![Elon Musk calls out Microsoft Word’s ‘inclusivity checker’ after it ‘scolds’ him for using the word insane](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/bltb5d92757ac1ee045/blt29354f765b11f413/6581b2346dc2b5040ad1a24b/Elon_Musk_and_Microsoft.png%3Fcrop%3D297%2C297%2Cx3%2Cy6)
Elon Musk has not exactly shied away from issues around free speech - just ask any Twitter, or rather X, user or any of the many controversial figures he’s brought back to the platform in the last year.
The billionaire and self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” has now also complained that he has been scolded for using the word “insane” in a document.
![Elon Musk posted on X about a word suggestion from Microsoft Word.](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/bltb5d92757ac1ee045/bltcb0b61f41a9fade1/6581acaedbd72b040a9703ce/Musk_Tweet_Microsoft_.png)
This comes as Microsoft Word's inclusiveness spell-check feature suggested that the term “implies mental health bias.”
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He also found that when typing “11,000lbs towing capacity”, Microsoft suggested he should consider a different perspective, such as writing “11,000lbs (about twice the weight of an elephant).”
A community note has since been added to his tweet stating: “This feature has been available in Microsoft Word since at least 2020 and has to be turned on manually.”
On X, community notes are used to “create a better informed world” by users adding context to “potentially misleading posts”, and if enough people rate the note as helpful, it will be publicly shown on a post.
In response, Musk argued that the community note was “both incorrect here and should not use information from a company’s website as the fundamental source of truth about their products.”
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According to Microsoft, their editing tools were upgraded in early 2020, including a check for inclusive language, but it was not switched on by default.
![Elon Musk shared a suggested word change from Microsoft Word that has sparked debate.](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/bltb5d92757ac1ee045/blt41006db8f737caaa/658031ad8df436040addc12a/GettyImages-1128344984.jpg)
The AI tool also suggests gender neutral terms, such as changing ‘landlord’ to property owner, or ‘businessman’ to ‘businessperson.’
This isn’t the first time Musk has shown he is a supporter of free speech - earlier this month he let conspiracy theorist Alex Jones return to X.
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Jones was banned from X, then known as Twitter, in 2018 and is most well-known for falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was fake.
Musk allowed Jones back on the site after he ran a poll, with around 70% of respondents voting to lift the ban.
Microsoft has been contacted for comment.