manazasDec 10
Steve Herman
Secretary of State Rubio has concluded Calibri is a DEI font and orders US diplomats to revert to Times New Roman in official communications. https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/3725456-font-wars-times-new-roman-vs-calibri-in-us-diplomacy
Font Wars: Times New Roman vs. Calibri in U.S. Diplomacy | Politics

In a move reflecting broader debates on diversity the US State Department led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reverted to using the Times New Roman font in official communications dismissing the previous administrations adoption of the more accessible Calibri font

Devdiscourse
Dec 10 at 2:21amWeb
Show threadSteve HermanDec 10
The Nazis, in 1941, banned the Fraktur font because it was “too Jewish.” https://alphahistory.com/pastpeculiar/1941-nazis-ban-jewish-fonts/
1941: The Nazis ban Jewish fonts

In 1941 the Nazis continued their campaign of persecution against Germany's Jews - by banning all Jewish fonts.

Past Peculiar
Show thread@ NovaNaturalist HAS ALSO MOVEDDec 10

@w7voa

"...Then they came for Fraktur Font
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Font."

And of course, Fraktur Font was used within the Nazi branding denouncing Fraktur. I expect Trump's regime to do this too.

Show threadBryan Dec 10
@w7voa
Examples can be seen on the Wikipedia page for the Fraktur calligraphic hand:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraktur
Fraktur - Wikipedia

Show threadChris Moorehead 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇬🇱Dec 10
@w7voa [putting on my OCAD typography professor hat] This was at least the official reason, despite the Nazis championing Fraktur until 1941. Another theory was that Luftwaffe pilots complained that they couldn’t read aircraft tail markings in Fraktur. I’ve also heard that it was Bormann who despised Fraktur, and Hitler may have simply signed a document that Bormann shoved in front of him without reading it. We will likely never know for sure.
Show threadChris Moorehead 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇬🇱Dec 10
@w7voa Calibri isn't my favourite typeface, but it meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (There are better accessible typefaces, including Microsoft's new default typeface, Aptos.) Of course Trump's apparatchiks have seized on the ADA, created under a bipartisan Congress (it was passed in the House by a unanimous voice vote, and in the Senate 76-8) and signed into law in 1990 by Republican President George H.W. Bush, as being "DEI" and "woke". I expect the plan is to repeal it ASAP.
Show threadEd ClintonDec 11
@cjmoorehead @w7voa They won’t repeal the statute. They are not capable of long-term thinking and planning that would be required. They might issue an EO but that isn’t binding on the next President.
Show threadChris Moorehead 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇬🇱Dec 11
@eclinton @w7voa Trump & Hegseth are certainly incapable of long-term thinking, or in fact any form of thinking. I'm more concerned about those Project 2025 guys, who appear to have done a LOT of thinking and planning in terms of dismantling democracy. The ADA could very well be on their hit list.
Show threadGood Boy/Slut NickDec 10
@w7voa Fraktur... the font like 80% of bibles were printed in?
Show threadnotsoloudDec 10
@nickyttrpg
Makes sense, the Bible is very Jewish
@w7voa
Show threadSordid Amok!Dec 10
@w7voa What?! Fraktur is the Germanliest of all fonts.
Show threadclewDec 10

And for several generations before WWII…

@SordidAmok @w7voa

Show threadlj·rkDec 10
@SordidAmok @w7voa Absolutely. But the Neuschriftenerlass prescribed us the Latin script because of unclear reasons. It's kind of sad because Fraktur had some nice properties that are very uniquely useful to German
Show threaddeBaerDec 10
@w7voa With a letterhead in Fraktur. These Nazis were always a very intelligent bunch.
Show threadsoup2nutsDec 10
@w7voa an apt reference.
Show threadMartin Vermeer FCDDec 10
@drdusty @w7voa Yep, one would almost say, journalistically obligatory.
Show threadtotoDec 10
@w7voa With a document using Fraktur…
Show threadMartin Vermeer FCDDec 10
@w7voa Next, Arabic numerals. Sheesh.
Show threadNicholas FeltonDec 10

@w7voa @onpaperwings

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/us/politics/rubio-state-department-font.html

At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Biden-era move to the sans serif typeface “wasteful,” casting the return to Times New Roman as part of a push to stamp out diversity efforts.

The New York Times
Show threadDoug WilsonDec 10

@Feltron @w7voa Yep…

Asinine, cruel, and meant to distract us from other things. 🤬

Show threadElse, SomeoneDec 10
@w7voa
Alt story on the wiki
Show threadsu_liamDec 11
@w7voa Isn’t it great how these people take every opportunity to emulate the nazis?
Show threadJoe HeafnerDec 10
@w7voa This is just getting stupid at this point. Will he now outlaw adherence to the ADA?
Show threadDr Neenah Estrella-LunaDec 10
@heafnerj @w7voa One of the executive orders is trying to do that.
Show threadPaul Chambers🚧Dec 10
@w7voa petty
Show threadGrinch-stanDec 10
@w7voa ...what
Show threadAndyDec 10
@Karstan I guess I'm changing everything to Calibri now
Show threadI TRIED TO TELL YOUDec 10
@portlandy @Karstan hahaha that's been my default e-reader font for years
Show threadKai KlostermannDec 10
@portlandy @Karstan ICE! Open up!
Show threadMacCruiskeenDec 10
@w7voa Why not just go with Fraktur blackletter font and get over it.
Show threadNeo EhproqueDec 10
@maccruiskeen @w7voa because it's a Judenletter, apparently https://journa.host/@w7voa/115692914682396254
Steve Herman (@[email protected])

The Nazis, in 1941, banned the Fraktur font because it was “too Jewish.” https://alphahistory.com/pastpeculiar/1941-nazis-ban-jewish-fonts/

Journa.host
Show threadsiderealDec 10
@maccruiskeen @w7voa Too Jewish
Show threadJames BrittDec 10

@w7voa

The pettiest people on the planet.

The cruelty is the point.

Show threadRaglan Niall  Dec 10
@w7voa fuckwits
Show threadThe Lack Thereof Dec 10
@w7voa
What the actual.....
Show threadAllisonDec 10
@w7voa Sad. They have nothing else to do 🙄.
Show threadBruce MirkenDec 10
@w7voa Please tell me you're joking.
Show threadThirteenth WorrierDec 10
@w7voa
I physically NEED this to be an article from The Onion.
Show threadMatthew MartinDec 10
@w7voa Can't tell if this is the Onion or not.
Show threadKai KlostermannDec 10
@mistersql @w7voa My life since 2016
Show threadFlaming CheetoDec 10
@w7voa From a WIRED article about why the initial switch to Calibri was made , "Calibri also has a larger character set, allowing it to be used for more languages and in more use cases than Times"
I think that it's more accessible was a bonus.
Show threadnotthatkindofdoctorDec 10
@w7voa
But it is merit-based. The merit is the better readability. I hope a wild animal chews his eyeballs out while he sleeps.
Show threadI TRIED TO TELL YOUDec 10
@notthatkindofdoctor @w7voa well in that case he'd be awake right quick to enjoy it
Show threadytscorpDec 10
@w7voa
Give me Calibri or give me death.
Show threadDarren du NordDec 10
@w7voa Calibri is now my new favorite font.
Show threadalciDec 10
@darren @w7voa dont do that : use Carlito, it is metric-compatible with calibri but is a free font (Calibri is owned by MS, a US company)
Show threadbmoreinis=>journa.hostDec 10
@w7voa I think it was a negative reference to the dream of a free state of California or some shit.
Show threadAlanDec 10
@w7voa For a discussion about pros and cons of different fonts, and in particular serif vs sans serif, I found this web page, unlike Rubio’s ignorant opinions, useful: https://inkbotdesign.com/sans-serif-vs-serif-font/
Sans-Serif Vs Serif Fonts: The Typography Debate In 2025

Sans-serif vs Serif fonts? This question has sparked heated debates among designers and typographers for decades. Learn more on the ID blog.

Inkbot Design
Show threadManVsXerox: Resistful DingusDec 10

@w7voa This is the dumbest fucking shit i have seen, in my fucking life. People are struggling to make ends meet, times are the hardest they have been in a long time, and he's using the leverage he could be using to try to lessen the impact of tariffs, on your fucking font.

There's your fucking ad campaign democrats, if you weren't too busy removing your spine.

Show threadHugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷Dec 10
@w7voa You just know that the next move is Roman Numerals...then Latin...then the Sun revolves around Earth.
Show threadsatireDec 10

@w7voa What’s next? Tabs vs Spaces?

#fonts #pandorasbox #fontlinesmatter #humor

Show threadLeonaDec 10
@w7voa PETTY. So, so petty.
Show threadArchaeoIainDec 10
@w7voa this is, of course, pure madness of the US junta. But I must admit to being fed up with being called Lain because the lower case l and the upper case I are indistinguishable. I adopted Serif fonts a while back, now I see that even Microsoft moved to Aptos. But really, these are appropriate decisions of state? Does not the Secretary of State have any more important concern about Gaza, Sudan or Venezuela?
Show threadSans SheriffDec 10

@w7voa

Bunch of dingbats!

Show threadgavinisdie Dec 10
@w7voa what did Calibri do 😭
Show threadRoman E♯ MelihhovDec 10
@w7voa could it be because "donnie" the Trump can't read anything longer than a sentence long message in 500pt Times New Roman
Show threadNatDec 10
@w7voa the state department was actually in the process of switching to Aptos before this admin came in because it was even more accessible to people with disabilities like speech to text as well as individuals with dyslexia because of the font being cleaner and crisp. Wild.
Show threadcrumbletiltskinDec 10

@w7voa it's the sheer petulance that gets me.

The right thinks we're pissed at their words and actions, and we are, but not for the reasons they think we are.

It's gold toilet petty cringe.

#trump #idiocracy #maga

Show threadTak!Dec 10
@w7voa I feel like Comic Sans would be more appropriate
Show threadDG1JAN 🇪🇺Dec 10
@w7voa just when I think news from the US couldn't possibly be any dumber, I open Mastodon. ... and Surprise!!
Show thread狐ヴィクシーDec 10
@w7voa Is this satire?