Artificial content overload is flooding social media and sparking increasingly vocal resistance

The image that finally convinced young Parisian Théodore that something was seriously wrong with social media was clearly fake. It showed two emaciated South Asian children with strange beards and missing limbs celebrating a birthday in the middle of a busy road in the pouring rain. Despite the obvious signs that it was an AI-generated image, it has racked up nearly a million likes on Facebook.

“I was completely confused."," says the 20-year-old student. "Absurd, artificially created images are everywhere, and they receive a lot of attention without any verification.” Thus, his X-network account called “Insane AI Slop” was born, where he began to warn and mock fake, low-quality content that misleads users. In a few months, he amassed more than 130,000 followers.

What is artificial content padding?

The expression "AI slop” is used for quickly created, often illogical and low-quality images and videos generated by artificial intelligence that nevertheless go viral. In this article, we will call this phenomenon artificial content clutter – content created primarily for the purpose of attracting attention, rather than informing or creative expression.

Common themes of such content include religion, the military, and especially “touching” stories of poor children creating incredible products or experiencing miracles. Such images and videos exploit emotions and social media algorithms that reward any form of engagement.

The third phase of social networks

According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, social networks have entered a “third phase.” After a period of content from friends and then professional creators, now comes a wave of content created or repurposed by artificial intelligence. Meta and other platforms not only allow such content, but also provide tools for its mass creation.

YouTube shares a similar view. Its CEO Neal Mohan wrote that more than a million channels were using AI tools to create content as of December. He acknowledged concerns about low-quality content, but stressed that the company does not want to arbitrate what is and is not allowed.

Money, algorithms and user anger

One reason for the rise of artificial content is the creative economy. Channels that produce such content can garner billions of views and millions in revenue. But at the same time, resistance is also growing. Angry comments are increasingly appearing under viral artificial videos, sometimes garnering more likes than the content itself.

Théodore has pressured YouTube to remove some particularly controversial channels that were posting grotesque, artificially created cartoons supposedly aimed at children. But despite individual measures, the flood seems unstoppable.

Does it even matter whether the content is true?

According to researcher Emily Thorson, the answer depends on why people use social media. If it's purely for entertainment, the criterion is simple: is the content entertaining? But if users are looking for information, knowledge, or a sense of community, then deception becomes a problem.

The problem is greatest where the artificial content is not clearly satirical, but is created with the intention of deception. Such content blurs the line between real and artificial, fostering confusion and distrust.

Artificial content overload is not a side effect of technology, but a logical consequence of business models that reward attention at all costs. As long as algorithms drive engagement, resistance will be part of the same cycle. The question is no longer whether AI will overwhelm social media, but whether users, platforms, and regulators will find a way to separate creativity from digital clutter.