"Merriam-Webster defines the term as "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence." It can also mean "a product of little or no value," food waste fed to animals and soft mud, among other usages. In 2025, digital waste can look like fake woodland creatures jumping on a treadmill or infants in comically absurd situations - but it can also lead to the spread of dangerous misinformation."
"Yes, but: Merriam-Webster says that calling content "slop" sets "a tone that's less fearful, more mocking." Their release read, "The word sends a little message to AI: when it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes you don't seem too superintelligent." Slop doesn't just exist within the bounds of our social media bubbles - "workslop" is clogging up businesses and duping shoppers on e-commerce platforms."
Slop denotes low-quality, mass-produced digital content generated by artificial intelligence and also refers to worthless products, animal food waste, and soft mud. Digital slop appears as surreal or absurd imagery and can amplify dangerous misinformation. AI has scaled the production and visibility of slop, although comparable low-quality material appeared in earlier mass-entertainment formats. The phenomenon spills beyond social feeds into commerce and workplaces as “workslop,” interfering with business processes and deceiving shoppers. Labeling content as slop conveys a mocking, less fearful tone and signals skepticism about AI replacing human creativity. High-interest lookup terms alongside slop included gerrymander, touch grass, and tariff.
Read at Axios
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