The New York Times announced the solution for the word game Wordle was “outdated” and appears to be “closely connected to a major recent news event.”
According to The Hill, multiple reports show the original answer to the game on Monday was “fetus.”
In a statement, the Times said, “It’s been just over three months since The New York Times acquired Wordle, the hugely popular puzzle created by Josh Wardle. Wordle continues to delight millions of people every day, but as we move it over to The Times’s technology, we have continued to discover challenges.”
The statement continues, “Today, for example, some users may see an outdated answer that seems closely connected to a major recent news event. This is entirely unintentional and a coincidence — today’s original answer was loaded into Wordle last year.”
According to the Times, the publication takes “our role seriously as a place to entertain and escape, and we want Wordle to remain distinct from the news.”
The Times explained because of the 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.”
Users will not receive the outdated version of the game if they refresh their browser window, as the Times noted.
“But we know that some people won’t do that and, as a result, will be asked to solve the outdated puzzle,” the Times wrote.
Read the statement below:
Some of you may have a different Wordle answer than the official answer. Please refresh your browser to receive the correct answer word. For more information, please read our editor’s note. https://t.co/3dY5nRu7yu
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 9, 2022
Concluding the statement, the Times said, “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.”
It continued, “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.”
The statement comes just a week after Politico published a leaked draft decision showing the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted last month shows a majority of Americans believe the court should uphold the ruling.
Only 28% believe it should be overturned.