Coded to Exhaustion: The Hidden Cost of Outsmarting the Algorithm

Algospeak and the Cost of Speaking Under Algorithmic Suppression

When millions of creators have to say 'unalive' instead of suicide and use a grape emoji instead of talking about rape, something has gone wrong. In this episode, Dr. Leslie Poston discusses her dissertation research on the psychological impact of algospeak, the deliberate language modifications social media creators use to evade algorithmic content moderation, where those strategies actually come from, what happens when they spread, and what it costs the people who need them most. Portions of this research are currently being prepared for peer-reviewed journal publication. Dissertation successfully defended June 2026, in process for publication July 2026, available to public mid-to-end August 2026.

00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:44 What Is Algospeak
02:40 Origins and Raciolinguistics
04:13 Why I Studied This
05:28 Methods and Dataset
07:03 Emotional Toll
08:54 Cognitive Load
12:50 "Neutralization Lifecycle"
15:11 Beyond Algorithms Harassment
16:10 What Needs to Change
17:53 What Changed Since Study
19:31 Key Takeaways and Sign Off

Note: had some trouble with the audio leveling this week on a word or two, if I have time I'll re-record and replace those segments this weekend.