BW#231 MSM

Men who have sex with men

‘MSM’ is on the Banned Words list, and when I first looked it up months ago, ‘men who have sex with men’ popped up first. It is a common abbreviation in health research. Today, however, what pops up is the dietary supplement ‘methylsulfonylmethane,’ followed by ‘mainstream media.’ RFK Jr frequently uses ‘MSM’ to refer to methylsulfonylmethane, and his crew includes big fans of nutrition supplements, so this word floating to the top of the internet search perhaps reflects the impact of the Banned Words list’s leading to removal of terms from government websites. Search engines have prioritized government publications and government leaders as reliable sources, so the common use of MSM in scientific research has subsequently slipped away down the search engines’ lists, replaced with what is apparently the hip new HHS lingo.

Sources of the banned words list:

https://pen.org/banned-words-list/

https://newrepublic.com/post/193395/agriculture-department-ban-words-safe-drinking-water

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/28/energy-department-climate-change-emissions-banned-words-00583649