diff --git a/changelog.d/12203.misc b/changelog.d/12203.misc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..892dc5bfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/12203.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix a misleading comment in the function `check_event_for_spam`.
diff --git a/synapse/events/spamcheck.py b/synapse/events/spamcheck.py
index 04afd4827..60904a55f 100644
--- a/synapse/events/spamcheck.py
+++ b/synapse/events/spamcheck.py
@@ -245,8 +245,8 @@ class SpamChecker:
         """Checks if a given event is considered "spammy" by this server.
 
         If the server considers an event spammy, then it will be rejected if
-        sent by a local user. If it is sent by a user on another server, then
-        users receive a blank event.
+        sent by a local user. If it is sent by a user on another server, the
+        event is soft-failed.
 
         Args:
             event: the event to be checked