Taylor Lorenz’s Power User The AI Slop-pocalypse: How The Slop Economy Took Over
Oct 1, 2025
Drew Harwell, a journalist from The Washington Post, delves into the chaotic world of the slop economy driven by AI-generated content. He explains how platforms are overwhelmed by low-quality, virally optimized 'slop' that prioritizes clicks over creativity. Harwell discusses the monetization of this content, highlighting how creators are using AI tools to build micro-businesses. He raises concerns about the proliferation of misleading information and the emotional exploitation in viral content, predicting a potential backlash as audiences crave authenticity.
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Slop Is An Industrialized Meme
- Slop predates AI and is the industrialized, mass-produced version of low-quality viral content.
- It thrives where platforms let thoughtless sharing and algorithmic promotion amplify it.
Video AI Made Slop Cheap And Accessible
- Advances in text-to-video tools around 2023 made video-generation cheap and accessible to hobbyists.
- That accessibility turned prompt engineering into a way to chase algorithmic virality from home.
Hobbyists Built Businesses Overnight
- Many AI slop creators are hobbyists doing it alongside college or day jobs to earn money.
- They built workflows like watermarking logos to protect and monetize rapid video production.