DeepSeek caught giving users nicknames, says it's just 'context placeholders'

A netizen recently posted on social media that DeepSeek gives users nicknames in deep thinking mode, like 'Momo', and the topic went viral. DeepSeek explained that this isn't secretly giving nicknames, but 'tagging'—adding temporary labels during reasoning, like 'this user likes to dig deep' or 'this one is testing me'. These tags are just context placeholders to help the model focus its answers, not stored or remembered, and carry no emotional tone. DeepSeek noted the explanation is AI-generated, not an official response.