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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Aisha Down

From shrimp Jesus to erotic tractors: how viral AI slop took over the internet

Internet United States Flood Justin Bieber Nayib Bukele Sam Altman Economy OpenAI
Composite of Shrimp Jesus, Nayib Bukele, Justin Bieber and Super Cat League
Clockwise from top left: Shrimp Jesus, Nayib Bukele, Justin Bieber and Super Cat League. Composite: various

In the algorithm-driven economy of 2025, one man’s shrimp Jesus is another man’s side hustle.

AI slop – the low-quality, surreal content flooding social media platforms, designed to farm views – is a phenomenon, some would say the phenomenon of the 2024 and 2025 internet. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year this year is “slop”, referring exclusively to the internet variety.

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