From gr*pists to nip nops, how self-censorship shapes the language of TikTok

By B.A. Parker,

Xavier Lopez, Dalia Mortada, Gene Demby, Jess Kung, Courtney Stein, Leah Donnella, Veralyn Williams

Published July 9, 2025 at 9:45 AM EDT

Have you noticed people using terms like "unalive" and "pew pews" on social media? There's a reason for that: some people are changing the way they speak on TikTok and other social media platforms to bypass what they think are algorithm blocks. For some users, it's a fun game - but for others, self-censoring certain words crucial to being able to share their lived experience and get views.

On this episode of Code Switch, host B.A. Parker talks to Dr. Kendra Calhoun, a linguistic anthropologist and sociocultural linguist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Christian Divyne, a TikTok content creator focused on race issues.

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B.A. Parker

Xavier Lopez

Xavier Lopez is a producer for Code Switch. He came to NPR from CNN Audio, where he helped produce shows such as Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and the inaugural season of Tug of War. Prior to that, Lopez worked at NPR member station WHYY in Philadelphia, where he worked on shows such as The Pulse, Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane and the daily news podcast, The Why.

Dalia Mortada

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Gene Demby

Gene Demby is the co-host and correspondent for NPR's Code Switch team.

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Jess Kung

Jess Kung (they/them) is a production assistant on Code Switch. Previously, they interned with Code Switch and the podcast The Document from KCRW in Santa Monica. They are a graduate of Long Beach State University.

Courtney Stein

Courtney Stein comes to NPR from the New York Times, where she helped to create the weekly podcast First Person. Prior to that, she spent over a decade at WNYC's Peabody Award-winning Radio Rookies, teaching young people to report radio documentaries about issues important to them. While at WNYC, Courtney also helped to pilot the podcast Nancy and was on the team that created the dupont-Columbia award-winning podcast Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice, which began as a radio workshop she started in a juvenile detention center in Queens.

Leah Donnella

Leah Donnella is an editor on NPR's Code Switch team, where she helps produce and edit for the Code Switch podcast, blog, and newsletter. She created the "Ask Code Switch" series, where members of the team respond to listener questions about how race, identity, and culture come up in everyday life.

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Veralyn Williams

Veralyn Williams (she/her) is a Peabody and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist who has been asking hard questions about our world since she picked up her first microphone in 2004. Now she brings her skills (and ears) to her role as executive producer of programming at NPR.