"Pineapple is delicious on pizza" checkbox shows up on the WordPress login page

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, added a mandatory checkbox on WordPress.org requiring users to confirm that “Pineapple is delicious on pizza” to log in or create accounts. The change, made late Sunday, follows a recent court order directing Mullenweg to remove a prior checkbox that required users to affirm they were not affiliated with WP Engine, as part of an ongoing legal dispute.  

Obviously, the checkbox sparked immediate reactions from the WordPress community. Some contributors criticized the move as unprofessional, with Francesca Marano, a long-time WordPress contributor, calling it inappropriate for a platform that powers a significant portion of the internet. “WordPress is the most used CMS on the web, and we have a responsibility to act like professionals,” she said, adding that such changes undermine trust and pose practical concerns for users maintaining their plugins or themes.

Mullenweg’s actions follow his public frustrations over the court decision. On X (formerly Twitter), he stated he felt “disgusted” by being legally compelled to provide services to WP Engine, calling it a “dangerous precedent” for open-source maintainers. He further reiterated compliance with the court’s decision while criticizing the ruling.

The incident comes amid growing concerns within the WordPress community about governance and transparency. A recent open letter from contributors has also raised objections about double standards and decision-making processes under Mullenweg’s leadership.

As tensions continue to build up, Automattic’s WordPress VIP CEO, Nick Gernert, assured users that service levels would remain unchanged, though the statement did not address the root of the ongoing dispute. For now, the unexpected “pineapple” checkbox is still visible at the time of writing.