For some reason quietly, X has started enforcing revised rules, detailed in its platform guidelines for users – among other things, adding a section to the “Abuse and Harassment” that concerns the use of pronouns, and speech referring to persons “transitioning” (in terms of transgenderism).

The “amended” rules came into force at some point between January 24 and 27 this year, and should an X user be found to “purposefully” address another using a pronoun different than what that user has chosen for themselves, they can expect to be (and they ostensibly already are) punished by having their posts’ visibility on the platform “reduced.”

It’s not entirely clear if this constitutes straight-forward shadowbanning, i.e., if the supposed guidelines violator is immediately notified of this; but given the nebulous nature of any attempt to determine if someone is doing this “purposefully” – the revised rules spell out that those addressed using “the wrong pronouns” will be consulted.

Some see this as a slow return to the policies and general trends in content moderation/censorship that once blossomed so wildly on Twitter.

What is undeniable is that the “Abuse and Harassment” guidelines now go into the pronouns of it all, although they were not mentioned in the June 2023 version.

But now they feature under the section, “Insults.”

The January 2024 version includes a subtitle, “Use of Prior Names and Pronouns.”

It reads as follows: “We will reduce the visibility of posts that purposefully use different pronouns to address someone other than what that person uses for themselves, or that use a previous name that someone no longer goes by as part of their transition.”

Read More