Wordle solution changed for some after New York Times noticed unintentional ‘coincidence’
The New York Times has explained why it changed the Wordle solution yesterday away from ‘fetus’ for some users.
The word “fetus” was removed as a solution from Wordle for some users on Monday, The New York Times has confirmed.
The new owner of the popular word game released a statement on Monday explaining why some people might see different answers, saying it had “continued to discover challenges” since taking over its management.
“Today, for example, some users may see an outdated answer that seems closely connected to a major recent news event,” The Times said, likely referring to the leaked Roe v Wade draft judgment that could see abortion rights overturned in many parts of the United States.
“This is entirely unintentional and a coincidence – today’s original answer was loaded into Wordle last year,” it said.
It said it wanted Wordle to remain separate from news.
“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,” it said.
Australian users may also note that “fetus” is the American spelling, with Aussies using the spelling “foetus”.
The Times said the current Wordle technology made it difficult to change words that have already been loaded into the game.
“When we discovered last week that this particular word would be featured today, we switched it for as many solvers as possible,” it said.
It said people would not receive the outdated version if they had refreshed their browser window.
“But we know that some people won’t do that and, as a result, will be asked to solve the outdated puzzle,” it said.
“We want to emphasise that this is a very unusual circumstance.”
The New York Times bought the popular word game in January after it took the internet world by storm. It noted that creator Josh Wardle had built the game for a relatively small group of users.
“We’re now busy revamping Wordle’s technology so that everyone always receives the same word,” The Times said.
“We are committed to ensuring that tens of millions of people have a gratifying and consistent experience, every day.
“Thank you for your patience while we work on making improvements to Wordle. We wouldn’t be here without our amazing community of solvers.”
Originally published as Wordle solution changed for some after New York Times noticed unintentional ‘coincidence’
