Without knowing the definition of a word that is used, communication is difficult. It is one of the reasons that “using plain language” is an actual course that government employees need to take. The course addresses using less jargon and more “common language”, especially for public-facing media.
But the importance of word definitions is much more than just that. Using a “common language” word isn’t a miraculous fix — especially if the word is misused to inflate an issue. The communication is still just as wrong, even though everyone understands the words being used, because the message being sent is wrong.
This morning, I watched an independent journalist share news about events that happened in Oregon last night (1 Feb 2026). It seems an incident was being described as a “riot” and as someone who had been there and observed it first hand, she wanted us to know it was no such thing. Personally, the government bluster after the George Floyd public murder (and the more recent Renee Good and Alex Pretti public murders) has made me take the use of the word “riot” with a grain of salt (especially when an actual riotous insurrection was aired live on television and then described as a “peaceful protest”.)
Nonviolent marches have been described as riots to justify the actions of police and ICE. This is deliberate messaging. If a person was not there to witness it themselves (as many Americans are not, since it’s a BIG country), the only thing they have is how it is described by others. And our government and our media are the ones that tell the story. (For more of my take on word use, check out this recent blog on verb use: https://taramoellerediting.com/2026/01/21/verbs-in-article-titles/.)
It is the same with the use of the description “domestic terrorist.” The Unabomber (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski, https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/unabomber) was a domestic terrorist; protesters bearing signs are not. Feeling uncomfortable about what someone says is not the same as feeling terror.
But I have digressed…
We all know that words matter.
“Underage women” are girls.
“Forty-year-old men” are not boys.
“Nonconsensual sex” is rape.
The use of alternate words for words that make some folks uncomfortable needs to stop. If a headline states that a 10-year old girl was raped, we know exactly what it means; so why don’t headlines say it? Why must they couch it in alternate words and phrases? To soften the blow? And for whom is that blow softened? We will be told it is to protect the victim, but it is too late to protect the victim; such softening of the story only protects the perpetrator.
But I digress…again…
Protesters are not “domestic terrorists”.
Protests are not “riots”.
Homosexuals are not “sexual predators”–and stories that contain them are not inherently sexually explicit.
These switches in words and phrases are not used to soften anything; they are meant to inflame negative sentiment. These words are being used to manifest a hatred for folks who are simply exercising their fundamental rights to organize and protest, to live their life.
Word choice should be specific to portray truth, especially in the news and communications from our government.
I can remember a workshop I gave at my work to engineers who were being tasked with writing extensive test reports. I provided an example of good technical communication where two systems being compared were always identified exactly by their full name, and one asked “but what about varying words to keep interest?”
My reply was that truth and understanding should come before making something interesting. No one reads a report for entertainment; it is read to gain knowledge. The asker nodded and was quiet a moment and then kind of smiled and said “that makes sense.”
We as a society need to stop expecting entertainment and enjoyment from absolutely everything. Sometimes, we just need to have the facts stated, plainly, and expect nothing but truth.
I see this when I take courses to “improve” my copywriting (I think I’ll just stick to editing and writing stuff folks know is fiction, tyvm); how to use clickbait, what is clickbait, how to influence your potential buyer, how to create and write a sales funnel…I could go on.
These are marketing strategies that have bled into legitimate journalism. Newspapers need folks to click on their article to read it online, so they can get paid. And since folks are more drawn to something sensational or tantalizing, they use these strategies to get that click. The tawdry details of a scandal are what make the news!
And now, we as a people are used to it. So much so, that we barely recognize it for what it is.
Marketing.
Entertainment.
Propaganda. (definition is here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda)
But then, maybe that’s the point of these communications. Those sending the messages are not sending truth, they are sending a form of fiction, and because it is “fun to read,” we absorb it like a sponge soaks up spilled milk.
Tara Moeller - Editing 