Mother Jones’ Style Guide

Mother Jones’ style guide, published below for the first time in our nearly 50-year history as the longest-running investigative nonprofit newsroom in the country, is a living document that’s constantly updated to reflect the choices and changes in language that shape our reporting. Where topics aren’t covered, we default to the Associated Press Stylebook and Merriam-Webster in that order, but ours takes precedence, so let us know if anything is glaringly missing from ours that doesn’t appear in theirs. Hit us up with tips, told-you-sos, copy challenges, and grammatical grievances at styleguide@motherjones.com. Click the highlighted text throughout to see which entries we most want feedback on.

Tip: Hit the arrow at the right to return to the table of contents.

Table of Contents

Capitalization, Punctuation, Grammar, General Mother Jones Style
Gender, Sexuality
Race, Ethnicity
Names of People and Places; Languages; Nationalities
Immigration
Mental Health, Physical Health, Ability, Disability
Elections, Information
Scientific Reporting
Religion
Common Legal Distinctions
Attribution, Captions, Credits
Slurs
Print Magazine–Specific
Web-Specific
Videos
Podcasts
Social Media
Newsletters, Fundraising Emails
Corrections, Updates
Preferred Spelling
Contact Us

Capitalization, Punctuation, Grammar, General Mother Jones Style

Search our guide first, then AP, then Merriam-Webster.

abbreviations, acronyms
• Well-known acronyms don’t need spelling out, even on first use: ACLU, AIDS, BDSM, CEO, CIA, CPR, CT scan, DIY, DMV, FBI, FDA, HIV, IQ, IRS, MIT, MRI, NAACP, NASA, NASCAR, Nasdaq, NATO, NBA, NBC, NFL, NHL, NGO, NSFW, PGA, SUV, TSA, UNESCO, UNICEF, YMCA, and others as they come up. For less-common ones, spell out on first use and add the acronym in parentheses only if it’s mentioned again later and may not be clear. If the acronym is mentioned in the same paragraph as the first spelled-out reference, no need to put the acronym in parentheses. Plural acronyms take lowercase “s”: She’s got three DUIs on her record.

• Do not SHOUT IN ALL CAPS for companies or brands unless they’re actual acronyms. We’re not their megaphones. Examples: Fox (not FOX), Politico (not POLITICO), Facebook (not FACEBOOK), but C-SPAN is all caps because it’s Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network. We got you, C-SPAN. In all other cases, stay true to name for accuracy, such as eBay, YouTube, ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed News. (This is called CamelCase capitalization.) Ebay when starting a sentence.

• Omit periods in academic/medical degrees: BA, MA, MD, JD, PhD

• Use an apostrophe before decade abbreviations like ’80s, ’90s. The apostrophe is added where characters are left out: 1990s → ’90s.

ampersands
Use ampersands only in names that have them (e.g., Johnson & Johnson; Covington & Burling), common expressions that use them (e.g., Q&A), and social headlines limited by space. Otherwise resist the temptation.

as told to
Italicize as-told-to intros if two paragraphs max; any longer and italicized intros become strenuous to read, so don’t italicize if three grafs or more. Mark the start of interviewees’ words with bold section lead like this.

awards
Lowercase when abbreviating, like best actor Oscar, but title case for official award names like Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play.

band names
Lowercase “the,” as in the Rolling Stones, the Beatles.

brands as verbs
Capitalize Googled, Photoshopped, Zoomed, Maced, Tased, etc.

classes
Capitalize academic classes like Class of 2020. Lowercase classes of felonies: class D felony (no hyphen).

clauses in the Constitution
Lowercase the due process clause, the equal protection clause, the commerce clause, the establishment clause, etc.

colons
• Lowercase if the words form a fragment after the colon: like this.
• Capitalize if the words form a full sentence after the colon: Here’s an example.

commas
• Use serial commas: one, two, and three.
• Use commas in university names like University of California, Berkeley, on first reference, and UC Berkeley on later references.

ellipses
No space on either side…like this…when omitting words from a quote. Always three periods, not four, even when connecting a complete sentence and a fragment. (Four is technically correct in that case, but three suffices.)

em dash (option+shift+hyphen)
An em dash is the longest—like this—without spaces before or after.
Use an em dash to attribute quotes: “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.” —Mary Harris Jones

en dash (option+hyphen)
The en dash is longer than a hyphen (– vs. -) because the en dash has more work to do: It’s pulling the weight of multiple words before or after it. Use an en dash for open compounds:

San Francisco–based artist
Nobel Prize–winning scientist
post–World War II novelist

An en dash works like this: If an artist is based in San Francisco, that artist is San Francisco–based because the en dash connects two words, “San Francisco,” with a modifier after it, “–based.” The linking device is longer because it has more weight to pull. Also use en dashes for ranges, sports scores, voting results, and spans, like the 2020–2021 school year.

headlines
For headlines in print and on our website, use title case. (For social headlines, use sentence case.) Convert to title case automatically at CapitalizeMyTitle.com, but make sure AP is selected in that converter, and see exceptions below. Title case means this:

• Lowercase articles, prepositions, and conjunctions with fewer than four letters: a, an, and, as, at, by, for, if, in, nor, of, on, or, out, per, the, to, up, via, yet. (“But” is the exception, which gets capitalized.)

• Capitalize idioms like “Break Up” and “Put Up With” when a preposition is part of the meaning.

• Always cap the first and last words in a headline, and always the first word after a colon in headlines.

• Cap both words in hyphenated compounds like Government-Linked.

• Two-sentence headlines get end punctuation: “Here’s an Example. Like So.” Use double quotes (not single quotes) in headlines as needed.

• Web deks always take end punctuation, even if they’re not complete sentences.

subheaders within a story
Title Case subheaders within a story, like so. 

hyphens, compounds
• If a compound is hyphenless in AP or Webster, do not hyphenate. For example, real estate is open in AP and Webster, so do not hyphenate real estate agent. Similarly, don’t hyphenate health care reform, high school student, fossil fuel industry, free trade agreement, public school teacher, special interest group, social media dustup, nursing home legislation, and other compounds where there’s no possibility of misreading and a hyphen does not help the reader. Also don’t hyphenate reproductive rights advocates or abortion rights advocates. 

• Hyphenate second-biggest, second-largest, etc.

• “-ly” adverbs are never hyphenated: easily remembered rule, irresistibly good cheesecake.

• Hyphenate “well-” compounds before a noun but not after: A well-known fact, she is well known.

interior and paraphrased dialogue
Generally enclose imagined dialogue and thoughts in quotation marks: “I had better hurry,” thought Carlos. But in all cases, observe a writer’s preference if the writer has made a clear stylistic choice.

italics
• Italicize titles of:
blogs, boats, books (including comic books), dance productions (e.g., Dance of the Seven Veils, but not styles like the waltz), journals, legal cases, magazines and newspapers (but not news services like the Associated Press and Reuters), newsletters, movies/films, music albums, longer musical compositions (like symphonies), online publications (like Salon and Vice), paintings, plays, podcasts/radio shows, sculptures/installations, series of articles (i.e., column names), and TV shows

• Use quotes (no italics) for titles of:
acts within larger productions (like “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” in The Nutcracker), articles (in magazines and newspapers), cartoons, essays, illustrations, lectures/panel events (e.g., “In Conversation” series), official titles of reports (but lowercase without quotes for shorthand like the Mueller report), photos/photographs, poems, short stories (or novellas within a collection), songs, and TV episodes (e.g., Breaking Bad, “Granite State”)

• Capitalize (no quotes, no italics) titles of:
board games, book series/reference books/holy books, computer programs, news services, video games, and web addresses, except in directing readers to them (e.g., See motherjones.com/about.)

• Italicize names of magazines and newspapers, but lowercase and don’t italicize “the”: the New York Times. “The” can be capped for publications in rare cases for clarity, like when italics are not possible on social media and the New Yorker could mean a person or the magazine, so cap The New Yorker on social media or say the New Yorker magazine. Note: Times of London, not London Times. (Do not italicize pub names when listing with their postal addresses.)

• Italicize online publications like HuffPost and Salon. Also italicize the channels and verticals of online publications, like Motherboard on Vice.

• Always italicize Mother Jones and Reveal.

• Italicize foreign words that don’t appear in Webster, on first use. Don’t italicize on later uses.

legislative acts and bills
Capitalize when specific: the Violence Against Women Act, the Brady Bill, but the telecommunications bill. For House bills, use HR followed by a space and the number: HR 32. For Senate bills: SB 32. Lowercase “legislature” except in official names like the New York State Legislature. Always lowercase “executive order.” If abbreviating Proposition or Proposal, include a period: Prop. 1, for example.

mottos and slogans
Use title case and quotation marks, like “Make America Great Again.”

movements
Capitalize if the name is a motto or slogan; lowercase otherwise: Occupy Wall Street, the Occupy movement, Black Lives Matter, Black Power, the Black Power movement, civil rights movement, gay rights movement, transgender rights movement, labor movement, environmental movement. Capitalize the Black Arts Movement to distinguish the 1960s movement from other movements of Black arts.

numbers
Generally spell out zero through nine and use numerals for 10 and higher.
Exceptions:

ages
Numerals for all ages: 5-year-old boy. 10-year-old girl. She’s in her 20s. The baby is 2 months old. Exception: twentysomething, thirtysomething, fortysomething. Use “ages” instead of “aged” (e.g., voters ages 18 to 34, not aged 18 to 34), and “-age” instead of “-aged” (e.g., voting-age adults; underage). Exception: Use middle-aged, not middle-age.

beginning a sentence with a number (or range of numbers)
Spell out: Ten thousand students ran 10 miles. Five hundred to six hundred students ran 12 miles.

charts, timelines, graphics, statistical boxes
Always use numerals for integers, and generally spell out fractions,
like one-third, rather than using true fractions, like ⅓—but this is up
to the art department’s and data reporter’s discretion. X-axis and Y-axis intervals and plot points should be evenly spaced and consistently marked. Use symbols (%, $, °C or °F).

Constitutional amendments
Spell out single digits and use numerals for 10 and higher:
First Amendment, Second Amendment, 14th Amendment

courts
Numerals: 2nd District Court, 5th Circuit, 11th Circuit

dates
November
November 2020
November 3, 2020
the November 3, 2020, election (use all those commas!)
Always spell out months. No comma if there’s no specific day: May+June 2021 issue.

decades
Always numerals: 1960s, the ’60s (okay to use interchangeably).
For 2000–2009, use “early 2000s” or specify the years. Avoid “the ’00s” (facetious is okay!), and “the teens.” Use “mid-2000s” only to mean midcentury; it does not mean mid-decade.

decimals
Use plural nouns with numbers less than 1: 0.7 pounds, 0.2 meters.

distance, height, temperature, other measurements
Always numerals: 5 feet 8 inches, 12-inch pizza, 3 miles, 75 mph, 7-inch record, 8 degrees

districts
Always numerals: 4th District

Celsius, Fahrenheit
Spelled out in body copy, but in videos, charts, timelines, and statistical boxes, use °C or °F.

fractions
Spell out and hyphenate: Two-thirds of registered voters didn’t vote. Exception: Use fractions like 2/3 for charts and stat boxes. For combinations of whole numbers and fractions, use decimals like 8.5-by-11-inch paper.

headline numbers
Spell out zero through nine and use numerals for 10 and higher, with the exceptions outlined above and below (e.g., units of measurement, percentages, ranked lists, dates).

millions, billions
Always numerals: 4 million people, 10 billion cars. M and B are optional in headlines, videos, social copy, graphs, print sidebars, and wherever space is tight (e.g., $70M or $70 million).

money
Always numerals after a currency sign: $7 billion, $33.90, $80
Always numerals with the word “cent”: 2 cents, 8 cents
Use an en dash (option+hyphen) for a range: $64–$72 million
Do not hyphenate if used adjectivally: $150 billion market

odds, margins, ratios, vote results
Always numerals: Her chance of winning is 3-to-1; a 3–1 chance (en dash).
Vote totals: The measure passed the Senate, 66–34 (en dash).

percent
Always numerals: 3 percent, 10 percent, the 1 percenters
For ranges of percentages: 2 to 3 percent; 9 to 10 percent
Spell out “percent” everywhere but videos, charts, data sidebars, and some social headlines, which use % (when space is tight).
Use “percentage” only without a number: “What percentage of voters agree? The poll says 40 percent.”
Do not hyphenate as a modifier: It’s “80 percent chance,” not “80-percent chance.”

ranges
Always numerals when a range involves a number below 10 and a number above nine:
It took 8 to 10 weeks to complete the project. A 7- to 14-day period.

ranks
Abbreviate and use numerals: Her album reached No. 1 on the charts. But “number one” for steps in a process: Number one, wash your hands.

series
The Warriors won Game 7 (not Game Seven) of the NBA finals.
The Eagles won Super Bowl 52 (not Super Bowl LII).

time
Use numerals with a.m. and p.m.: 4 a.m., 6 p.m., with a space.
Use ET and PT, not EST/EDT/PST/PDT, but time zones are not needed if the setting is clear; only useful in listings of broadcasts or event times. When including both, lead with the time zone most relevant in context; for example: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Spell out numbers less than 10 when combined with “morning,” “evening,” and “o’clock,” like six in the evening, but lean toward 6 p.m. instead.

parentheses
(A period goes inside parentheses if they contain a complete sentence.)
A period goes outside parens if they’re contained by a sentence (like this).

possessive
Add only an apostrophe, not an extra “s,” for names and singular proper nouns ending in “s”: Mother Jones’, not Mother Jones’s; Kamala Harris’, not Kamala Harris’s; Congress’, not Congress’s. Exceptions: acronyms ending in “s” like CBS’s and PBS’s (add apostrophes).

prefixes

anti-
Hyphenate: anti-abortion, anti-aircraft, anti-discrimination, anti-labor, anti-racism, anti-tank, anti-vax, anti-vaxxer, and whenever a hyphen helps clarify.
Close: antibiotic, antibody, anticlimax, anticoagulant, antidemocratic, antidepressant, antidote, antifa, antifreeze, antigen, antihistamine, antiknock, antimatter, antimony, antioxidant, antiparticle, antipasta, antiperspirant, antiphony, antipollution, antiproton, antipsychotic, antiseptic, antiserum, antisocial, antithesis, antitoxin, antitrust, antitussive, antiwar

co-
Hyphenate: co-author, co-chair, co-found, co-defendant, co-host, co-owner, co-partner, co-pilot, co-respondent (in a divorce suit), co-signer, co-sponsor, co-star, co-worker, co-writer
Close: coequal, coexist, cooperate, coordinate, copay, comorbidity

half-
Hyphenate: half-baked, half-cocked, half-dozen, half-hour, half-life, half-mile, half-moon, half-truth
Close: halfback, halfhearted, halftime, halftone, halftrack
Two words: half dollar, half sibling, half size
(Hyphenate if not listed here.)

mega-
Close.

mid-
Hyphenate if it’s followed by a number, like mid-1960s, or a proper noun, like mid-Atlantic.
Otherwise close, like midair, midcentury, midday, midsemester, midterm

multi-
Hyphenate if it’s followed by an “i” word, like multi-instrumentalist.
Otherwise close, like multimillion, multiplatform, multicolored, multilateral

neo-
Hyphenate if it’s followed by an “o” word like neo-orthodoxy, or a proper noun like neo-Nazi.
Otherwise close, like neoliberal, neoclassical, neoconservative

non-
Hyphenate if it’s followed by a proper noun like non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Otherwise close, like nonbinary, nondisclosure, nonprofit

post-
Hyphenate: post-bellum, post-convention, post-mortem
Close: postdate, postdoctoral, postelection, postgame, postgraduate, postnuptial, postscript, postwar
(Follow Webster for “post-” if not listed here.)

pre-
Generally close, like preelection, preeminent, preempt, preexisting, and anything closed in Webster.
Hyphenate pre-convention, pre-noon, and pre-[ProperNoun].

pro-
Hyphenate to mean support for something, like pro-business, pro-labor, pro-peace, pro-war.
Close otherwise: proactive, produce, profile, pronoun

re-
Hyphenate homographs like re-create and re-cover, or possibly misleading words.
Close otherwise: reelect, reenter, reoffend

scholarships and grants
Capitalize the name but lowercase “grant,” “loan,” or “scholarship”: Pell grant, Stafford loan, Plus loan.

super-
Close except for super-PAC.

techno-
Close unless confusion would result (then hyphenate).

then-
Hyphenate if modifying a noun, like then-Mayor Gavin Newsom.

pronunciation
Guides to pronunciation should be spelled phonetically, and the syllable to be stressed should be capped: Latinx (pronounced la-TEEN-ex or latin-EX), italicized like so.

pull quotes
In pull quotes, use ellipses for omitted words from a direct quote, but it’s okay to paraphrase the writer’s own text. Check the PQ’s wording against the original, allowing for minor changes because of space limits.

Q&As, dialogue
Bold the questions, and don’t include the interviewer’s name or source’s name in each line (they’re already established in your introduction):

Why did you throw your shoes at George W. Bush?

George Bush lied to the people. He said the Iraqis would welcome him with flowers…

Did you have a plan?

I had been planning to do that for years…

Exception: When two or more sources are interviewed, use names first (and then initials) to clarify:

Interviewer Name: Hello, presidents.
Vladimir Putin: Hi.
Donald Trump: Hi.

IN: Did you do that grave thing?
VP: Do what?
DT: Yeah do what?

Before or at the end of Q&As, use a note like this if applicable: This interview has been edited and condensed.

quotes
• Quotes said directly to our reporters can be lightly edited for clarity without adding ellipses for omitted words unless the meaning would be changed. But in legally sensitive quotes, no words can be removed without the inclusion of ellipses.

• Lean away from using [sic] for misspellings—just fix—unless you’re facetiously using [sic] to ridicule a public figure’s typos, or need it for clarity. Paraphrase instead if possible.

• No brackets are needed when you’re capitalizing an excerpt’s first word. With that exception, when quoting printed material, the quote should otherwise match the original exactly (wording, style, punctuation, etc.).

• For spoken quotes, apply our house style for spelling, and minor editing is allowed for grammatical fixes. If inserting an editor’s or author’s note: [Editor’s note: like this.]

• For a person’s reaction in a quote, capitalize the first letter and use italics in brackets: [Laughs.] When the bracketed phrase is outside a sentence, add a period after the phrase within brackets:
“My father is not a schemer. [Laughs.]” “Well, [laughs], he schemes, but…”

series
Lowercase “season” and “episode”: season 1, episode 3 (numerals, no hyphens), for TV/television, podcast, and other series. 

slashes
Use slashes to separate lyrics or lines of poetry, with one space on each side of the slash. The only punctuation at the end of a line (and before a slash) should be a question mark. Capitalize the first word in each line: “We’ve got to find some time to get together / How’s never?”

suffixes

-esque
Closed unless the letter “e” would be doubled or tripled (Abramoffesque, office-esque, melee-esque)

-like
Closed unless the letter “l” would be doubled or tripled (catlike, sail-like)

-plus
Hyphenated as compound: 100-plus people; 20 percent-plus increase.

websites
• Capitalize websites like MotherJones.com (cap initials) but lowercase URLs that run longer: motherjones.com/this-story-is-great.

• Always omit www. unless the result opens the wrong site.

• Follow the site’s style for caps (but never all caps): MoveOn.org, MoveOn. Online publications are italicized: Jezebel, Salon.

• Add hyphens between end words of all Mother Jones URLs for online features teased in the magazine. Use periods normally at the end of sentences. No end slashes at the end of web addresses.

Gender, Sexuality

Ask sources how to identify their gender and sexual identities if it’s relevant to the story and appropriate to ask. Below are some recommended words and definitions.

LGBTQ, queer
LGBTQ is Mother Jones’ preferred style—the most encompassing and still concise initialism—but LGBT or queer is accepted if a source or community prefers it. Avoid LGBTQ+ (unless a source uses it) because the + symbol’s meaning is already embodied in the initialism’s letters. Avoid GLBT except in formal titles like San Francisco’s GLBT History Museum; otherwise it can look like our typo.

gender-inclusive, gender-neutral
In general, lean toward gender-inclusive or gender-neutral language unless you have reason not to. For example, instead of “policeman,” “fireman,” and “mailman,” use “police officer,” “firefighter,” and “mail carrier.” Instead of “manmade,” use “manufactured,” “artificial,” or “synthetic.” Instead of “mankind,” use “humanity” or “humankind.” The legacy of male-centered language continues to shape style guides, but Mother Jones takes a more inclusive stance. Try to avoid “oilman” because it doesn’t have a corresponding title for women who can (and have) held top positions in the field. “Journeyman” similarly. “Fisherman” similarly. “National Guardsman” similarly; the Guard’s first all-women command formed in March 2019. Many titles like TKman don’t have parallel nouns for women because barriers to entry in professions and public life have been exclusionary and engineered in men’s favor, reflected in the job titles. Jobs can (or should) be open to people of any gender.

Unless a source or subject prefers gendered titles, or gender is relevant (and it often is), lean toward:

“bandleader” instead of “frontman/frontwoman”
“chair” or “chairperson” instead of “chairman/chairwoman”
“crewed” instead of “manned,” unless a crew is all men and you’re pointing that out
“firefighter” instead of “fireman/firewoman”
“fisher” instead of “fisherman/fisherwoman”
“heir” instead of “heiress”
“host” instead of “hostess”
“humanity” or “humankind” instead of “mankind”
“mail carrier” instead of “mailman”
“manufactured,” “artificial,” or “synthetic” instead of “manmade”
“police officer” instead of “policeman/policewoman”
“spokesperson” or “representative” instead of “spokesman/spokeswoman”
“sales rep” or “salesperson” instead of “salesman/saleswoman”
“server” instead of “waitress/waiter”
“Congress member,” “member of Congress,” “the representative,” “the
lawmaker,” “Rep. [Name],” instead of “congressman” or “congresswoman” (at your discretion)

“Actor” is Mother Jones’ house style except when someone identifies as “actress” or it’s important to signal gender (e.g., award ceremonies), or in social headlines when relevant.

gender pronouns and singular “they/them/their”
Singular “they/them/their” is accepted for someone who doesn’t use only “he” or “she”; when it’s necessary to shield an anonymous source’s gender; or to move beyond the “he or she” binary. Avoid “both genders” for the same reason; use “all genders.” If you’re using singular “they,” make sure it agrees in number with the antecedent or, if it doesn’t, it’s clear in context.

gender transition, gender-affirming surgery
Distinguish between these terms. A “gender transition” involves changing someone’s gender presentation, which could mean new names, clothes, and hormones. “Gender-affirming surgery” implies surgery or other medical means (e.g., facial feminization).

Latinx
Latinx is widely contested as a description for people of Latin American descent who live in the United States. Use it only when a source prefers it but default instead to “Latinos” in broad references—and don’t stop​ using “Latina” or “Latino” for someone who identifies as Latina or Latino, or when you want to specify gender. “Latinx” is not largely accepted; just 2 percent of respondents to a nationwide poll said they prefer the term “Latinx,” and a 2020 Pew poll showed only 3 percent using it to describe themselves. It also scans differently by region of the country, age, and culture. The word’s earliest advocates embraced it for including all genders but it’s increasingly criticized as an Anglicized imposition on the Spanish language, which, like all romance languages, assigns a gender to each noun. Keep using “Latinos” as an all-gender plural; a vast majority of people do not want “Latinx” assigned to them.

Historically, “Latinx” originated to avoid defaulting to the masculine plural “Latinos.” More recently, “Latinx” has been used as an LGBTQ identifier, especially in the aftermath of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub shooting, most of whose victims were gay or bisexual and widely reported as “Latinx.”

Keep in mind the Pew figure of just 3 percent national identification. In reference to polls and surveys, use and attribute the same words in the studies. Also see Code Switch’s “Who You Calling ‘Hispanic’?” and let us know your thoughts:

nonbinary, queer
Genders that don’t conform to male and female can be called nonbinary. Also accepted are queer, genderfluid (one word), and gender nonconforming (no hyphen).

Pride
Capitalize as Pride Day, Pride Month, pride events, pride flag.

reproductive rights, abortion, abortion access
Mother Jones’ preferred terms are pro-choice and anti-choice or anti–abortion rights—not pro-life unless attributed or important in context. There may be times you want to use pro-life to allow each side to define itself, or as shorthand, even though pro-life is a fundamentally misleading term because it implies some advocates are not ​for life. In all cases, avoid scare quotes, which can read as facetious (unless facetious is what you’re going for).

Don’t hyphenate reproductive rights or abortion rights.

“Woman/women” is the default that most accurately describes the vast majority of people who get abortions; for example, “pregnant women” is more aptly specific than “pregnant people” or “people with uteruses” or “birthing people” in general reference. “Women” fits in this context because women are the ones disproportionately and chiefly targeted and affected by anti-abortion legislation. Gender-targeted outcomes support gender-specific language as defaults. It is not unjustly exclusionary or discriminatory to specify the community most affected by assaults on a specific community’s rights. The degendering of language in this area risks inadvertently obscuring that impact of abortion restrictions on women’s lives.

Lean away from, or add quotes to, “heartbeat” bill to describe legislation referring not to an actual heartbeat, but to electronic impulses signifying fetal cardiac activity. (For more, consider the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ guide.)

Avoid “females” as a noun. Even though “females” accurately refers to people biologically capable of getting abortions, “females” is commonly used as a pejorative against women, reducing women to anatomy in contexts when anatomy is not the core focus. Instead of “females who get abortions,” use “women who get abortions.”

sex work, sex worker, prostitute, prostitution
Use “sex work” and “sex worker” rather than “prostitution” and “prostitute” when meanings overlap. But note that “prostitution” still fits in police and court references when attributed. If minors (who by definition cannot consent) are coerced into sex work, avoid “child prostitution” and instead use “child sexual exploitation,” “sex trafficking victims,” or “child sexual abuse.”

sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
“STIs” is preferred over “STDs.” “STIs” emphasizes that anyone can be infected even without symptoms of disease.

transgender, trans
Use “transgender” instead of “transgender​ed​.” Shorthand “trans” is accepted. Try to use “transgender” on first reference, except when essayists want to start with “trans” on first mention. Examples: trans woman (not transwoman); trans rights.

See “Legal Reporting” for distinctions between assault, harassment, misconduct, and wrongdoing.

Race, Ethnicity

Ask sources how to identify their racial and ethnic identities if it’s relevant to the story and appropriate to ask. Below are some recommended words and definitions.

African American, Black
Always follow a person’s preference. If a person’s preference is not known, lean toward Black but keep in mind that the terms African American and Black are not interchangeable: African American refers to an American Black person of African descent, while Americans of Caribbean heritage generally identify as Caribbean American.

Asian, Asian American
Asian fits the diaspora or a community of people who identify as Asians, but be specific if you mean Asian Americans, and even more specific if you mean Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Cambodian Americans, Filipino Americans, Indonesian Americans, and so on.

Blacks, whites
Instead of “Blacks” and “whites” as nouns, which define people by race, use “Black” and “white” as adjectives, which ​describe​ (instead of define) people by race: “Black people,” “white people,” “Black voters,” “white voters,” “Black communities,” “white communities.”

community vs. communities
Consider plural “communities” instead of singular “the [TK] community” to avoid implying a monolith in cases where there’s vast diversity within communities. Similarly, “experiences” instead of “the [TK] experience” (except when you do mean to signal a shared experience or elements of common experience).

dual heritage, compound nationalities/ethnicities
Do not use a hyphen unless a source prefers it. Mother Jones style (consistent with AP): African American, Caribbean American, Irish American, Latvian American

Hispanic
Hispanic is not interchangeable with Latino and Latina, but overlaps to some extent. Defer to individual preference. It often depends on geographical region; people in the Southwest tend to use Hispanic and only recently have started replacing it with Latino. When preference isn’t known, use Latino/a instead of Hispanic, unless Hispanic is attributed to polls, census reports, or studies.

Each term refers to people from Spanish-speaking countries or cultures, but people from Spain are generally not Latino/a. Portuguese-speaking Brazilians rarely identify as Hispanic but sometimes do.

Be as specific as possible: Honduran, Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, Colombian, and so on.

multiracial
Instead of “mixed,” lean toward “multiracial,” “biracial,” or “interracial,” unless a person prefers “mixed,” in which case attribute it, like “TK, who refers to herself as mixed.”

people of color
Default to “people of color” instead of racial “minorities” in the United States, and see the NAHJ’s August 4, 2020, statement for more context and recommendations for alternatives, including “communities of color” and “emerging majority” when referencing statistics and data. By 2055 the United States will have no racial or ethnic majority group, according to Pew, and the Census Bureau projects that the country will have more people of color than white people by 2044.

voters
Be cautious about monolithic terms like “the Latino vote,” “the Asian American vote,” “the youth vote,” ​and similar phrasing that implies a group’s individuals or communities vote as a uniform bloc, unless voting practices or coalition-building references support the singular construction. Instead consider “[TK] voters” (without “the”), which can still convey the power of coalitions short of glossing over meaningfully diverse ballot results within groups whose percentages do show a signifiant split. For more, see Edwin Rios’ “How ‘the Latino Vote’ Was Invented” and Isabela Dias’ “Why Are Some Latinos Drifting to the Right?”

white supremacy, white nationalism
These terms overlap, and whether there’s a distinction at all is a point of dispute between the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which disagree on whether white nationalism is just a euphemism for white supremacy. ADL says it’s a marketing trick by white supremacists to rebrand themselves. SPLC says there’s an ideological difference—white supremacy is the belief that white people are superior, whereas white nationalism posits that white people should have separate territory and legal rights.

Decide which term to use based on the beliefs or actions of the person or group in your story. Lean toward “white supremacy” if the focus is on ideology. White nationalism requires white supremacy to exist, but don’t gloss over important differences: Use specific modifiers to differentiate, for example, between overt white supremacists and people who enable them in thinly coded ways.

Names of People and Places; Languages; Nationalities

Names of people
• Always include accents/diacritics like ñ, ó, í, é, and ç in people’s names (e.g., Rigoberta Menchú, Roque Sáenz Peña, Beyoncé). See our approach to place names below.

• For names deriving from Arabic, see ​AP; Chinese ​here​; Korean ​here​; Portuguese here; Russian here; Spanish here. But first check our “Preferred Spelling” list below.

• All names constructed as Firstname al-Lastname should follow that style for full names, but drop “al-” when using only Lastname. For example, Muqtada al-Sadr, but Sadr on subsequence references.

• For people’s initials, default to periods and no space, unless they prefer otherwise: J.K. Rowling, R.L. Burnside. But: MLK Jr., JFK (no periods). JD Vance (no periods).

• Use parentheses to set off state and political party affiliation: Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.). Use old-style state abbreviations, not two-letter zip code style:

Alabama: Ala.
Alaska: Alaska
Arizona: Ariz.
Arkansas: Ark.
California: Calif.
Colorado: Colo.
Connecticut: Conn.
Delaware: Del.
Florida: Fla.
Georgia: Ga.
Hawaii: Hawaii
Illinois: Ill.
Indiana: Ind.
Iowa: Iowa
Kansas: Kan.
Kentucky: Ky.
Louisiana: La.
Maine: Maine
Maryland: Md.
Massachusetts: Mass.
Michigan: Mich.
Minnesota: Minn.
Mississippi: Miss.
Missouri: Mo.
Montana: Mont.
Nebraska: Neb.
Nevada: Nev.
New Hampshire: N.H.
New Jersey: N.J.
New Mexico: N.M.
New York: N.Y.
North Carolina: N.C.
North Dakota: N.D.
Ohio: Ohio
Oklahoma: Okla.
Oregon: Ore.
Pennsylvania: Pa.
Rhode Island: R.I.
South Carolina: S.C.
South Dakota: S.D.
Tennessee: Tenn.
Texas: Texas
Utah: Utah
Vermont: Vt.
Virginia: Va.
Washington: Wash.
West Virginia: W.Va.
Wisconsin: Wis.
Wyoming: Wyo.

Party and state affiliation can be omitted on a case-by-case basis for some well-known politicians.

Occupational titles
Capitalize formal titles only when they precede a person’s name: President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Lowercase informal titles (e.g., special counsel Robert Mueller).

Academic titles: Do not capitalize “professor” before a person’s name. Cap named professorships and fellowships: Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University.
Military titles: Spell out “General,” “Colonel,” “Major,” “Lieutenant” preceding a name. For compound titles, abbreviate first word, spell out second word: Brig. General and Lt. Colonel.
Plural titles: presidents Clinton and Obama, Sens. Warren and Sanders, Govs. Newsom and DeSantis
Police titles: Spell out “Sergeant,” “Captain,” preceding a name; spell out and cap “Detective” if it’s a formal title preceding name.
Political titles: Cap and abbreviate “Sen.” (for Senator), “Gov.” (for Governor), and “Rep.” (for Representative) preceding the name. For state officials: “state Rep. TK,” “state Sen. TK”
Religious titles: Spell out “the Reverend” preceding a name.

Names of places
• Spell out states in most cases, including in captions: Wildfires in Paradise, California, destroyed thousands of homes. Exceptions: Abbreviate places with party affiliations like (R-Minn.). State abbreviations are okay in charts and graphs. (Do not use two-letter postal code abbreviations except for mailing addresses.)

• Consider referring to the United States instead of America, and US as the default adjective (and as a noun when initials avoid repetition or save space in sidebars, stat boxes, and wherever space is tight). If a specific reference or tone you’re going for calls for America, refer to it, but lean toward United States first.

• Default to not using accents/diacritics in place names (e.g., Lodz not Łódź, Thu Duc not Thủ Đức, Mexico not México, Hawaii not Hawai’i), except when a first-person narrative’s reporter wants them because places may be especially personal to the author or intended audience, and inclusion of diacritics can foreground heritage or meaning of land to a community. Otherwise default to omitting. 

• The following US cities stand alone in copy, without needing state locators:

Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle

• The following international cities also stand alone:

Amsterdam, Baghdad, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Cairo, Dublin, Guatemala City, Hong Kong, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Kuwait City, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Montreal, Moscow, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Nairobi, Paris, Quebec City, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Vatican City

Avoid datelines in articles.

Afghan
Refers to the people and culture of Afghanistan. Afghani is the Afghan unit of currency.

Argentine
The preferred term, rather than Argentinian, for the people and culture of Argentina.

China
The country’s official language is Mandarin, and Mandarin refers to a spoken language: One ​speaks ​Mandarin but ​writes​ Chinese. Use Pinyin (not Zhuyin) transliteration if given a choice.

Congo
Not “the” Congo. “The” refers to the Congo River, which gave the country its name, but “the” has fallen out of use in the country’s name, which AP shortens to Congo (not Democratic Republic of Congo​ and not DRC). Distinct from ​Republic of Congo​ (neighboring country).

Gaza Strip
Capitalize Strip.

Iranian, Persian
Follow an individual’s preference. Iranian tends to emphasize nationality; Persian tends to emphasize history and the cultural diaspora. There’s plenty of overlap. Farsi (also called Persian) is Iran’s official language.

Japanese American, “internment”
The United States incarcerated more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them US citizens, during World War II. For many years, this era was referred to as Japanese internment, but that description is misplaced because it suggests the imprisonment of foreign nationals; most of those detained were US citizens. Default to calling these events incarceration, not internment—consistent with the recommendation of the Japanese American National Museum, Japanese American Citizens League, advisers with the Asian American Journalists Association, Densho, and many other historians and organizations. The US government misleadingly used the word internment to distinguish many detainees from the few convicted as spies and sent to prison. Incarceration avoids the euphemism—and read Ruth Chizuko Murai’s “My Family Lost Our Farm During Japanese Incarceration. I Went Searching for What Remains.”

Kazakhstan (with the “h”)

Korea
Use the new spelling adopted by Korea’s Ministry of Culture:

The letters k, t, p, and ch have been changed to g, d, b, and j
k’, t’, p’, and ch’ have been changed to k, t, p, and ch
sh has been changed to s

Examples: Choson is now spelled Joseon; Inchon is now spelled Incheon; Pusan is now spelled Busan.

Myanmar
Use Myanmar for this country’s current name (formerly Burma) except when a source prefers Burma. Historically, many news outlets and exile organizations continued to use Burma even after the 1989 official name change because the name Myanmar was preferred by the junta, whereas Burma was preferred by pro-democracy activists. But in recent years, more people and organizations are calling it Myanmar.

The language spoken in this country is called Myanmar. Refer to people as the people of Myanmar or the Myanmar people.

Native American
Follow a source’s preference for description, and specify nation if known (e.g., Navajo, Hopi, Cherokee). Indigenous is accepted. Native people and shorthand Native are also accepted. Some younger Natives still prefer Indian, and a lot of groups and reservations have Indian in their names (i.e., American Indian Movement, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation), so Indian is okay if it’s attributed. In Canadian contexts, use Indigenous or Native or First Peoples, although First Peoples is more formal (encompassing Inuit, Métis, and First Nations); specify nation if known (e.g. Sagamok Anishnawbek). Do not use “​the​ Natives,” but “Native” alone is fine as an adjective: Native communities, Native activists, Native populations.

Capitalize Indigenous and Native in proper names or identifiers like “Indigenous/Native rights,” but lowercase in descriptive terms like “people indigenous to” and “people native to.” “Indigenous” (capped) refers to identities of original inhabitants of a place, with historical ties to pre-colonial or pre-settler times.

Nepal
People from Nepal are known as Nepali or Nepalese. Mother Jones’ default is Nepali, the way many people from Nepal tend to refer to themselves—departing from AP—unless a source prefers otherwise.

Eswatini
The southern African country changed its name from Swaziland in 2018. In stories, mention that it was formerly known as Swaziland, like “Eswatini, the country formerly known as Swaziland,” or “Swaziland, now known as/whose king renamed the country Eswatini,” with initial-cap Es rather than sE.

Taiwan
Taiwan has been governed separately from China since 1949. When precision is needed, call it an island, and its government the Republic of China. In all other cases, call it Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, but some countries ​recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty. (The United States officially does not.) “Mainland China” is okay to distinguish China from the island of Taiwan.

Third World
Avoid, unless it’s in a direct quote. Instead try “developing nations” or “emerging economies.” Also avoid First World; use “industrialized” instead of “developed” because countries and regions are never fully “developed” but they can be fully “industrialized.”

Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, two “y”s
Kyiv, not Kiev
Lviv, not Lvov
Odesa, not Odessa
Ukraine, not “the” Ukraine, which refers to the Soviet era.

Western
Capitalize for the film or book genre, but lowercase country western music. Capitalize the West and the South in reference to US regions. For directions: west and western.

slavery
Lean toward the following terms:
• “enslaved people” rather than “slaves”
• “enslavers” rather than “masters,” “slaveholders,” or “slave owners”
• “fugitives from slavery” or “self-emancipated people” rather than “runaway slaves”
• “born with slave status” or “born into slavery” rather than “born a slave”
• “forced-labor camp” rather than “plantation”

Make exceptions as context or clarity calls for it.

tribalism
Consider using “partisanship” or “provincialism” rather than “tribalism” to describe extreme group loyalty. Use of “tribalism” in politics can be misleading, a pejorative that doesn’t always resemble how tribes actually behave and interact.

Immigration

Dreamers
Dreamers refers to young immigrants without legal status in the United States, but unless someone prefers the label or it’s relevant historically, avoid it. The label referred to the DREAM Act proposal, which excluded millions of immigrants who didn’t fit the storyline of high-achieving youth, and the act did not pass. DACA recipient (if accurate) is more specific.

If using Dreamer, style it this way, avoiding the clunkier DREAMer (even though DREAMer is technically correct, rooted in the acronym).

legal status
Use “legal” and “illegal” only to describe an action, not a person. Instead of “illegal immigrant” or “illegals,” alternatives include “undocumented immigrant,” “unauthorized immigrant,” and “people without legal immigration status.”

refugee, asylum seeker, immigrant, migrant, displaced person, internally displaced person
• “Refugees” are forced to flee home countries by violence, persecution, or natural disaster.

• “Internally displaced” people are forced to flee but not across national borders.

• “Displaced” refers to anyone who matches either of the above.

• “Migrants” are in the process of moving, commonly for economic reasons but not always.

• “Immigrants” have moved permanently (changed countries of residence) for any number of reasons.

• “Asylum seekers” seek official government protection.

• “Asylees” seek or have already secured official government protection.

Mental Health, Physical Health, Ability, Disability

Labels should ​describe​ people, not define them, unless people define themselves by labels. Rule of thumb: Ask your source for preferred terms. Use “people with disabilities” (known as people-first language) and “disabled people” (known as identity-first language) interchangeably. There’s a lot of disagreement about defaults, and it scans differently by generation, region, culture, and community, so using both is fine. Also see the National Center on Disability and Journalism’s style guide and reader feedback to our callout in this essay.

autism
Lean toward “autistic person” instead of “person with autism.” This is an exception to people-first language, known as identity-first language. Opinions vary on this, but many advocacy groups opt for “autistic person” on the view that autism is part of an identity, not just a condition. Defer to personal preference.

blind, Blind, deaf, Deaf
Blind and Deaf are increasingly capitalized by some people who view each as a cultural identity—but many people still widely lowercased blind and deaf, viewing their conditions only as conditions, not identities, and objecting to the implication that they do (or should) identify with a capitalized community. Ask your source.

Deaf—lowercase or capitalized—is the word preferred by people with complete or significant hearing loss. Milder hearing loss is “hard of hearing.” Avoid “hearing-impaired,” which overemphasizes impairment, according to the World Federation of the Deaf. But always defer to a source’s preference.

disorders
Distinguish between disorders and conditions. “Disorders” fits when disorders are diagnosed by the American Psychiatric Association; when military benefits depend on the distinction; or when a source or medical expert uses it.

drug use, addiction
See ​AP, which advises against calling someone an “addict” unless the person calls themself an addict. In addition to AP’s advice, avoid “got clean,” which implies the person had been dirty, unless the person sees it that way.

has, lives with, suffers from
Default to “has” or “lives with” instead of “suffers from” in disability contexts unless someone says they do suffer or is known to suffer. Many people with disabilities don’t suffer from their disabilities so much as from the legal or social failures to comply with federal accessibility and accommodation requirements—or don’t suffer from either at all. Also consider specifying symptoms when it’s relevant to the story or when public understanding is limited and would benefit from a description like “suffers from debilitating chronic pain, a symptom of lupus.”

special education, special needs
Avoid “special” to describe the fundamental rights of disabled people to access education, health care, safety, and public accommodations required by state and federal law. (Some exceptions below.) “Special” implies special treatment but is resoundingly rejected by campaigns like #DontCallMeSpecial as well as the National Center on Disability and Journalism, the Americans With Disabilities Act National Network, the Disability Media Alliance Project, and a growing wave of multigenerational advocates, authors, and historians, who point out that “special” is a euphemism that’s become a dysphemism. It has morphed from what’s meant to be a positive phrase into a derogatory one. “Special” inadvertently frames disability rights as special pleading rather than a basic bid to reduce unlawful, discriminatory barriers to more equal inclusion in society. The word has been in decline since disabled people started publicly pointing out there is nothing particularly special about needing to survive, and that people with disabilities constitute a quarter of the US population, the largest statistical minority group in the country. “Functional needs” is an alternative to “special needs,” and alternatives to “special education” include “disability inclusion in education,” “disability support in education,” “disability services in education,” “disability and accessibility in education.” Exceptions: “Special” is of course accepted when it’s part of an entity’s or program’s formal capitalized name; relevant to a story’s source or citation; historically accurate; or culturally important in context. Also see this Mother Jones essay and this NCDJ post. 

domestic violence, intimate partner violence
If domestic or intimate partner violence is a story’s main focus, link to prevention sites and add this note at the bottom:

If you or someone you care about is experiencing or at risk of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by texting “start” to 88788 or calling 800-799-SAFE (7233) or going to thehotline.org. The Department of Health and Human Services has also compiled a list of organizations by state.

suicide​ reporting
Do not use “commit suicide,” per ​AP​ and mental health researchers who report a spread of suicide (a contagion) from the term’s use, and because the verb “commit” can imply a criminal act, but laws against suicide have been widely repealed. Preferred: “killed [oneself],” “took [one’s] own life,” or “died by suicide.” If suicide is a story’s main focus, link to prevention sites and add this note at the bottom or the top (if the headline reference calls for top placement):

If you or someone you care about may be at risk of suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or go to 988lifeline.org.

Use the term wheelchair user, and avoid wheelchair-bound; wheelchairs enable more than they limit.

For additional guidelines, consider the National Center on Disability and Journalism’s style guide.

Elections, Information

disinformation vs. misinformation
Disinformation is deliberately false or designed to mislead. Misinformation is false regardless of intent.

Election Day
With early voting by mail-in ballots, consider “the day polls close” or “the final day of voting,” unless “Election Day” fits best, to reflect how early voting is a lifeline of democratic participation and civic engagement. Each is accepted, with sometimes different meanings, but consider these alternatives to convey the changes in how voting happens.

state election board, lowercase

suffragette, suffragist
Both refer to voting rights movements, but the origins and resonance are different. “Suffragist” originated in the 1800s in a first-wave movement for enfranchisement, whereas “suffragette” was coined derisively by a London newspaper in 1906 to mock the movement since “-ette” literally means small or diminutive (e.g., statuette vs. statue, cigarette vs. cigar). Despite the derogatory origin of “suffragette,” many women in the UK and later the US repurposed and affirmed “suffragette” to signal empowerment. It became an identity, though women in the movement also opted for “suffragists,” from the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention through the 19th Amendment’s ratification in 1920, and “suffragist” is gaining use as part of a larger project to degender suffixes. But there’s no consensus. Use either, knowing that “suffragette” shows that history.

suppression vs. depression of voter turnout
Suppression is the prevention or discouraging of voters from casting a ballot. Depression of voter turnout is the reduction of turnout from previously higher levels.

Scientific Reporting

artificial intelligence
Distinguish between AI and robots: AI is a machine’s ability to simulate intelligent human behavior. Robots can be AI-driven, but robots can also move physically, whereas AI can be purely software that does not move physically, like game engines and GPS.

bacteria
Bacteria is plural: Bacteria were clogging his lungs. Bacterium is singular: This bacterium is quite deadly.

citation
Link to the published study on first reference.

climate
• The following are all accepted (a non-exhaustive list): climate change, climate science, climate crisis, climate emergency, climate breakdown, climate catastrophe, global warming; depending on context. (Editor’s discretion.)

• Avoid the language of “skeptic/skepticism” about settled scientific facts. Just as it’s unscientific and misleading to say someone is a gravity skeptic, it’s unscientific and misleading to say someone is a climate change skeptic. “Skeptic” implies that someone intelligently doubts something. Instead use terms like denial/denier (facts can be denied) or spell out exactly what you mean. For anyone who is truly skeptical of unsettled claims, spell that out.

• On first reference, use Celsius (and Fahrenheit in parentheses) for global
warming averages and targets. On later references, stick with Fahrenheit. Examples:
“The Earth has already warmed 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 19th century.”
“Governments are not on track to meet a goal of capping temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of the century.”

contagion, pandemics
• The coronavirus, officially SARS-CoV-2, is a virus, not a disease, and the disease it causes is Covid-19 (or Covid shorthand, or the coronavirus disease). Covid is an acronym deriving from CO(rona) VI(rus) D(isease)-(20)19, but a few years into the pandemic, a number of newsrooms, ours included, stopped using all-caps and started downstyling it.

• It’s not accurate to say “the virus Covid-19” (that’s the disease).

• Capitalize variants: Delta, Omicron, etc.

• Long Covid

• Viruses and variants should be named in ways that don’t inaccurately fault nationality, race, or geography, consistent with recommendations by the WHO, the CDC, the Asian American Journalists Association, and other groups to reduce scapegoating and improve accuracy. Whenever possible, use the scientific name, but if you need a shorthand, in the absence of standardized alternatives, use “strain first found/identified in [location]” instead of adjectives like “Spanish” flu, “Chinese” virus, and “Brazilian” or “British” variant. There’s a long history of equating nationality and immigration with disease, from the 1832 cholera outbreak blamed on Irish Catholic immigrants to the 1870s quarantining of San Francisco’s Chinatown residents following outbreaks of smallpox presumed to spring from the neighborhood, leading to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. This guideline doesn’t preclude criticizing any country’s, government’s, or institution’s mishandling of contagion when scientific evidence supports criticism, but the nomenclature itself should be nationality-neutral. For more, see Isabela Dias’ “Let’s Stop Naming Covid Variants After Countries.”

• Incubation period is the time between infection and the appearance of signs or symptoms.

• canceled, canceling, cancellation

• health care

• handwashing

• social distancing, social-distancing tips

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes plural Centers and gets spelled out on first use. Ditto the National Institutes of Health: “the NIH” after that, with “the.” Same for the World Health Organization: “the WHO” on subsequent use, with “the.” Each takes a singular verb. The WHO declared the coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.

• “Pan” = all or almost all. “Global pandemic” is not redundant, but also isn’t necessary when just “pandemic” is clear. And “pandemic” describes reach, not severity.

correlation vs. causation
Correlation means two variables are related to each other, and when one changes, the other appears to change, but not necessarily as a result. Causation means one variable’s change causes the other’s change.

data
Data takes singular verbs: The data is sound.

doctor
Refer to researchers as “Dr.” only if they have medical degrees.

genus and species names
Per AP, “capitalize the first, or generic, Latin name for the class of plant or animal and lowercase the species that follows: Homo sapiens, Tyrannosaurus rex. In second references, use the abbreviated form: P. borealis, T. rex.” Don’t italicize if Webster has it; otherwise italicize, like Asparagopsis armata.

statistical significance
Statistically significant generally means there’s a less than 5 percent chance that the observed effect would have occurred at random.

For more distinctions and definitions, see AP.

Religion

God
Capitalize for the deities of monotheistic religions. Lowercase for the deities of polytheistic religions. Lowercase all other references except when the meaning is specifically religious.

anti-, bigotry, phobia
“Bigotry” is hate and prejudice against a group. Words ending in “phobia,” like “Islamophobia,” are gaining wider use to mean hateful fear of faith, but “Islamophobia” should not be used when what you mean is anti-Muslim bigotry. The distinction matters—people too often call nonbigoted critics of religion “phobics,” which broad-brushes all critics as bigoted against believers. It’s crucial to distinguish between bigotry against people and criticism of beliefs. If you mean fear of Muslims as people, for example, go with “anti-Muslim bigotry.” not unlike the parallel construction of a term like “anti-Jewish bigotry” or “antisemitism.”

Don’t mistake criticism of beliefs as phobia of people. This holds for criticism of any ideas and institutions—in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on. Distinguish between “phobia” and “anti-.”

Islam

As-salaam alaikum and Wa alaikum as-salaam are Mother Jones’ preferred spelling and hyphenation, closest to Arabic pronunciation. Allow variation if a source prefers.

burqa​: the all-body covering worn by some Muslim women.

chador: a large cloak that covers the hair, neck, and shoulders, but
not the face, worn by some Muslim women, mainly in Iran.

hajj​ (not “the” hajj) is the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, the
birthplace of Prophet Muhammad.

hijab​: the headscarf worn by some Muslim women.

Muhammad is the preferred spelling for the prophet of Islam.

niqab​: the face veil worn by some Muslim women.

Qur’an​ (not Koran or Quran)

Shariah (not Sharia) means Islamic law, so “Shariah law” is redundant unless you’re referring to a specific provision under a Shariah framework.

Sunni, Shiite​: See ​AP​.

Christianity

Bible, biblical​:​ ​See ​AP​, and use the Revised Standard Version for
quotes, not the King James Version.

Christian Coalition: On second reference, okay to use coalition

Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals should not be conflated. Both believe that the Bible is inerrant, but evangelizing is the further effort to spread that belief and convert others. Fundamentalists focus on foundational theology of scripture. Christian right is an umbrella term for a politically conservative Christian movement.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Capitalize -Day. “Mormon Church” is also accepted. Church members have moved away from the term “Mormon Church,” but it’s still widely in use.

Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Holy Trinity​: See ​AP​.

Pope​: Capitalized as a title only before a name; lowercase otherwise.

Judaism

Jew, Jewish person
When choosing between “Jew” and “Jewish person” as nouns, defer to a person’s preference. Both are accepted. If preference isn’t known, lean toward “Jewish person” if the noun “Jew” could be perceived to have pejorative connotations in context, in light of some historical uses. For example, “Jews are migrating” works fine, and “Jews are diverse” works fine, but “My neighbor is a Jew” could be rewritten as “My neighbor is Jewish.”

Grammatically, the noun “Jew” fits in comparative lists like “Jews, Christians, and Muslims,” all parallel nouns. Keep in mind that many Jews do not hear the noun “Jew” as pejorative and object to the idea that it is. Defer to personal preference.

Hanukkah ​(not Chanukkah), per ​Webster

High Holy Days​, capitalized

Rosh Hashanah​ (not Rosh Hashana)​, closest to Hebrew, departing from AP

Buddhism
Buddhism can refer to a philosophy or religion. Specify which you mean, if not both.

atheism, humanism
Atheism is the lack of a belief that there’s sufficient evidence for the existence of a god. (“A” means without, and “theism” is belief in the existence of a god.) Atheism is not a belief system; it’s the rejection of belief systems unsupported by evidence or reasoning that meets a certain mark. Distinguish from humanism; a humanist goes a step further and affirms that people are capable of morality, flourishing, and wellbeing without relying on supernatural claims.

Common Legal Distinctions

accused of, arrested for, suspected of, allegedly, reportedly
Each withholds a presumption of legal guilt. “Arrested for murder” can imply guilt. Avoid “arrested for murder” if what we mean is “arrested on murder charges” or “arrested in connection with the murder of.” We can’t call or imply someone is a criminal unless the person has been convicted or has confessed, or it’s framed as an allegation. For minors, avoid assuming that juvenile confessions mean guilt, because minors are more likely to give false confessions than adults.

We don’t have to overuse the word “​allegedly,” but make clear that guilt has not been formally found.

assault, harassment, misconduct, wrongdoing
Assault is physical. Harassment may not be physical; it may be verbal, written, or insinuated through gesture, action, or deliberate inaction. Misconduct is the wider category of improper behavior, legal or illegal. If you’re looking for a broader word, “wrongdoing” works, but “wrongdoing” can trivialize serious charges, so “misconduct” is sometimes a closer fit.

In reports on sexual violence, use the same words used by the victim/survivor as long as the words are accurate. For example, definitions of assault and rape vary by jurisdiction, so if you’re using a source’s words that disagree with legal definitions, make that clear.

Don’t confuse categories of crimes like child molestation and acts of pedophilia. Definitions tend to vary by state.

attorney vs. lawyer​: See ​AP​.

burglary, robbery, larceny, theft​: See ​AP​.

civil, criminal
Don’t mistake civil suits for criminal matters. In civil suits, parties can be found “liable” (instead of “guilty”), whereas in criminal suits, parties can be found “guilty.” Criminal courts in the United States do not find people “innocent”; they find people “not guilty.”

convicts, felons
If you want to avoid “convicts” to avoid the noun’s branding power, consider a workaround like “people convicted of a crime”; for “felons,” consider “people convicted of felonies” or “people with a felony record.” For example, “she’s a felon” can be recast as “She was convicted of a felony.” But if you do want to use “felon,” note that the designation survives a prison sentence: After leaving prison, a person is still a “felon” (not an “ex-felon”) but is now an “ex-inmate” or “ex-prisoner.” A “felon” does not become an “ex-felon” unless the conviction is overturned or the person is pardoned.

detainee vs. prisoner
For prolonged detention, like in cases of extended military or CIA detention, drop “detainee” and use straight-to-the-point words like “prisoner,” “de facto prisoner,” “prison-like conditions,” and “incarcerated.” Detainees in Guantanamo, for example, could just be called prisoners.

jail vs. prison​
Prisons generally confine people serving sentences for felonies whereas jails confine people serving sentences for misdemeanors or who are awaiting trial or sentencing on charges (or confined for violations like contempt of court).

police shooting, “officer-involved shooting”
Avoid “officer-involved shooting,” a euphemism, promulgated by police departments, that implies an action without an agent. Default to active phrases like “TK shot TK”; if you don’t know who shot whom, say so.

mass shooting
Since 2012, Mother Jones has maintained a first-of-its-kind database documenting mass shootings in the United States, which is continually updated. Our current definition of mass shooting: an indiscriminate shooting rampage in a public place resulting in three or more victims killed (not just wounded) by the perpetrator, and not including the perpetrator. By Mother Jones’ current criteria:

• The shooter took the lives of at least three people (excluding the perpetrator).
• The killings were carried out by a lone shooter (except in the case of the Columbine massacre and the Westside Middle School killings, which each involved two shooters).
• The shootings occurred in a public place.
• Shootings primarily related to gang activity or armed robbery are not included in our database; neither are mass killings that take place in private homes.

militia, armed group
“Militia” describes both state-sanctioned and unsanctioned armed groups, though historically it refers only to the former, a sanctioned force deployable for military duty or to “keep the peace” (heavy quotes). Use it for either but if the distinction helps, go with “armed group” while making clear the group’s demands: “unidentified armed group dressed in tactical gear…” or “armed self-styled vigilantes who set up a checkpoint…”

police report, incident report, arrest report, crime report
“Police report” can mean incident report, arrest report, crime report, or another report. Specify which if it’s relevant.

reporting on sex and minors
“Had sex ​with”​ implies consent, but an adult does not have sex “with” a minor; an adult rapes a minor. Call it that when it fits context and writer’s or source’s wishes. “Child prostitution” is also misleading because it implies consent, but minors can’t consent. Instead, use terms like “child sex trafficking,” “child sexual exploitation,” “child sexual abuse,” or “child rape.” If some jurisdictions use the term “child prostitution,” attribute it.

terrorism, stochastic terrorism
Definitions of “terrorism” vary, but a practical one is political violence, or its actionable threat, aimed at sending a symbolic and material message of dread to civilians. This definition skips the requirement that terrorists be non-state actors, allowing for state terrorism against civilians. But track with legal definitions in legal contexts.

Stochastic terrorism is a method of inciting extremist political violence by using rhetoric ambiguous enough to give the speaker and the speaker’s allies plausible deniability for any resulting bloodshed. For more, see Mark Follman’s reporting here and here.

survivors, victims
Defer to a source’s words, but if preference is not known, go with “survivors” unless you’re emphasizing victimization purposefully.

pleaded​
​Past tense is “pleaded,” not “pled.”

v., ​vs.
Roe v. Wade i​s court case style: italicize, lowercase ​v. In all other uses, “vs.” (Never spell out “versus.”)

Attribution, Captions, Credits

attribution
• Whether you use “told me” or “told Mother Jones” is up to you and depends on the needs of your story. “Told me” is a good default for more casual pieces, but “told Mother Jones” can fit a more traditional tone or on social media and other places where bylines aren’t possible, or for stories with joint bylines.

• Whether an interview takes place by email, phone, or in person, only say so in the attribution if it’s relevant.

• Whether you use “says” or “said” is up to you, but be consistent within a story. Use present tense for a book’s author: Barack Obama writes in his book TK. But use past tense for reporting that has already appeared: She reported in the New York Times. He told the Washington Post.

book excerpts
Book excerpts are not italicized. Include an editor’s note:

This article/story is adapted/excerpted from TKAuthor’s new/forthcoming book, Title, reprinted with permission [“reprinted with permission” only if publisher requires saying so; otherwise implied], scheduled to be published/which will be published TKDate [if forthcoming]. Copyright TKPublishingCompany [<only if publisher requires saying so].

captions and credits
Use final punctuation only if a caption is a complete sentence or preceded by another sentence.

directionals: Use parentheses for (left), (right), (top), and (bottom) unless the caption begins with a direction; then omit parentheses. Top: Visitors to Alcatraz listen to inmates’ recordings.

photos from services: Photographer/Agency Name
(Drop “Press,” “Images,” etc., from names like Getty Images; just say Getty. If a service credits a username, drop the username; just credit the service.)

Wikimedia Commons image: Original source/Wikimedia Commons
(Add a link to the photographer’s page in the “Credit URL” field. Make sure to use the photographer/source, not the Wikipedia uploader.)

Noun Project icon: Designer Name/Noun Project
(Add a link to the designer’s page in the “Credit URL” field.)

YouTube screenshot: Uploader/YouTube
(Add a link to the video in the “Credit URL” field.)

screenshot of another publication’s video: Screenshot/Publication name
(Add a link to the video in the “Credit URL” field.)

screenshot of a TV show or movie: Screenshot: Network (or movie distribution company, ie: Universal Pictures)

screenshot somebody else took: Screenshot: Publication that took screenshot/Original Source
(Add a link to the page where the screenshot appears in the “Credit URL” field.)

promotional image: Courtesy Company Name

image provided by a source or source’s family: Courtesy Source Name
(You can hyperlink the source’s name to their website/social media profile when applicable.)

multiple images: Use examples above; separate with semicolon.

illustrations and art from Mother Jones staff for the website:
Chart by Mother Jones
Illustration by Mother Jones
Photo illustration by Mother Jones

pseudonyms
When a pseudonym is used, explain it as early in the story as it makes sense to do so, in running text, rather than an asterisk/footnote.

syndicated articles
Syndicated articles cross-posted to our site should follow Mother Jones style if allowed by the syndication source. If not allowed, edit only for typos, broken links, and formatting. Include a top note like: This story was originally published by Grist and is shared here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Slurs

Slurs​ should be handled situationally: You can spell them out if it’s crucial to the story (e.g., part of a quote that must be included; used in a first-person narrative; or central to a critique of the slur itself), unless you have reason not to in context. This guideline is deliberately loose, giving discretion to the editor and writer on a case-by-case basis. When in doubt, email styleguide@motherjones.com. If you ​do​ conceal a slur, use one hyphen per each letter omitted (e.g., c‐‐t, n‐‐‐‐r, f‐‐‐‐t).

The phrase “n-word” takes lowercase “n” unless starting a sentence.​ It refers to the “er” word and not “nigga,” which has different connotations and intentions (depending on the speaker). Specify the latter if that’s the reference.

Slurs in headlines​: Do not use slurs in headlines (with or without hyphens replacing letters). If a slur is important in a headline, use terms like “a racial slur” and name the slur in body copy. (Among other reasons not to, headline slurs can set off filters.)

In ​videos​, there’s no need to bleep audio if the slur is newsworthy. For consistency, don’t censor the subtitle either.

Print Magazine–Specific

bad breaks
A bad break happens when a word that runs over one line and onto another is split incorrectly. Avoid bad breaks, with these pointers:

• Two-letter breaks are okay.
• Do not break proper nouns unless necessary for fit.
• Bad breaks that cause spacing issues (in short paragraphs or short line lengths) are up to designer discretion.
• Allow no more than two consecutive hyphenated line endings.
• Breaks that form two discrete words are unacceptable in most cases, as in read-just.
• If a URL breaks at the end of a line, don’t hyphenate the break.
For example, this is okay: Reach her at better
campaigns.org/money. Whenever possible, break the URL at the punctuation and carry punctuation to the next line: bettercampaigns
.org/money. Also okay: Reach her at bettercampaigns.org
/money.

bylines
• Capitalize the “By”: By Mary Harris Jones (font, italicization, etc., are at the discretion of the art department).
• “Photography by TK” rather than “Photographs by TK”

endboxes
The endbox looks like this ◼. Separate the endbox with an option-space (slightly more than one space; slightly less than two) between the final punctuation and the box.

jumps
Add (continued on page xx) at the end of the page before the jump, and (continued from page xx) at the beginning of the first line of the page following the jump.

page numbers
• For story references: (see page TK), omitting headlines unless there’s a strong bond between the text you’re jumping from and the headline’s wording on a case-by-case basis.  
• En dash for page ranges: pages 32–34

read-throughs
When possible, avoid pages ending with a period or hyphen. Decide on a case-by-case basis.

signoffs
• The signoff should have a space between the final punctuation and the em dash. Use bold and italics. —Mary Harris Jones
• For sidebars by the same author who wrote the feature use initials with periods: —M.J.
• For additional research or reporting: —Mary Harris Jones, with additional research by the Daniels King, Moattar, Friedman, Spinelli, and Schulman 
• Fit signoffs into text lines; if one must be on its own line, justify it to the left.

small caps
Use small caps for acronyms and abbreviations and all-capped words that are three letters or more in the print magazine, including radio station call signs. Exceptions:
• Use regular caps for postal addresses/acronyms such as PMB.
• Use regular caps for a person’s initials like JFK and MLK unless the initials are part of an airport, organization, site, or street name (then use small caps).

superscript and subscript
• No superscript for ordinals. Our style is 21st, 22nd, 23rd.
• Yes subscript. Our style is CO₂ (for magazine only).

timelines
For January+February issues with in-home delivery date in December:
• use “this past winter” for the year you’re editing in; avoid “last winter”
• use “last spring/summer” for the year you’re editing in
• use “spring/summer/fall/winter of 20TK” to refer to any year before the year you’re editing in
• avoid “last year”; specify which year

widows
A widow happens when the last line in a paragraph is noticeably shorter than the text column, leaving a large white space after the text. Widows are okay only if they are longer than one-third of the text column. If they’re shorter, point them out to art or editorial.

Web-Specific

deks
Website deks always end with punctuation, even if they’re not complete sentences.

headlines
• Site headlines shouldn’t exceed 100 characters or three lines. One or two lines is ideal.
• Use sentence case for social headlines and social deks. Only add a period when it’s a full sentence.

quotation marks, apostrophes
• WordPress mistakenly reverses quotation marks and apostrophes after italicized words and em dashes. Reporters and editors should email styleguide@motherjones.com or flag in #copy-edit for a manual fix.

bold section lead
• In all site posts, apply “section lead” format to the first three words or however many to complete the initial thought or phrase or name. Apply it under the “Formats” drop-down in WordPress. If any questions or you’d like a second look, swing by #copy-edit.

a few more reminders
• Add a sharp social headline in sentence case.
• Add tags to your post.
• Add related articles.
• Hack your URL for SEO.

Videos

Terms to know

• Subs should match what the speaker actually says: “it’s” or “it is”? “gonna” or “going to”? “we’re” or “we are”?

• “SOT” means “sound on tape,” referring to anyone speaking (other than our presenter or voiceover host).

• “B-roll” means secondary footage.

• Resist ellipses as a placeholder to mean “Hold on…more words are coming!” If you are punctuating a speaker’s midsentence stumble, use an em dash—(shift+option+hyphen).

• Use serial commas: one, two, and three

• Distribute subtitles evenly on top and bottom lines.

• Use an en dash (option+hyphen) to indicate an offscreen speaker switch:

–Oh really?
–Yes really.

Example:

• (laughs), (coughs), (cheering) is our style for videos.

• If a video has graphic violence, excessive blood, or death, include a graphic warning card in the beginning.

• Use English subtitles even if language switches midvideo. Don’t specify “(in Spanish),” “(in Arabic),” etc., unless it’s relevant.

• [Wolf Blitzer]: ← speaker’s name in brackets only when necessary for clarity (e.g., offscreen). Colon goes outside.

• Music/movie clips: Credit the studio/production/record company, whichever or whomever owns the rights.

• TV shows: Credit the network.

• In city/state locators, abbreviate states using postal codes, like Sacramento, CA.

• Some well-known cities do not need state locators in videos:

Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle

• If adding date in videos, abbreviate as follows: Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Example: Sept. 8, 2023

Podcasts

Italicize our podcast and radio show, Reveal, and enclose episode titles in quote marks.

Social Media

@
“at @” is one too many. Just @handle.

hashtags
Capitalize each word’s first letter if emphasizing social media origins, situationally: #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter.

Italics
Wherever italics are not possible for titles, like on Facebook and Twitter, use double quotes instead: Pixar’s “Bao.”

Newsletters, Fundraising Emails

Our daily newsletter is the Mother Jones Daily. For email subject lines, use sentence case (not Title Case) and no period at the end unless it’s the second of two sentences.

For fundraising emails specifically:
• Subject line: [Sentence case]
• Pre-header: [Appears in inbox preview] Needs a period at end so it doesn’t run into opening line of content in preview mode.
• FirstName/Mother Jones Reader, (with comma)
• P.S. (no colon)

Link the words, not the final punctuation: Like this. Not like this. Exception: Call-to-action fundraisers can link everything for emphasis, including punctuation: Let’s pull together and take action!

Corrections, Updates

article corrections
• All errors of fact must be corrected, and a correction note added to the bottom of the post in italics with the date. Example: Correction, May 15: An earlier version of this story misstated/misattributed TK. Correction notes should avoid restating the error unless restating the error is helpful for clarity or transparency. Only include the year if the correction is in a different year from the original post.

• All corrections should be reviewed before publication by our research editor, our standards editor, and the story editor. If a correction is so timely that it needs posting before each is available to review it, the story editor can publish it directly at their discretion, and should then notify our research and standards editors. 

• For most typos and inconsequential misspellings, just fix and move on, but if a name is misspelled throughout a story, a correction note is needed: Correction, May 15: TK’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this article.

• Do not use inline asterisks for corrections. The bottom note suffices.

• If a correction is substantial enough that it changes the scope or nature of the story, also share the correction on social media.

article updates
• Updates add or clarify information without correcting facts. Examples include statements from spokespeople and breaking news developments like court rulings and death tolls. Some developments make for a new post instead of an update, so consider that option if more than a day has passed since your original story or if your update requires adding more than a few lines of text.

• If an update is important enough, place it at the top of the story; otherwise place it at the bottom. Always include the date:

Update, May 15: President Joe Biden announced…

• If you’re updating the body of the story as opposed to tacking it on separately, summarize the update in your italicized note:

Update, May 15: This story has been updated to reflect TK.

• Always say what the update is instead of just This story has been updated.

• If a breaking news story is still developing (e.g., active shooter), add this note at the bottom instead of issuing multiple updates:

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

video corrections
• All videos with major factual errors should be deleted from all platforms, and a correction note added to the description on YouTube/Facebook: Correction, May 15: An earlier version of this video misstated TK. If you’re keeping up the flawed video because the error is minor, just add a correction in the description: Correction, May 15: At 3:55, TK fact instead. (Our correction policy for deleting videos is stricter than for online articles because factually incorrect videos cannot be fixed after publication without deletion, whereas web articles can be fixed after publication.)

email newsletter corrections
• If email newsletters contain major factual errors that need fast correction, resend the newsletter the same day with a correction note in the subject line or email body. If the error doesn’t rise to that level, mention the correction in the next regularly scheduled newsletter. Style the note however fits the tone and topic; could be a top note (or a P.S.). If you see the error immediately after sending from Sailthru, quickly ping #email-ops to see if it’s possible to pause distribution and discuss options for resending.

social media corrections
• Decide situationally whether the social post has been up long enough and the error significant enough to merit correcting and/or deleting. On platforms with an edit option, correct the post and note that a correction has been made if it warrants it. On platforms that do not have an edit option, consider deleting the post and publishing a new one—unless you think deletion isn’t called for; in that case just reply to the post and note the correction if it needs it. (Scenarios when noting corrections is not needed may include minor factual slips like a typo in a name or an inconsequentially incorrect date.) When in doubt check with the standards editor.

live blogs
• For live blogs covering election results and other developments within a single post, add updates at the top with time zone (example):

7:25 p.m. ET: Candidate TK has likely won…

7:05 p.m. ET: Results were barely in Tuesday night, but…

7:02 p.m. ET: As polls closed on the East Coast, the networks immediately predicted…

• If updates roll onto the next day, mention the new date once:

10:30 a.m. ET: TK made a speech…

March 2, 9:15 a.m. ET: TK made a speech…

7:05 p.m. ET: Results were barely in Tuesday night…

6:50 p.m. ET: As polls closed on the East Coast…

Preferred Spelling

Search our list first, then AP, then Webster. If you’re using Webster, go with Webster’s first or more common spelling (e.g., “labeled” is preferred to its variant “labelled”).

A
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Abdullah, King
A.D. is preferred for clarity, despite its specific religious roots (short for anno domini, “in the year of the Lord”). It’s generally not needed except to clarify when a date isn’t B.C. When using it, put it after the year or time period: 15 A.D. Note that this is the opposite of the AP’s rule for using A.D. Stick to this house guideline.
adviser not advisor
advocate As a noun, advocate can be followed by “for,” as in: He’s an advocate for sustainable building. It can also stand as a verb without the “for”: He advocates sustainable building. But it never takes “for” as a verb: He advocates for sustainable building is wrong.
afterparty
agrichemical not agrochemical
AI for artificial intelligence, no periods
airdrop
airstrike
Aita al Shaab
a.k.a.
al-Assad, Bashar
alt-right
Al Jazeera
al-Qaeda
al-Bashir, Omar
al-Sadr (with full name), Sadr (when only last name is used); al-Shadri, Shadri. Follow this style for all names constructed Name al-Othername, unless there’s a different established spelling.
al-Shabaab
alt-weekly
a.m., p.m.
American Dream
“Amtrak Joe” Biden, President Biden
antifa
antisemitic, antisemitism
Arafat, Yasser
archaeologist
archconservative
Arco okay on first reference for Atlantic Richfield Co.
Associated Press Spell out on first reference (no italics), and abbreviate as the AP (including “the”) on later references.
asylum seeker no hyphen
author okay to stet as verb
axe

B
Baath Party
badmouth verb
babysitter
back seat noun, backseat adj., as in backseat driver
Beltway as in inside-the-Beltway critics
Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
bestseller, bestselling
Beverly Hills, 90210 with comma
Big Four
Big Lie capped, no quotes
Big Oil
Big Pharma
Big Tech
Big Tobacco
binge-watch, bingeing
birthrate
Black Codes
Black Hawk helicopter
Black Twitter
blood-red adj.
bodycam
bogeyman
border crosser no hyphen
both-sidesism
Boy Scouts acceptable on second reference as the Scouts. As an adjective, drop the “s”: Boy Scout camp. When the word “scout” stands alone, lowercase: scout leaders, a scout camp. Also lowercase “scouts” (plural) when referring to a group of boys, as opposed to the organization. Example: The scouts sang campfire songs. The Scouts have continued to discriminate.
Brady Bill
brand new never hyphenate
breakdancing
BS for bullshit
burqa

C
cafe, cafes
carpool
ceasefire
cellphone
changemaker
chaperone
chatroom
cheatsheet
checkboxes
child care never hyphenate
chile (not chili) for the pepper; chili for the stew
CIR, the Center for Investigative Reporting, without italics, and lowercase “the”
city council lowercase when it stands alone; capitalize when it takes a city name
clearcut, clearcutting (referring to trees); but hyphenate clear-cut when meaning is “unambiguous”: clear-cut case; the case isn’t clear-cut.
Climategate
commander in chief
“Contract With America” shorthand Contract is okay after first reference.
copy edit (verb), copy editor, copy-edit process, copy-edited version
couchsurfing
coverup (noun), cover up (verb)
crowdsource
cueing not cuing

D
data (takes singular verbs): data is
Dakota Access Pipeline, Keystone XL pipeline
Dawa
day one, day two lowercase, contra AP
decision-making, decision maker
deep state lowercase, but Deep State if used facetiously
Deir Ezzor
Democrat, Democratic cap in reference to Democratic Party, but not when
used generically (a democratic society)
Democratic National Convention, Democratic convention
Democratic Republic of Congo: no “The” to start it; “Congo” on second
reference.
Department of Defense, Defense Department both accepted. DOD (in
small caps in print) on second reference, not DoD.
diehard in all cases
direct-mail hyphenate as a compound: direct-mail campaign
disrupter
doggie
doughnut not donut (unless you want to; the doughnut patrol is busy) 
do’s and don’ts
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
downballot
dox, doxxed, doxxing
Dred Scott v. Sandford
drop out verb, dropout adj., noun
Du Bois, W.E.B. instead of DuBois

E
Earned Income Tax Credit
earth lowercase when referring to soil; capitalize for the planet
e-bike
eco-fascism
editor-in-chief cap Editor-in-Chief on Mother Jones masthead or when preceding a name.
e.g., with periods and always followed by comma
Erbil not Irbil; a northern Iraqi/Kurdish city
etc., followed by a comma when occurring in the middle of a sentence:
Several chickens, cows, horses, etc., were spotted on the road.
excessive force (shorthand), use of excessive force (in full)

F
fact-check verb, noun, adj.
Fallujah
far right, far left (no hyphen as noun); far-right group, far-left group (hyphenate as modifier)
farmers market
farmworker
fedayeen
firm Ignore AP’s distinction between a company and a firm. Use of “firm”
okay in all instances.
flyer advertising circular; flier: one who flies
Food & Environment Reporting Network (ampersand)
Forbes 400, Fortune 500
fortuneteller, fortunetelling
fossil fuel never hyphenate
freakout noun, freak out verb
freakshow
fringy, fringiest
frontline adj., front lines noun
frontrunner
fundraiser, fundraising

G
Gamergate
G7 not G-7
Generation X, Gen X, Gen Xer, Silent Generation
Geneva Conventions but Article 3 of the Geneva Convention
GEO Group no “the” before it
germline
GIF, GIFs
goddamn, goddamnit, goddamned
goodbye
grades A+, B-, C+, etc.
Groyper
guestworker
Gulf War, first Gulf War
gun control never hyphenate

H
half-dozen
handpick, handpicked
hamfisted
hardline, hardliner
Head Start
health care never hyphenate; day care, skin care
hellbent
hellraiser
high school open as an adj. (unless confusing; then hyphenate)
Highway See Interstate.
hip-hop noun, adj.
hogtied
homepage, homescreen
homeowners association
homeschooled
hotdish
hot button noun; hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: hot-button issues.
hotspot
human rights never hyphenate
Hussein, Uday

I
ice cream noun, adj., never hyphenated
iced coffee not ice coffee
ID’d, OD’d, ODing
i.e., with periods and always followed by comma
Ihor Kolomoisky rather than Igor
Infowars
Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI)
Interstate 95 or I-95 either can be used on first reference
Intifada to refer to Palestinian uprising; intifada in general
Iran-Contra
Iraq War
ISIS stands for the Islamic State of (not “in”) Iraq and Syria

J
Jell-O trademark, jello generic
jihadi, jihadis not jihadist
JLo for Jennifer Lopez
Johnson & Johnson on first reference; J&J optional on later reference
judgment
Juul, Juul Labs

K
kaffeeklatsch, kaffeeklatsches, kaffeeklatschers
Keystone XL pipeline, Dakota Access pipeline lowercase pipeline
kickass
King Abdullah
Kislyak, Sergey
Kyiv

L
Labour Party
left, left wing noun, left-wing adj., left-winger
Libs of TikTok with spaces, but @LibsofTikTok (no spaces) with @ 
lifespan
lightbulb
like button no quotes around the first word
live blog noun, live-blog verb
likeminded
livestream in all cases
Long Covid
longform adj.
long-term adj.
longtime adj.
long-standing adj.
long shot noun, long-shot adj.

M
mac ’n’ cheese
Macao
madrassa
Mafia, mafioso, mafiosi, mafiya (Russian mafia), the Mob use lowercase
mafia when it doesn’t refer to the Italian or American crime organizations.
MAGA world
Marshall Project, the not italicized
MC or emcee, dealer’s choice
Medvedev, Dmitri
means-testing verb, noun
media when referring to news media; “media” takes a singular verb if
preceded by “the.” Example: The media is obsessed with Donald Trump. If not preceded by “the” and if referring to multiple news organizations, use a plural verb. Example: We uncover stories that big, corporate-driven media ignore.
Medicare for All
megachurch
#MeToo, MeToo either 
mic or microphone
Mideast
M.O. as in modus operandi
Mohammed bin Salman
Mother Jones, MotherJones.com, motherjones.com/this-story-is-great
Muqtada al-Sadr
mugshot
Muhammad for the prophet of Islam
mujahideen

N
naivete
Nasdaq
Navalny, Aleksei
Never Trump, Never Trumper, Never Trumpism
New York magazine
New York Times Magazine, the
newsfeed
nonfiction
nonprofit, 501(c)(3)
nonviolent
Northern California

O
Obamacare
OB-GYN
Obiang, Teodoro
okay do not abbreviate—unless you really want to.
on-again, off-again
onscreen, offscreen, onstage, offstage
outsize
over generally refers to spatial relationships. Use “more than” with numerals, but “over” is fine if it sounds better in context or space is tight.
overpolicing
Overton Window

P
PAC, super-PAC
pageview
Paris agreement, Paris climate agreement, Paris climate accord
Party of Lincoln, capped
passerby
Patriot Act
paywall
per capita always follows a noun, so never hyphenate
photo essay
photo illustration
Pill lowercase if used with a modifier: birth control pill; cap if alone: the Pill
Pizzagate
porta-potty, porta-potties
Postal Service, the post office, as in: Postal Service agents arrest Steve Bannon
Pozner, Vladimir
pre-pandemic
primetime
ProPublica not italicized
protester not protestor

Q
Q&A
Qaddafi, Moammar
QAnon
Qur’an not Quran or Koran

R
rainforest
R&B
Reddit, subreddit, /r/The_Donald
real estate never hyphenate, even when it modifies a noun
realpolitik
recordkeeping
Red cap when it refers to communism
Red Scare refers to public fear of communism in the mid-1900s
red-light district
reelection
Republican National Convention, Republican convention
résumé not resume
rideshare
right, right wing noun, right-wing adj., right-winger
R.I.P.
roadmap
rock ’n’ roll
runup

S
satphone
Sears Holding Corp. 2005 merger of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co.
seatbelt
Sergey Lavrov
service members
Shah before or after name
Shariah not Sharia
sheikh
Shiite not Shia
shit ton no hyphen
shitposting
shitshow 
shitstorm
shockwaves
shortlist
smartphone
smokescreen
soft money open as a compound
Soho (London), SoHo (NYC)
Soleimani, Gen. Qassem
soundbite
soundtrack
Southern California
spartan not Spartan, unless referring to something from Sparta
spear-phishing
spray-paint, spray-painted
Squad capitalize for the group consisting of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar
startup
stop and frisk no hyphens as standalone noun; stop-and-frisk policy as a compound modifier preceding the noun
storytime
Sunni
Supreme Court, the court (lowercase)
Swift Boat/Boating for smear campaign, but lowercase swift boat as common noun to describe the boat as a vessel

T
taekwondo
tagline
tax-exempt, tax-deductible
taxpayer, taxpaying
tea party
teachers union
teenage, teenager use the adjective “teenage” instead of “teenaged”
telephone numbers take hyphens, no parentheses: 415-665-6637
Tennesseans
throughline
timeline
Times of London
the Today show not The Today Show
tornadoes
touchscreen
Tourette syndrome
tourniquet
toward not towards
Toys“R”Us
train wreck
Treasurys not Treasuries
Trumpworld

U
Uyghur
ultra-right-wingers
Uncommitted movement
underwater
unfriend not de-friend
United Kingdom noun, UK adj.
United Nations noun, UN adj.
United States noun, US adj., but US is also okay as a noun when it avoids repetition or saves space in sidebars, stat boxes, etc.; the same goes for UK and UN
US Central Command
U.S. News & World Report

V
voiceover

W
Walmart
war on terror
Washington, DC, with commas and no periods
wellbeing
whoa, unless you insist on “woah,” but why would you insist?
wifi
winner-takes-all
wiseguy
WMD not WMDs
wokeism
words use quotes (e.g., the word “color” has two syllables)
workaround

X
X-ray

Y
yearlong, yearslong adj. with unspecified number of years, but three-years-long adj. with two hyphens when specifying number of years 
YouTube capital T

Z
zip code not ZIP code

Contact Us

Style and copy questions: styleguide@motherjones.com