AI content flood drives ‘slop’ to word of the year

AI-driven digital junk has propelled ‘slop’ to the top word of 2025, reflecting cultural awareness of misinformation and fake content online.
Merriam-Webster names ‘slop’ as 2025’s word of the year, highlighting the surge in AI-generated low-quality content and growing public desire for authentic digital media.

Merriam-Webster has chosen ‘slop’ as its 2025 word of the year, reflecting the rise of low-quality digital content produced by AI. The term originally meant soft mud, but now describes absurd or fake online material.

Greg Barlow, Merriam-Webster’s president, said the word captures how AI-generated content has fascinated, annoyed and sometimes alarmed people. Tools like AI video generators can produce deepfakes and manipulated clips in seconds.

The spike in searches for ‘slop’ shows growing public awareness of poor-quality content and a desire for authenticity. People want real, genuine material rather than AI-driven junk content.

AI-generated slop includes everything from absurd videos to fake news and junky digital books. Merriam-Webster selects its word of the year by analysing search trends and cultural relevance.

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