This is an official announcement. Please be officially advised that, due to excessive and reckless overuse, the word “officially” is officially banned from all future official announcements.
This decision is final. And official.
Once upon a time, adding official to an announcement served a purpose. It distinguished fact from rumour, press release from pub chat. Sensible. Helpful. Civilised.
But in recent years, the word has gone rogue.
Nothing can simply happen anymore. It must be officially announced.
- A new movie? Cue the official release of the official trailer and the official poster.
- A football signing? The official announcement of the official player joining the official team.
- An event? Not just launched, but officially launched.
Official. Official. Official.
It’s all so officious.
And also completely unnecessary.
We already know when something is official. If it comes from the officials, it’s official. If it leaks, it’s a leak. The clue is usually right there in the context. There is no need to shout OFFICIAL like it’s a legal disclaimer tattooed across the headline.
The only genuine grey area is politics, where something can be unofficially official while remaining officially unofficial until someone resigns, denies it, or confirms it three weeks later.
For everything else, stating that something is official adds nothing. It’s a surplus word – just pointless linguistic bubble wrap – padding out announcements that would otherwise be perfectly clear without it.
Of course, in an age of deepfakes and AI nonsense, officially announcing the official launch of the official thing does lend an air of official authority to the announcement.
Right up until the unofficial fakes release their official fake announcement, complete with an officially unofficial logo.
So let us draw a line. Officially.
Enough with the officially official officialness.
Let us end the tyranny of the officially.