Twitter has instituted a new policy of suspending users for using the term "groomer." One of the first victims of this new censorship guideline is cultural critic James Lindsay.

The Daily Dot — a left-leaning millennial-focused online publication — reported this week that Twitter would begin suspending users who use the term "groomer" against transgender or nonbinary people. A Twitter spokesperson claimed the word violated the social media platform's "Hateful Conduct" policy.

Lauren Alexander — Twitter’s health product communications lead — said, "We are committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice, or intolerance, particularly abuse that seeks to silence the voices of those who have been historically marginalized. For this reason, we prohibit behavior that targets individuals or groups with abuse based on their perceived membership in a protected category. Use of this term is prohibited under our Hateful Conduct policy when it is used as a descriptor, in context of discussion of gender identity."

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) — self-described as "the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization" — defines grooming as: "Manipulative behaviors that the abuser uses to gain access to a potential victim, coerce them to agree to the abuse, and reduce the risk of being caught. While these tactics are used most often against younger kids, teens and vulnerable adults are also at risk."

The usage of the term "groomer" recently spiked when conservatives began using it when discussing high-profile cases of small children being exposed to sexualized drag queen shows and teachers determined to discuss sexuality with their students.

Leftist organizations such as the Daily Dot and Media Matters launched campaigns this week to persuade Twitter to ban the word "groomer."

On Wednesday, the Daily Dot ran a post claiming that "people on the internet are calling on Twitter" to ban the word "groomer" — despite not offering any evidence that people are indeed calling for the term to be censored.

Far-left Media Matters demanded Twitter "take action against the 'groomer' smear." The piece targeted BlazeTV's Steven Crowder for using the term. Media Matters then accused BlazeTV's Dave Rubin and guest James Lindsay of promoting the "groomer slur" on YouTube.

By Thursday night, Lindsay had been temporarily suspended for the crime of saying "groomer."

\u201cHi all, @ConceptualJames has been locked out of his Twitter account. Stay tuned...\u201d

— New Discourses (@New Discourses) 1658447924

Lindsay — a mathematician, author, and critical race theory detractor — was suspended for calling a Media Matters employee a groomer.

Lindsay replied to a tweet by Ari Drennen — LGBTQ program director at Media Matters — by saying, "Ok, groomer."

Lindsay had to delete the tweet, and he was locked out of his account for 12 hours.

Drennen claimed that Lindsay called her a "groomer" on four occasions, and she reported him to Twitter's safety team.

She reacted to Lindsay's suspension by writing, "James Lindsay got suspended from Twitter for calling *me* a groomer lmaooo."

\u201cJames Lindsey got suspended from Twitter for calling *me* a groomer lmaoooo\u201d

— Ari Drennen \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Ari Drennen \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1658452053

Lindsay told the Daily Caller, "I call people who engage in either of these grooming behaviors 'groomers' because it’s wrong to do and because that’s what they’re doing: grooming."