Grammarly Calls You Out If You Type Out ‘Chinese Virus’ Or ‘Wuhan Virus’
Image via Shutterstock
President Trump will probably not pass Grammarly’s new sensitivity checks, having openly used the term “Chinese Virus” in the past.
The popular AI-based writing and language checker has rolled out new suggestions to flag heavily-disputed phrases like “Chinese Virus” and “Wuhan Virus” in text documents, urging writers to instead replace them with the terms approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), “COVID-19” and “coronavirus.”
“We strive to support conscientious writing and discourage bias in our product,” the company explained in a blog post.
It added that the substitutes “[follow] guidelines put in place by WHO in 2015, which discourage naming diseases using geographic locations, group names, and other nomenclature that can lead to cultural stigmatization.”
Grammarly not only evaluates a person’s spelling and grammar, but also looks out for sensitivity, tone, and bias in texts.
However, Fast Company pointed out the inaccuracy of recommending “COVID-19” as a swap for “Chinese Virus” or “Wuhan Virus,” as it is not an exact synonym for the virus. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus and isn’t the virus itself.
Responding about the supposed discrepancy, a spokesperson for Grammarly said the replacement “balances common usage with official recommendations,” elaborating that the words “COVID-19” and “coronavirus” are often used interchangeably.
“It’s not always possible for Grammarly to detect whether someone is intending to reference the virus or the disease,” they furthered.
Grammarly isn't a fan of calling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus." pic.twitter.com/m9xSFyuN3M
— Micah ‘Mortality’ Rate (@Micah_Rate) April 2, 2020
Grammar app Grammarly says it recommends people don't use phrase "Chinese" or "Wuhan" virus https://t.co/MODdXO2kdk #GetOnGab pic.twitter.com/bKuzlXLWm9
— 🇺🇸 Daniel James Gullo 🇺🇸 (@danielgullo) April 8, 2020
[via Fast Company, cover image via Shutterstock]
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