There are some days when Wordle players get different answers depending on the browser they’re using to play the game. Today happens to be one of those days, but for a vastly different reason. The New York Times revised today’s Wordle answer because of its unintentional connection to the Supreme Court’s impending ruling on Roe v. Wade.
The original answer to Wordle 324 was supposed to be “fetus.” Wordle founder Josh Wardle scheduled that solution to show up today over a year ago, long before The New York Times bought the game at the height of its popularity in January. Everdeen Mason, editorial director for New York Times Games, said in a statement that it changed the answer to something entirely different because of its proximity to the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that leaked last week and contained a proposal to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, which sent shock waves across the country.
“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,” Mason said. “But because of the current Wordle technology, it can be 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.”
Some users may still get “fetus” as an answer if they have not refreshed their browser since the update. Others who did will see a completely different answer. Mason said that New York Times Games will be updating Wordle to make it consistent so that all players get the same answer every day.
Some game studios have voiced their opposition to the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, including Bungie. The Destiny maker said in its blog post last Wednesday that it will support the reproductive liberties of its employees, which ignited a furor among fans on social media who would rather see it stick to making games instead of getting involved with politics. It said that “this decision, should it become final, will have far-reaching consequences that will be felt for generations across socio-economic lines.”
