. However, the media company, which largely rules a dictatorship over accepted press language, had no problem upending a centuries-old English language practice by allowing the widespread use of "they/them" as singular pronouns for those who don't "identify" with the pronouns "he" or "she."
It doesn't stop there. The stylebook also insists on using scientifically confusing terms like "gender-affirming care" (instead of transgender surgery), "sex assigned at birth," "pregnant people" (implying anybody other than a woman can get pregnant), and allows for many other gender identities to appease a small percentage of the American population, while shaming those who get the new language wrong (AP):
Use the term sex assigned at birth instead of biological sex, birth gender, was identified at birth as, born a girl and the like.
Avoid terms like biological sex, along with biological male and biological female, which opponents of transgender rights sometimes use to refer to transgender women and transgender men, respectively. They are also redundant because sex is inherently biological.
Generally avoid the often false terms groom or groomer, which some people use to stoke fears about LGBTQ+ people's interactions with children, or education about LGBTQ+ people, comparing their actions to those of child molesters.
Since not all people fall under one of two categories for sex or gender — as in the cases of nonbinary and intersex people — avoid references to both, either or opposite sexes or genders.
Do not equate a gender transition with becoming a man, becoming a woman or the outdated terminology sex change.
Don't use phrasing that misgenders people or implies doubt, such as former men's swimmer or currently competes as a woman. Instead, formerly competed with men, current member of the women's team, etc.
AP's press style book, universally recognized by universities and media companies as the apparent media standard for unbiased language, also openly expresses support for so-called youth transgender medical treatment and transgender athletic participation in the gender of one's choosing:
Recent moves by athletic associations, legislatures and school districts seek to restrict the ability of transgender athletes, and in particular transgender women, to compete in a way that aligns with their gender. Proponents and opponents of such restrictions each point to a limited number of studies to support their viewpoints.
Opponents of youth transgender medical treatment say there's no solid proof of purported benefits, cite widely discredited research and say children shouldn't make life-altering decisions they might regret.
Treatment typically begins with an evaluation for gender dysphoria, or the distress caused when gender identity doesn’t match a person’s assigned sex. If children meet guidelines and are showing signs of puberty, they can begin taking puberty blockers — fully reversible prescription medication that pauses sexual maturation, typically given in injections or skin implants.
If the gender dysphoria persists and they meet other criteria, teens can begin hormone treatments that prompt sexual development, including changes in appearance.
The article went on to site this quote from Nick Bilton, the author of “Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal” about Twitter’s origins: "Language has always come from the people that use it on a day-to-day basis. And it can’t be controlled, it can’t be created, it can’t be morphed. You don’t get to decide it.” Ironically, whether it is right or wrong to use transgender "slurs" or "deadname," the AP stylebook is enforcing language instead of letting the majority decide what words to use.
AP and almost all other news conglomerates following this woke styleguide constantly refer to policies and bills as taking away the "rights" of transgender individuals, when in reality the rulings are simply opposing the desire of this group to not be offended or against allowing the LGBTQ language and purported "transgender care" to infiltrate American youth in schools. In contrast, Elon Musk has an actual right to change the name of his company and the terminology within it.
However, AP is correct that he cannot stop people from using the term "tweet" and saying the new name "X" will be hard for users to adopt, if ever. Given that this term is, by their own admission, a little over 10-years-old, whereas the language they expect you to use contradicts generations of language, you'd think mass media would be more sensitive to misgendering mistakes.
Perhaps the most egregious attack, the language that shows their easily missed political agenda against Elon, is the implication that Twitter's symbol and brand represented a happy place before the takeover:
As Twitter grew into a global communications platform and struggled with misinformation, trolls and hate speech, its friendly brand image remained. The blue bird icon evokes a smile, like the Amazon up-turned-arrow smile — in contrast to the X that Musk has imposed.
The bird represented a vision of Twitter as a friendly place “where everyone can weigh in and chat,” Grasser said.
For now, X.com is still, essentially Twitter.com, even as the blue bird and other playful tidbits start to disappear.
“There used to be a saying inside Twitter that Twitter was the company that couldn’t kill itself. I think that still rings true, whether it’s called Twitter or X,” Bilton said.
“I think that it’s kind of become a fabric of society. And even Elon Musk may not be able to break it.”
The article uses convincing language, like, "Even Elon Musk may not be able to break it," "Essentially Twitter.com," and "Musk has imposed," to further push their idea that Musk is, against society's wishes, making a mistake.