The Rise of AI Slop: How Artificial Intelligence is Flooding the Internet with Low-Quality Content

AI slop is taking over the internet and I've had enough of it

Rushed, misleading and just plain bad AI content is everywhere - why? Every time I open Facebook - which admittedly isn't often these days - I'm met with a dreamy, fairytale-like image from accounts called things like "Nature is amazing". A very elaborate castle nestled in Scottish woodlands or ruins of temples submerged in crystal-clear water. For a split second, I wonder - wait, is that real? Then, on closer inspection I realize, of course, it's AI slop. The comments are always a mess. Some people confidently declare, "It's AI!", while others insist, "No, it's real." The strangest responses, though, are the ones that acknowledge it's fake but don't seem to care: "It's AI, but it's still beautiful. I hope to visit one day." I can't even begin to unpack the impressive mental gymnastics needed to justify why fake is fine going on there. So instead, let's talk about AI slop - what it is, why it exists, and whether we should be worried about it. AI slop is a term used to describe AI-generated content that's pointless, lazy, misleading, or just really, really bad - think of it as the spam of the AI age. It's showing up everywhere as AI tools become more accessible. Anyone can generate AI slop, but it tends to show up where it serves a specific purpose. Sometimes, it's designed to mislead, whether through fake viral images, AI-written clickbait, or content that pretends to be real. Other times, it's used to drive traffic, with social media accounts and forums churning out AI-generated posts purely for engagement. Then there's the SEO game - entire websites built from low-effort AI content, designed not to inform but to manipulate search rankings. And sometimes, AI slop exists for no real reason at all - simply because people can make it, they do. Why is AI slop so bad? Often, it comes down to rushed, shaky foundations and little to no human oversight. AI tools are only as good as the instructions they're given. If someone doesn't know how to craft a solid prompt - or simply rushes through it - the result is often generic, inaccurate, bizarre, or all three at once. The problem escalates when AI is automated at scale, with companies mass-producing content with zero quality control And the issue doesn't stop there. AI models are increasingly being trained on AI-generated data, creating a feedback loop of bad content. If an AI system is fed mislabelled, low-quality, or biased data, its outputs will reflect that. Over time, it gets worse - AI slop creating more AI slop. What's more, we need to remember that most large language models (LLMs) aren't designed to be truth machines - they're built to mimic human speech patterns. And that's where the real problem begins. But the thing is, AI-generated content wouldn't spread so easily if platforms actually wanted to stop it. However, instead of cracking down, some of the worst offenders seem to be embracing it. A simple solution could be to penalize AI-generated spam by limiting its reach on a platform like Facebook. But that's not happening - at least, not yet. In many cases, platforms benefit from the engagement AI slop brings. According to Fortune, Mark Zuckerberg said: "I think we're going to add a whole new category of content which is AI generated or AI summarized content, or existing content pulled together by AI in some way." No talk of better moderation. Just an open invitation for more of it. It's not always easy to tell AI-generated content from the real thing. Sometimes, it's obvious - a hand with nine fingers or writing so bizarre it's laugh-out-loud funny. But as AI becomes more sophisticated, the differences are getting harder to spot, and that's a problem for all sorts of reasons. AI hallucinates, generating information that sounds convincing but isn't real. And when something sounds realistic, it's harder to separate fact from fiction. This is especially true in certain contexts. If an AI-generated image appears in an offensive tweet, people tend to scrutinize it. But when that same AI image is posted on a Facebook page about dreamy travel destinations, it's far more likely to be taken at face value. The same goes for AI-generated news or content that looks authoritative - if something appears credible, we're less likely to question it. And if we lose the ability to tell what's real and what's fake, we've got a serious problem. We're already seeing the effects of online mis- and disinformation playing out in real time. AI slop doesn't just mislead - it erodes trust in information itself. And once that trust is gone, how does it change the way we interact with the internet? At its worst, it could lead to total distrust in everything. The rise of AI-generated journalism and an increasing reliance on inaccurate sources only adds to the problem. Even if we could perfectly separate AI slop from human-created content, the sheer volume of junk clogging up the internet - flooding search results, drowning out quality information - is a disaster in itself. Then there's the environmental cost. AI-generated content requires huge computing power, consuming energy at an alarming rate. When AI is used for genuinely useful tasks, that trade-off might make sense. But are we really willing to burn through resources just to churn out endless low-quality junk? And finally, there's the AI training loop. Think about it: AI learns from internet data. But if the internet is increasingly flooded with AI-generated junk, then future AI models will be trained on slop, producing even sloppier results. We're already knee-deep in the slop - and it's rising. AI-generated junk isn't new - fake and misleading content has always existed - but as AI improves, spotting it is becoming harder. Luckily, there are telltale signs. One of the biggest giveaways is visual... oddness. AI-generated images and videos often have an uncanny, slightly off quality, with strange blending, distorted hands, or backgrounds that don't quite make sense. These imperfections might not always be obvious at first glance, but they tend to reveal themselves the longer you look. With AI-written text, the red flags are different. The language often feels vague, overly generic, or packed with buzzwords, lacking the depth or nuance you'd expect from human writing. Sometimes, there are weird logic jumps - sentences that sound fine individually but don't quite connect when you read them together. Repetition is another clue, as AI models tend to rephrase the same idea in slightly different ways rather than offering fresh insight. Another key step is checking the source. Does the content come from a trusted news outlet or a reputable creator, or is it from a random viral account with no clear authorship? If something seems off, looking for additional sources or cross-referencing with credible websites can help confirm whether it's real. And if you use AI yourself, responsibility matters. Writing thoughtful prompts, fact-checking results, and using AI as a tool to refine rather than replace human creativity can help prevent the spread of low-quality, misleading content. Double-checking information, being wary of AI hallucinations, and critically assessing what you put into the world are essential steps. Because at the end of the day, no one wants to be a slop farmer. Some people will always use new tech in ways that suck - and AI slop is proof. We can't rewind the clock and undo how easy AI tools are to access (though some would argue we should). Instead, rather than feeling powerless, we need to get better at identifying slop - and, hopefully, build better tools to counteract it. Unfortunately, social media companies don't seem interested in helping. But companies like Google and OpenAI at least say they're working on ways to better detect AI spam and produce safer, more useful responses. Which sounds good, but unless things change soon, we'll be wading through AI slop forever.

How to spot AI slop on Pinterest - and why it's such a big problem

For years, Pinterest has been dubbed the go-to social media site for inspirational mood boards, tracking lifestyle, fashion, and beauty trends, and finding niche and popular consumer-based products. Recently, however, the site has been plagued with an onslaught of AI slop, making it difficult for users to decipher what's real, human-made content or fake. Also: AI scams have infiltrated the knitting and crochet world - why it matters for everyone Because AI has infiltrated all of the popular Pinterest categories, much of the slop often links to AI-powered content farming sites that pose as DIY blogs, blending the AI-generated imagery with the site's human-made content. This results in SEO spammers profiting off of the display ads attached to these content-farming pages. The abundance of AI slop on Pinterest and other social media platforms, which are full of "inspo" or aspirational content, also hurts small businesses. According to the Washington Post, AI inspo refers to AI-generated photos that "customers find [and] reflect unattainable standards or incorporate impossible details, making it hard for real-world businesses to meet clients' demands." As a result, small business owners have noticed an increase in the number of situations where they have to explain to their clients how to spot AI-generated imagery and why it's not realistic inspiration, especially for events such as weddings or hairstyles and even plastic surgery. Most top results for searches I attempted, spanning from "nail art" to "cozy loft apartment interior design" and specific hairstyles ranging from "braided hairstyles" to "pixie cut styles for black women," were rife with AI-generated pins. Take a search for "braided hairstyles for black women," which, compared to other hairstyle searches, is not flooded with AI-generated images. Still, after scrolling through the first couple of rows, I came across an AI-generated hairstyle that is not only hard to replicate in real life but is also linked to an AI-generated blog explicitly tailored for black women's hairstyles. I tried this again for a more common search like "comfort dinner recipes" and was immediately bombarded with AI-generated posts linked to spammy blog sites. All of the pinned recipes in the first row, except one, were AI-generated. They also seemed to have been created by fake food bloggers with AI-generated profiles. Also: Need stock images? I tested Getty's 'safe' AI generator - and it's good (with caveats) For example, the first recipe that comes up, "Marry me chicken pasta," has about 2K likes and 500 comments; however, the so-called food blogger behind the post, "Emilia," has no last name, and her profile pic is obviously AI. Like other fake food blogs, the person running the site claims to be a "busy mom" interested in "family-friendly" quick-to-make meals but advises site viewers that some recipes may be tagged with affiliate links -- usually Amazon. This was common amongst food-related searches, like "easy breakfast ideas," where the top pins are generally AI-generated images of popular food dishes linked to fake blog websites helmed by generic mononyms. To avoid AI slop, I recommend being as specific as possible when it comes to popular searches. For food content, I found that searches such as "low-calorie meals" or "high-protein vegan recipes for breakfast" had fewer AI-generated pins. Even though most pins are linked to blogs, they appeared to be free of AI-generated profiles and run by actual people. However, the platform's abundant amount of AI slop spans numerous topics and searches, and it's hard to pinpoint how to navigate that as a user looking for human-made content, especially for more instructional DIY pins like recipes or home decor projects. For instance, when I searched "studio apartment layout ideas," it appeared clear of AI slop. Still, after a closer look, I noticed that the top pins used pictures of actual studio apartments to entice users to click on them. Then, they redirected me to AI-generated blogs with listicles of AI-generated images of apartments with little to no instructional advice about layout design. Also: How to use OpenAI's Sora to create stunning AI-generated videos I noticed that the images were AI-generated because they had an unnatural sheen. Upon looking closely, objects in the photos, such as plants or books, looked fake. And the books also never had titles on them. It's important to note that many of these content-farming pages that use AI images and text are run by SEO spammers who use various AI models to generate dozens of fake articles on an AI-generated site under counterfeit names that they then pin to Pinterest for click-based revenue. Currently, Pinterest does not flag or label AI-generated content. Instead, it has facilitated the production of AI slop by introducing a suite of ad-focused AI tools for marketers who want to create ads for products using AI. Also: The US Copyright Office's new ruling on AI art is here - and it could change everything As Pinterest enters the e-commerce space and continues to move away from the aspirational content the platform was built on, AI slop will be a recurring issue. According to Pinterest, "We have been building labeling of AI-generated or modified content to provide relevant context to users about what they see on Pinterest. We'll continue to expand these labels in the coming months."

AI is ruining Pinterest. Here's why it's such a big problem

For years, Pinterest has been dubbed the go-to social media site for seeing inspirational mood boards, tracking lifestyle, fashion, and beauty trends, and finding niche and popular consumer-based products. However, the site has recently been plagued with an onslaught of AI slop, making it difficult for users to decipher what's real, human-made content, or fake. Pinterest users have taken to Reddit to vent about the app's changing landscape since the AI influx. Some users have even called the issue "The Enshittification of Pinterest." Also: This new AI benchmark measures how much models lie A common complaint is that AI-generated pins are now dominating people's feeds. One Reddit post explains that the app is becoming unusable because "it feels like Pinterest prioritizes automation and AI over user experience, which limits creativity and real inspiration." Another Reddit user detailed how they're "bombarded" with ads when they open the app. One comment reads: "I stopped using Pinterest because 80% of the results are AI-generated images," in response to an active thread speaking out against AI slop on the platform. Also: AI scams have infiltrated the knitting and crochet world - why it matters for everyone Because AI has infiltrated popular Pinterest categories, much of the slop often links to AI-powered content-farming sites that pose as DIY blogs, blending the AI-generated imagery with the site's human-made content. This use of AI slop results in SEO spammers profiting off the display ads attached to these content-farming pages. The abundance of AI slop on Pinterest and other social media platforms, full of "inspo" or aspirational content, also hurts small businesses. According to the Washington Post, AI inspo refers to AI-generated photos that "customers find [and] reflect unattainable standards or incorporate impossible details, making it hard for real-world businesses to meet client's demands." Also: OpenAI's o1 lies more than any major AI model. Why that matters Small business owners have noticed an increase in situations where they have to explain to their clients how to spot AI-generated imagery and why it's not a realistic inspiration, especially for events such as weddings, hairstyles, and even plastic surgery. However, according to a Pinterest spokesperson: "Impressions on generative AI content make up a small percentage of the total impressions on Pinterest. As people continue experimenting with generative AI content, we are working to provide users with more control and context over the content they see on Pinterest. Pinterest will continue intentionally leveraging AI, such as our inclusive AI features, to enhance the experience for our users and creators." The top results for most of the searches I attempted were rife with AI-generated pins, spanning from "nail art" to "cozy loft apartment interior design" and specific hairstyles ranging from "braided hairstyles" to "pixie cut styles for black women". Take a search for "braided hairstyles for black women" which, when compared to other hairstyle searches, is not flooded with AI-generated images. Still, after scrolling through the first couple of rows, I came across an AI-generated hairstyle that is not only hard to replicate in real life but is also linked to an AI-generated blog explicitly tailored for black women's hairstyles: I tried this tactic again for the more common search, "comfort dinner recipes", and was immediately bombarded with AI-generated posts linked to spammy blog sites. All the pinned recipes in the first row, except one, were AI-generated. The recipes also seemed to have been created by fake food bloggers with AI-generated profiles. Also: Need stock images? I tested Getty's 'safe' AI generator - and it's good (with caveats) For example, the first recipe, "Marry me chicken pasta", has about 2,000 likes and 500 comments. However, the so-called food blogger behind the post, "Emilia", has no last name, and her profile pic is AI-generated. Like other fake food blogs, the person running the site claims to be a "busy mom" interested in "family-friendly" quick-to-make meals but advises site viewers that some recipes may be tagged with affiliate links -- usually Amazon. This approach was common amongst food-related searches, such as "easy breakfast ideas", where the top pins are generally AI-generated images of popular food dishes linked to fake blog websites run by generic mononyms. To avoid AI slop, I recommend being as specific as possible in popular searches. For food content, I found that searches such as "low-calorie meals" or "high-protein vegan recipes for breakfast" had fewer AI-generated pins. Even though most pins are linked to blogs, they appeared to be free of AI-generated profiles and run by actual people. Also: Will synthetic data derail generative AI's momentum or be the breakthrough we need? A temporary fix for blocking AI images posted on Reddit details that if you use Firefox, you can get the extension uBlock Origin. Within that extension, there's the option to blacklist certain IPs. There's a handy list of blocked IPs that you can use, and it works like a charm. This is the script. You can put this script into uBlacklist which essentially does the same thing. However, the platform's abundant amount of AI slop spans numerous topics and searches, and it's hard to navigate that mess as a user looking for human-made content, especially for more instructional DIY pins, such as recipes or home decor projects. For instance, when I searched "studio apartment layout ideas", the results appeared clear of AI slop. Yet after a closer look, I noticed that the top pins used pictures of actual studio apartments to entice users to click. Then, these pins redirected me to AI-generated blogs with listicles of AI-generated images of apartments with little to no instructional advice about layout design. Also: How to use OpenAI's Sora to create stunning AI-generated videos I noticed that the images were AI-generated because they had an unnatural sheen. Upon looking closely, objects in the photos, such as plants or books, looked fake. And the books also never had titles on them. It's important to note that many of these content-farming pages that use AI images and text are run by SEO spammers who use various AI models to generate dozens of fake articles on an AI-generated site under counterfeit names that they then pin to Pinterest for click-based revenue. Currently, Pinterest is experimenting with labeling Gen AI-enhanced content. The social media site also recently introduced Pinterest Performance+, a suite of ad-focused AI tools for marketers who want to create product ads using Gen AI. In addition, Pinterest added a new clause to the company's website outlining how Pinterest will employ its users' "information to train, develop and improve our technology such as our machine learning models, regardless of when Pins were posted." This approach would include, for example, Pinterest's body type technology, "which is trained on images in Pins posted to our Services." Also: Most AI voice cloning tools aren't safe from scammers, Consumer Reports finds The company suggests its goal is to "improve the products and services of our family of companies and offer new features". In the past, Pinterest expressed similar sentiments when announcing it would use personal data to train Pinterest Canvas, the platform's Gen AI model. However, there is an opt-out button for AI training, and the company also says it doesn't train its models on data from minor users. To opt out, users must visit the Privacy and Data Settings, which you can access on your profile page. Under the Gen AI section, switch off the button for "use data to train Pinterest Canvas". I would also recommend opting out of targeted advertising activities, such as "Use info from sites you visit" and "Ads off Pinterest". Yet as Pinterest continues to move into the e-commerce space and away from the aspirational content the platform was built on, AI slop is likely to be a recurring issue.