I Am Not A Typo​

I Am Not A Typo targets a real inclusion issue – the fact that millions of people are othered and have their identity invalidated every day in the form of their name being considered a typo by the devices we use.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE DEC 2025: ​​Microsoft has updated its UK dictionaries as a result of our campaign! See the news here!​​

Creative campaigningPurposeSocial impact

Background

Our name is the most important word in our life. It’s our identity. Yet 41% of names given to UK children are deemed ‘wrong’ by the technology we use every day. And every autocorrect in a text message or red squiggly line on a Word doc is a reminder that you don’t quite belong. I Am Not A Typo is a voluntary collective with a simple mission.

To Correct Autocorrect.

With no ‘client’ and no fee – just donated time and media assets – we created an organisation and campaign that has achieved the impossible: systemic change from a tech institution (Microsoft).

Against a culture war backdrop, with DEI issues being politicised and demeaned globally as woke, I Am Not A Typo has achieved real impact. Made millions of people feel seen. And – in the UK at least – stopped them being treated as mistakes.

Microsoft response to campaign

The campaign

We launched in 2024 with a powerful message on a donated billboard, an open letter to Big Tech calling for action, our data story and powerful testimony from our coalition of experts.

The campaign took off.  We went global, securing media coverage in US media – crucial to reaching US-based Big Tech.

The open letter acted as a petition, with over 2,000 signatures and testimonials from people who’ve experienced being a Typo.

We generated conversations across social media, particularly LinkedIn, targeting heads of technology and DEI at tech companies, and Instagram, where personal stories of those inspired by the campaign have been shared since launch.

Our second creative moment saw the creation of our provocative take on the classic Baby Name book: 100 Incorrect Baby Names, launched in May 2025, alongside a survey revealing that 22.6 million adults are impacted by the ‘typo’ problem.

This generated more media, our engagement online spiked by +700% and we celebrated at a book launch at Brick Lane Bookshop.

Impact (so far)

  • Global media coverage with a combined reach of more than 700 million.
    • Including Fast Company – which highlighted lack of action by the Tech Giants and called on them to comment; The World, North America’s longest-running daily global news program; The Guardian (top spot in their “Most Viewed” ranking); interviews on the Jeremy Vine Show, BBC World Service, and overseas radio in Canada and Australia.
  • Engagement from influencers on Instagram and TikTok with a combined audience of over 1.5 million – without spending a dime.
  • Attracted messages in response from Google, Samsung, Microsoft and LinkedIn.
  • More than 1000 people (and counting) have shared their personal testimonies and messages of support. All saying the same thing: “I feel seen.”
  • We have built an online community of thousands across social media platforms.

But best of all: real change in the world

In December 2025, after months of dialogue, Microsoft confirmed that – as a direct result of the I Am Not A Typo campaign – they had updated their UK dictionaries to make them more inclusive. The error rate on Microsoft software fell from 41% to around 2%. Meaning that millions of people in the UK are no longer typos.

Credits

I Am Not A Typo is overwhelmingly a campaign BY the people affected FOR the people affected. A movement BY typos, FOR typos. A majority of members of the coalition and collective that became the IANAT organisation are themselves people who have been treated as ‘mistakes’ by technology. Their names autocorrected against their will – Malini becoming ‘Malibu’. Dhruti becoming ‘Dorito’. Cathal becoming ‘Cathedral’.

Our coalition partners include: