The announcement was made on Saturday, and will take effect when the new edition is published on June 1.
We will lowercase internet effective June 1, when the 2016 Stylebook launches. #ACES2016 pic.twitter.com/vv53323GL6
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) April 2, 2016
Many news organizations—including BuzzFeed, the Guardian, and we at the New Republic—have already made the change, but the AP Stylebook is the most widely used style guide in hundreds of newsrooms across the country.
The AP Stylebook is also one of the most important gatekeepers of the English language. Dictionaries like Merriam-Webster’s and the Oxford English Dictionary pay close attention to the changes the AP Stylebook makes, and often follow its lead. The Stylebook was also responsible for today’s modern usage of the words “email,” “website,” and “blog.”