Word Substitution
Outsmarting the Comment Censor AI on MSN
Name-calling like children on a playground or cursing in a bar

Summary
MSN tries to keep comments on their articles civil
All comments on articles are checked by an AI which rejects comments containing specific words or phrases. If it is unsure, it sends the comment off for human review.
Also, position matters. A primary comment may be accepted as a general comment, but the same comment responding to another comment may be rejected because it is seen as personal.
Writers have been clever about finding replacements for words that the AI does not like. Once one is used, it spreads like wildfire.
Here are examples from two commenters. The full names are not included, but the articles are in the references.
Examples
I became fascinated when one commenter “R…D...” used a lot of gutter language. He had such language in 29 replies to everyone under one main comment. Here are his names with some substitutions describing other commenters:
Replacements
- MORE ON (moron) — 9 times
- Bull + Sht (icon instead of word) — 2 times
- G. Damn (God Damn) — 6 times
Accepted as Written
- Stupid (implied or stated) — 10 times
- Dimwit — 1 time
- Hypocrite — 1 time
He called someone a name 21 times and made general cursing comments 7 times.
Other general examples
Referring to the writer of another comment with the word “You” is a sure way to get rejected by the AI. So, people start referring to female sheep! Here are examples of that, plus a couple of other common ones:
Common replacements
- ewe (you) — most commonly used substitution (not female sheep)
- ewerself (yourself)
- 1D10t (Idiot)
- Gd’s (God’s)
Notice that some substitutions replace letters with numbers or insert spaces.
Most resort to name-calling when they can’t answer a comment with a valid position or statement. I wonder if they usually talk that way to their friends and acquaintances. For example, I wrote that I lived near the border for 30 years. Here was the response from “T…W…”:
“But suit ewerself. If ewe live near there as ewe state or lie, then ewe know…”
I could only conclude that the writer is obsessed with female sheep. He certainly didn’t live up to his pen name.
Conclusion
Like children on a grade-school playground, many resort to name-calling when they can’t answer a comment with a valid position or statement. They show the maturity and credibility of a fifth grader.
Setting up the AI was really clever of Microsoft.
Note to readers: Add a new rejected word and replacement in a comment. I will copy it to the story.
References
Article #1 ‘I did nothing wrong’: Trump snaps at reports of more election tampering (msn.com)
- “R…D…” replied to those under this main comment: — Timothy DeShannon “The depth of criminality by Trump and his cultist maga base to overturn a free and fair election is staggering. He should be in prison for his actions in Michigan alone.”
Article #2 Trump Rips Apart Biden’s Presidency: “He Is The Worst President That We’ve Had In The History Of Our Country” (msn.com)
- “T…W…” comments
My experience:
- Rejects writing comments
