WASHINGTON (TNND) \u2014 AI-generated content is now so common online that it has earned its own nickname: \u201cAI slop.\u201d The term generally refers to low-quality digital content produced in large quantities by artificial intelligence, including fake images, synthetic videos, low-effort articles, political memes and engagement-driven posts. <\/p>\n
According to Merriam-Webster,<\/a> \u201cslop\u201d is defined in this context as \u201cdigital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.\u201d Merriam-Webster selected \u201cslop\u201d as its 2025 Word of the Year, pointing to the term\u2019s growing use as AI-generated material spread across the internet. <\/p>\n Experts say the concern is not simply that AI slop is annoying or low-quality. The deeper issue is scale. AI tools make it possible to quickly and cheaply generate fake articles, images, videos and posts that can look legitimate at first glance. According to the European Digital Media Observatory,<\/a> AI slop can make the information environment less reliable when false or misleading AI-generated material is presented as real. EDMO warned that this can affect how people understand politics, institutions and elections.<\/p>\n That matters because democracy depends on voters being able to separate fact from fiction. When social media feeds, search results and news-style websites are flooded with AI-generated material, it becomes harder for users to know what is real, what is satire, what is propaganda and what is simply engagement bait.<\/p>\n There are already examples of AI-generated content being used in politically charged environments. According to Freedom House\u2019s 2025 <\/a>\u201cFreedom on the Net\u201d report, AI innovation has helped automate influence operations by lowering their cost and increasing their efficiency. Freedom House cited the example of India and Pakistan after tensions escalated following a terrorist attack in Kashmir in April 2025, saying government-linked influencers and commenters in both countries posted waves of inflammatory AI-generated content that drowned out reliable information.<\/p>\n The U.S. government has also tied AI tools to foreign influence operations. According to the U.S. Treasury Department<\/a>, it sanctioned Russian and Iranian entities in December 2024 over alleged efforts to interfere in the 2024 U.S. election. Treasury said a Moscow-based group, the Center for Geopolitical Expertise, used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation and distribute it through a network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets. Treasury also said the group manipulated a video involving a 2024 vice presidential candidate in an effort to sow discord among U.S. voters.<\/p>\n