Via “Ask David”:
“I am looking for a website builder with SEO built-in, so we’re choosing UltimateWB. But I came across a review for a popular WordPress SEO plugin, Yoast SEO, and the reviewer says they’re cancelling their Yoast Premium subscription because Yoast went far left and is ‘putting out on the internet offensive content,’ promoting ‘woke crap.’ I couldn’t find anything about this online. Any idea why? P.S. To me, being ‘woke’ means being respectful of others who harm no one.”
-Curious George
Full Yoast SEO plugin review excerpt, via WordPress:
“I have left because they went far left. DON’T choose Yoast if you don’t want your money supporting a totally WOKE company. Some of the stuff they are putting on the internet is offensive. I am cancelling my Yoast Premium subscription and uninstalling Yoast after many years. There are similar SEO plugins that don’t promote woke crap.”
Welcome to UltimateWB and built-in SEO!
The term “woke” is highly subjective and typically reflects a user’s perception of a company’s social or political alignment. In the case of Yoast, this label is most often linked to a few key features and decisions in the plugin:
Inclusive Language Analysis
In 2020, Yoast SEO introduced Inclusive Language Analysis as part of its content analysis tool. This feature helps users identify and replace words that might be considered non-inclusive or outdated. Examples include:
- “mankind” → “humankind”
- “policeman” → “police officer”
Intent: Yoast designed this feature to help content creators write for a broader, more diverse audience and make content more accessible.
The Controversy: Some users feel that a technical SEO plugin should stick to optimization guidance and not provide suggestions based on social or linguistic norms. To them, this “opinionated” feature represents a form of corporate social activism, which they interpret as “woke.”
Recent AI Feature Integration
Yoast has also introduced AI-powered features, including:
- AI Optimize: Suggestions to improve existing content
- AI Generate: Assistance creating titles and meta descriptions
A recent bug involving these AI features stirred additional criticism. Internal markers used by the AI tools (data-start and data-end) were accidentally published in the site’s HTML.
Intent: These markers were only intended as internal notes and were not meant to appear on live pages. Yoast confirmed this was a bug, not a tracking or surveillance feature.
The Criticism: Some users viewed this bug as another form of overreach, questioning whether it could affect SEO or control AI content. For reviewers already sensitive to perceived “woke” initiatives, this bug may reinforce the narrative that Yoast is pushing unwanted or intrusive functionality.
In Summary
The reviewer’s “woke” accusation appears rooted primarily in the inclusive language feature, which some see as social or political guidance rather than SEO. The recent AI features and the associated bug may have reinforced their perception of Yoast as a company promoting content they personally find objectionable.
In this case, “woke” is used by the reviewer to describe features and decisions they interpret as socially or politically driven, rather than neutral technical SEO recommendations.
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