A growing concern around artificial intelligence driven content has taken center stage with Merriam Webster announcing “slop” as its 2025 word of the year.
The dictionary publisher said the term reflects rising public awareness of low quality digital material increasingly created using artificial intelligence tools. Merriam Webster now defines “slop” as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” Earlier meanings of the word largely referred to products of little value or food waste fed to animals.
Social media platforms have seen a sharp rise in such content. Users across major networks were exposed to a wave of AI generated videos and images, including a widely shared clip described as “a video of a bizarre creature turning into a spider, turning into a nightmare giraffe inside of a busy mall,” which reportedly crossed 362 million views on apps owned by Meta.
In September, Meta introduced Vibes, a dedicated feed for AI generated videos. Around the same time, OpenAI launched its Sora app. Platforms such as TikTok and YouTube have also seen an increase in similar content. With enough engagement, this material often generates advertising revenue, despite questions around quality and authenticity.
The impact has also reached the music industry. Spotify said in September that it removed over 75 million AI generated “spammy tracks” and introduced new policies to protect artists from impersonation and deception. The company faced criticism after The Velvet Sundown gained 1 million monthly listeners before later clarifying in its bio that it is a “synthetic music project.”
Public sentiment toward AI tools also appears to be shifting. According to a recent economic survey published on Dec. 15, usage of AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini declined in recent months. Only 48% of respondents said they had used AI tools in the past 2 to 3 months, down from 53% recorded in August.
By selecting “slop,” Merriam Webster highlighted how language continues to evolve alongside technology and how public unease around AI generated content is shaping everyday conversation.
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