NOTE: Story contains a spoiler for Monday Wordle players.
NEW YORK — Wordle isn’t intentionally trying to get in on current events.
Monday’s result for the addictive word scramble game came with a reminder about the ongoing Roe v. Wade debate, but the New York Times, which purchased the online game earlier this year, said it was completely accidental.
For many users, the correct five-letter word spelled out “FETUS,” the collection of cells that eventually develop from an embryo to a baby.
“This is entirely unintentional and a coincidence — today’s original answer was loaded into Wordle last year,” the Times said in a statement Monday.
“At New York Times Games, we take our role seriously as a place to entertain and escape, and we want Wordle to remain distinct from the news.”
The Times said it attempted to switch the word for as many users as possible (everyone else got SHINE), but that the technology didn’t allow them to make the swap easily.
“We want to emphasize that this is a very unusual circumstance. When we acquired Wordle in January, it had been built for a relatively small group of users,” the newspaper said.
“We’re now busy revamping Wordle’s technology so that everyone always receives the same word. We are committed to ensuring that tens of millions of people have a gratifying and consistent experience, every day.”
After buying Wordle in late January, the Times made other alterations to its word list, cutting out some “insensitive or offensive” words.
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