Spectator World reporter Amber Athey revealed this banned word list from Politico in a report Monday, indicating that it was part of an internal company initiative started in the last couple years so the outlet could avoid "elevating transphobic voices."
Athey described how, "after several complaints within the company of its own reporting on trans issues and a 2021 seminar featuring "three transgender individuals charged with helping the newsroom learn to report on transgender issues," "radical views on gender permeated the newsroom more generally."
Then, "A few weeks after the transgender seminar, Politico appointed a new standards editor to oversee the tone of editorial content. Anita Kumar, a former White House correspondent, was made senior editor for standards and ethics," Athey reported.
After the new addition to its team, Politico sent out its style guide. The Spectator author described it, saying, "A style guide sent to staff in January 2022 reads more like a game of Media Matters mad libs than a document for journalists. It suggested some noninclusive words that Politico reporters should avoid using in their work."
Athey provided style guide’s list of banned words. It included "Mankind, Man-made, Manhunt," and "Crack the whip," spelling out that the latter is "unacceptable because of origins in slavery."