Slop: How AI twists content and seduces algorithms
Content warning: Links take you to potentially disturbing AI slop.
Algorithms have the hots for AI, and there’s no sign it’s getting the ick.
Open Instagram, and you’ll notice all your friends are gone. Or rather, they’ve moved up to the stories section, leaving your feed to fend for itself. When I open IG, the first post is Bleacher Report on Nikola Jokic posting a 60+ point triple-double in a loss, followed by an ad for shorts because I Googled “best shorts for men 2025” this morning. Next is a post from an account I don’t even follow, then New York Times, then another menswear ad for menswear and more mystery accounts.
Since humans post irregularly and infrequently, social platforms have turned to consistent content aggregators and slop to fill the void.
Slop is AI-generated content designed to ensnare users into engagement, employing the most grotesque and unnerving imagery possible (warning: gross) and to shock you (ditto).
It’s hard to watch, but the engagement on these videos is undeniable. NBA Street co-creator Daryl Anselmo frequently posts what he calls AI slop, and yet he’s collected 354K followers on Instagram. Shiverchain posts horribly disturbing videos but has built an audience of 136K followers with hundreds of millions of views.
Slop accounts likely started with generic AI content of cats, but as one video pushed into weird cat territory and was rewarded with views, AI adjusted, and the content has grown more and more disturbing. Body horror is common because we react with shock, often leading to sending it to friends to share that feeling. Some heart the video, amazed at AI’s convincing visuals. Others rage comment on how grotesque it is. Some genuinely enjoy the genre and want more, so they like, comment, and share. No matter the reason, the algorithm sees engagement, leading to users staying on the platform to see ads.
AI accounts are a content firehose for platforms' insatiable hunger. So when AI “creators” pump out more videos in a month than real people do in a year, the algorithm gets all the content it can handle. Constant testing, tweaking, and responding to audience feedback ensures AI accounts' success.
Ad Break
AI now powers Meta Advantage+ ad settings, helping advertisers with content, audience, placement, budget, and destination automations. While it’s interesting and maybe even useful, how much do we really want Meta to have a say in how our progressive content looks and feels?
Advantage+ makes an advertiser’s job easier but at the cost of doing it worse. Right now, Advantage+ objectively sucks. The generation it puts out is weak at best and causes visual bugs in Ads Manager (for me). But if it’s ever functional, folks in the political space will start using AI to pump out ads, automating and scaling the testing process to firehose levels. Everything on our feeds, including ads, will be AI-generated if we let it happen.
What the hell do we do now?
Slop accounts teach us that we can better engage with platform tools. A lot of progressive content I see online isn’t effective. I often see important information on graphics but no one will ever stop to read it because there’s no human element. It’s asking for action (extraction) without familiarity. Self-imposed professionalism often neuters our relatability.
We must always ask this question before posting: Would my mostly apolitical friend stop scrolling for this? Certified political freaks like us may stop and read, but we’re not average people who don’t open Instagram to see what petition they can sign.
Digital advocacy allows us to reach people agreeable to our cause that we might not have found otherwise. We can then build a base of folks who want to get involved–at first from a distance–and see the movement in action. In doing this, we show that our movement is not only popular but also relatable and accessible.
There is a path forward to use platforms’ engagement tools to help people feel like they’re not alone, slop accounts be damned.
Be creative with new ideas. Get in front of the camera and try vertical video. Give your comms team the freedom they need to express themselves in conveying our important messages. In the most tender parts of my heart, I believe social media managers are artists; after all, they take the most boring, bland information from under the dome and turn it into content people can relate to.
Even though we’re competing with a firehose of uninspired and trivial AI content, we can rest easy knowing our content is real. Messy. Flawed. Imperfect but human. Our audience is out there, but it just takes a lot of work.
Progressive content starts and ends with conviction. And I know I’m not alone in saying that I’d rather connect with people through my creativity and convictions than through slop.
Hec, Digital Engagement Manager, Progressive Promotions
