Microsoft Word's Warning About Using Non-Inclusive Language Goes Viral

An Elon Musk claim that Microsoft is forcing inclusivity on its users has been met with skepticism, including on Musk's own social network.

The X owner who has 166.3 million followers stirred up debate on Friday by insinuating that Microsoft is pushing a cultural and social narrative through its software.

"Microsoft Word now scolds you if you use words that aren't 'inclusive'!" Musk wrote in a post, accompanied by a photo showing that the typed word "insane" was suggested to be modified due to "implying mental health bias."

Newsweek reached out to Microsoft via email for comment.

His accusations were echoed by others including GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who wrote, "The best way to control the mind of a society is to control its language first."

But a "community note" attributed to Musk's post, on his own platform, refers to a three-year-old article by the website How-To Geek about Microsoft's inclusivity features in its Office 365 programs.

Other websites have older content relating to the feature, which is supposedly only available in the version of Word that comes with more recent Microsoft 365 subscriptions and software updated after 2019.

Musk later refuted the community note, however, writing in an additional post: "Community Notes is both incorrect here and should not use information from a company's website as the fundamental source of truth about their products."

The feature, which must be manually turned on by a user via Word's "editor" settings, includes the following suggestions for references related to the following biases: age, culture, disability, gender, race, socioeconomics, mental health and sexual orientation. It also suggests different words or phrasing for ethnic slurs, gendered pronouns, and gender-specific language.

"Microsoft technology reaches every part of the globe, so it's critical that all our communications are inclusive and diverse," reads one Microsoft-published article from October 2022 about bias-free communication.

It alludes to avoiding terms like "mankind" and avoiding gender-specific pronouns so as to not stereotype.

"Don't use slang, especially if it could be considered cultural appropriation, such as 'spirit animal,'" the article also reads.

The inclusivity language is referenced by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, just one example of an institution of higher learning that has adopted inclusive language as part of its policy on gender-inclusive language and other forms of communication.

"The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community," reads one university document regarding the language and implementing it. "Consistent with that commitment, gender-inclusive terms (chair; first-year student; upper-level student, etc.) should be used on University documents, websites and policies."

In November 2022, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released an inclusive language guide "to support member schools and conferences in implementing these guidelines in their efforts to foster diverse, inclusive and equitable environments."