algospeak
noun
a form of self-censored and coded language used on social media to bypass content moderation
What does algospeak mean?
Algospeak is a broad term for the alternative spellings, emoji substitutions, and euphemisms employed by social media users to avoid having their posts flagged, removed, or down-ranked by automated content-moderation systems. For example, a user might write seggs, rather than sex; unalive rather than dead or kill; leg booty, rather than LGBTQ.
Examples of algospeak
Algospeak is a way for users to talk about sensitive topics without being silenced. In the past few years, I‘ve seen algospeak evolve as users understand it more and creatively come up with ways to “cheat the system.”
—The Depaulia (DePaul University, Chicago, IL), 27 Apr. 2026
'Algospeak' refers to the language used to get around restrictions or 'shadowbanning' - the perception, real or imagined, that social media companies are limiting a post's visibility.
—And today, the teens use algospeak to avoid censors on TikTok, often using emojis in place of words.
—
Where does algospeak come from?
Algospeak is a blend of the initial portion of algorithm and the noun combining form -speak (“used to form especially nonce words denoting a particular kind of jargon”). The word appears to have begun being used online in 2021.
How is algospeak used?
Algospeak is a noun, although it also sees use in an attributive manner, in which it modifies another noun (algospeak substitutions). The word is new, but not particularly informal in nature.
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