As semantics matter, in your sentence "Semantics do matter." it would have been more better to say "Word choice matters." because semantics is the meaning of th

As semantics matter, in your sentence "Semantics do matter." it would have been more better to say "Word choice matters." because semantics is the meaning of the word used (or the study thereof), not the actual word used. You are not objecting, I believe, to the author's intended meaning--you seem to have clearly understood that and believe the different word would have been better used.