The cream of the slop: this year's AI highlights

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR

Episode: "The Cream of the Slop: This Year's AI Highlights"

Date: December 19, 2025

Host: Scott Detrow
Guests: Jeff Brumfield (NPR), Shannon Bond (NPR)

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Overview

This episode delves into the pervasive rise of low-quality, mass-produced artificial intelligence-generated content—or "slop," as dubbed Merriam-Webster's 2025 word of the year. Host Scott Detrow is joined by NPR’s Jeff Brumfield and Shannon Bond to review the most viral, troubling, and noteworthy examples of AI “slop” from the year, examine how these creations are influencing politics, misinformation, and everyday digital reality, and share tips on separating the real from the fake as AI content floods our feeds.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Defining "Slop" — AI’s Ubiquitous Content (00:00–01:25)

• Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year: "Slop" — “digital content of low quality usually produced in quantity by means of artificial intelligence" (Scott Detrow).
• Examples in Pop Culture:
  • AI-generated YouTube cartoons with nonsensical narratives: "Blue cola car. Wait, son, let me have some... Dad, check this pancake blimp." (Jeff Brumfield and Shannon Bond, 00:22–00:32)
  • AI-written bogus summer reading lists and playlists.
  • AI-created music flooding platforms. The "band" Velvet Sundown accrued millions of Spotify streams before being revealed as fake (01:08–01:25).
• Corporate Creep: While Spotify purged 75 million spam tracks, companies like Meta embraced AI-generated video feeds, and Warner Music Group made licensing deals with AI firms previously sued for copyright infringement (01:25–01:45).
• Bottom Line: AI is rapidly reshaping online reality; “the slop is here to stay.” (Scott Detrow, 01:25)

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Top Three AI "Slop" Videos of 2025 (04:03–09:43)

1. Political Propaganda: "King Trump" Fighter Jet Meme (04:18–06:39)

• The Video: AI-generated clip of President Trump flying a fighter jet labeled "King Trump," wearing a crown, and dropping cartoonish "poop" on city protestors. Set to Kenny Loggins’ "Danger Zone," used without artist's approval (Shannon Bond, 04:18–04:48).
• Reality vs. Satire: "This video is of course obviously fake, right? ... He and his supporters seem to really love these kind of memes." (Shannon Bond, 04:48)
• White House Embrace: The administration frequently shares (and occasionally creates) similar AI memes; the approach is an extension of their online-forward strategy.
  • Quote: “The memes will continue. It’s clearly a form of messaging, I think they think resonates with their audience.” (Shannon Bond, 05:57)

2. AI CEOs Commit "Crimes": OpenAI’s Sora App (06:44–08:16)

• The Video: OpenAI’s Sora app enables users to insert approved likenesses into AI videos. Early viral example: Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, depicted shoplifting computer chips for his company.
  • Quote: “You can make the CEO of a company commit fake crimes and make it look pretty real.” (Jeff Brumfield, 07:32)
• Misinformation Risk: Sora videos have not only created jokes, but also faked serious events like ballot box stuffing, raising election integrity concerns.
  • Quote: “Sora has basically lowered the bar for slop to zero.” (Jeff Brumfield, 08:16)

3. Cute Deception: Bouncing Bunnies on TikTok (08:36–09:43)

• The Video: Ring camera "footage" of adorable bunnies bouncing on a trampoline at night. No watermark indicated it was AI-generated; TikTok later labeled it as such.
• Why It Matters: “Mindless, cute engagement bait”—animal videos have long dominated the internet, now easily fabricated with AI.
  • Quote: “Whether or not they are, like, clearly labeled as AI, it really does start to blur the boundaries. And it makes people feel ... like this AI slop is inescapable if you are going to be online.” (Shannon Bond, 09:43)

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Navigating the Slop: Identifying AI Content and Why It Matters (09:43–11:14)

• Advice for Listeners:
  • AI videos are typically short (computing limitations) and contain unlikely scenarios. A reverse image search or looking up news coverage can help.
  • Quote: “Until there’s some sort of regulation and labeling, you’re probably just going to have to accept, Scott, that you’re going to be duped sooner or later.” (Jeff Brumfield, 09:48)
• Stay Skeptical, Not Cynical:
  • Researchers caution not to assume everything is fake, or “bad actors” can evade accountability.
  • Quote: “…when that happens, it makes it really hard to hold bad actors to account. You know, people can say, 'oh, that’s just fake. I didn’t really do that thing.’” (Jeff Brumfield, 10:30)
• Finding Joy in Reality:
  • Anecdote: Jeff Brumfield fact-checked a viral raccoon video and found it was real—"a raccoon really can still get drunk in a liquor store in 2025." (10:53)
  • Memorable Moment: "We can always count on raccoons to give us realistic, entertaining Internet content, I think." (Host, 11:08)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On the prevalence of AI content:
  "AI is rapidly reshaping online reality, and the slop is here to stay."
  — Scott Detrow (01:25)

• On White House memes:
  "The memes will continue. It’s clearly a form of messaging, I think they think resonates with their audience."
  — Shannon Bond (05:57)

• On AI’s potential for deepfakes:
  "You can make the CEO of a company commit fake crimes and make it look pretty real."
  — Jeff Brumfield (07:32)

• On defending reality:
  "…when that happens, it makes it really hard to hold bad actors to account."
  — Jeff Brumfield (10:30)

• Humorous close:
  "Let's hope the raccoons aren't put out of work by all this AI image generation."
  — Jeff Brumfield (11:14)

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Conclusion

Summary:
2025 was the year "AI slop" fully integrated into everyday online life—sometimes overtly ridiculous, sometimes worryingly deceptive, and often indistinguishable from reality. Detrow, Brumfield, and Bond walk listeners through the year’s most viral pieces, discuss the evolving use of AI-generated content in politics and social media, and explain how individuals can stay alert without losing all faith in what they see.

Key Takeaway:
Slop may be inescapable, but with critical thinking and verification, we can enjoy the occasional real raccoon while not falling for every bouncy bunny or meme king in our feeds.

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Transcript

[Scott Detrow]

We are going to kick off today's episode with a little bit of a cliche, a dictionary definition. But stick with us, it's relevant. And Merriam Webster forced our hand by making Slop its word of the year. Their definition? Digital content of low quality that is usually produced in quantity by means of artificial intelligence. You know it, you've seen it. It's weird, it's clunky, and it is everywhere.

[Jeff Brumfield]

Blue cola car. Wait, son, let me have some.

[Shannon Bond]

Dad, check this pancake blimp. Nice.

[Jeff Brumfield]

There he is, Officer. He stole my panc.

[Scott Detrow]

The YouTube channel Funtastic YT has been cranking out short videos featuring cartoon cats. It's racked up hundreds of millions of views. An AI Generated summer reading list was published by major newspapers and featured 10 made up titles from real best selling authors like the Last Algorithm by Andy Weir or the Rainmakers by Percival Everett. Playlists were also slumped.

[Song Lyrics / Background Singer]

Float away, don't close your eyes. Smoke is written in the skies. Sing the lie they made you.

[Scott Detrow]

This summer. Music from a band called the Velvet Sundown flooded Spotify users discover weekly feeds, and within a few weeks the band's music had been streamed millions of times before anybody noticed the group wasn't actually.

[Song Lyrics / Background Singer]

Real, waving flags in black and white.

[Scott Detrow]

In September, Spotify announced it had removed 75 million spammy tracks from its platform. But other companies began to wallow in the slop. In the same week, Meta released a feed for users to create and share AI generated videos, and OpenAI launched a new version of an app to generate video and audio. Even one of the world's biggest record labels, Warner Music Group, signed a licensing deal last month with two AI companies it was previously suing for copyright infringement, allowing paid users of their platforms to create songs with the voices and compositions of artists who agreed to participate. And now AI Slop has managed to find its way into the pages of the country's oldest dictionary. Consider this the year has proved that AI is rapidly reshaping online reality, and the slop is here to stay. Coming up, we will take a look at the cream of the slop from 2025 and how to sort the real from the fake. From npr, I'm Scott Detrow.

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[Up First Host]

Risk of loss this week on upfirst. It's the last workweek of the year for Congress anyway, and that means time is running out for action on health care before premiums skyrocket for millions of Americans. We'll keep you updated on the 11th hour scramble on Capitol Hill this week on Up First Now, a golden Globe nominee for best podcast Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Scott Detrow]

It's consider this from NPR. 2025 has been a big year for artificial intelligence, especially for short AI generated videos that people keep posting online. The kids and now Merriam webster Call it AI slop. And NPR's Jeff Brumfield and Shannon Bond have spent much of the year rolling around in the slop.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

They are here with the highlights, so.

[Scott Detrow]

To speak, and to talk about what it means. Hi to you both.

[Shannon Bond]

Hey, Scott.

[Jeff Brumfield]

Oink oink.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

So we're gonna talk about three fake video todays, all of which have been widely shared online. Shannon, let's start with you. What's our first slop entry?

[Shannon Bond]

Well, back in October, this was a Saturday. It was one of the days of those big no Kings protests, right, against the Trump admin. President Trump posted this AI generated video of him flying a fighter jet. The jet says King Trump on the side, he's wearing a crown. He flies over a city full of protesters and dumps what looks like poop all over them. You've probably seen it.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

Sure have.

[Shannon Bond]

And the video is set to the song Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. I should say. As an aside here, Loggins is not happy about his music being used in this video. He asked for it to be taken down back in October. It has not since been taken down. Now, this video is of course obviously fake, right? Like, I don't think anyone's watching it thinking Trump is really flying a fighter jet. And we have seen the president share AI videos and imagery before. He did it actually a lot during the 2024 campaign. He and his supporters seem to really love these kind of memes. But since he's taken office this year, this kind of strategy, it's really something we've seen not just the president, but his whole administration embrace the White House and The Department of Homeland Security, their social media accounts post these sort of meme videos and images, often made with AI. And I think, you know what this tells us, given we're heading into midterm elections next year, we should expect to see even more AI generated political content all over our feeds.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

I mean, Shannon, this is so prevalent. You're seeing Trump and his allies return this more and more and more. What has the White House said about their use of, you know, I feel like it's fair to say there's almost like propaganda videos that they're creating with AI.

[Shannon Bond]

Yeah. And I should be. It should be clear. It's not always clear that the White House itself or the White House staff are making this. In some cases, like this fighter jet video we're seeing, you know, the president or administration accounts resharing content that's been made by other people online. You know, the White House doesn't tend to comment on these specific videos, but what they have said in the past in general about this social media approach, you know, they said through things like, you know, the memes will continue. It's clearly a form of messaging, I think they think resonates with their audience. And, you know, look, this is a very online administration, this is a very online president, and this is, you know, they're very much engaging in the language of what is online at the moment. And it's increasingly becoming AI.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

So that's the first trend we're talking about. Let's move on to video number two.

[Scott Detrow]

It came from little company.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

Nobody's really heard about it. We haven't talked about it that much. It's called open AI.

[Scott Detrow]

Google it.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

So it actually showed the company's CEO committing crimes. Jeff, what's going on here?

[Jeff Brumfield]

Yeah. The second video came from an app OpenAI rolled out earlier this fall called Sora. And that app has made AI slop super easy to generate. One of the features of Sora is you can put other people's faces and voices into your video with their permission. One of the first people to grant permission was Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO. He let people make videos with his likeness. And an OpenAI employee created this video of Altman in what appears to be a target. It's surveillance video. And Altman seems to be shoplifting computer chips for his AI company.

[Up First Host]

Please, I really need this for Sora.

[Jeff Brumfield]

Inference.

[Up First Host]

This video is too good.

[Jeff Brumfield]

Now, this is an inside joke about AI's endless need for computing. But it's really notable for a couple of reasons. First, it shows that AI videos can now put real people into completely fake situations. You can make the CEO of a company commit fake crimes and make it look pretty real. But that's not the only fake stuff that Sora is capable of producing. So, you know, we've also seen news stories about Sora producing fake videos of people stuffing ballot boxes, fake local news interviews. And this is creating a lot of concerns, especially, you know, as Shannon just said, we're going into an election year next year, and Sora has basically lowered the bar for slop to zero.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

So that's two different extremes here. Jeff, you're talking about ways that these fake videos can get into the real news cycle very quickly. Shannon, you're talking about just totally farcical propaganda for a lack of another word. Let's move on to our final video. This is one maybe our listeners have seen. It's racked up like 200 million views on TikTok. Tell us about the bunnies, Shannon.

[Shannon Bond]

Yeah, so this video, it looks also pretty realistic. It looks like ring camera footage of some very cute bunnies bouncing around on a backyard trampoline at night. And you can imagine, right, people post these kinds of videos, right, from their actual ring cameras. And so when this was posted on TikTok this summer, a lot of people were fooled into think it was real. There was no watermark on the video itself, disclosing that it was made with AI. TikTok has since put its own AI label on the post. But, you know, judging from the comments at the time, you know, lots and lots of people just totally thought it was real. And I think it's interesting about this one. You know, it's quite different than the other examples we've talked about. But this is the kind of, you know, mindless, cute engagement bait. It's animals, right, that's so prevalent on the Internet. It's always been prevalent on the Internet. Right. And so in some ways, it's not surprising that now we're seeing AI versions of this. But what strikes me is this is the kind of stuff I am seeing all over my social media feeds at this point. And whether or not they are, like, clearly labeled as AI, it really does start to blur the boundaries. And it makes people feel, I think, like this AI slop is inescapable if you are going to be online.

[Scott Detrow]

And if it is inescapable, I'm just.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

Wondering, Jeff, is there anything we could do about that?

[Jeff Brumfield]

Well, I mean, the first thing is, you know, until there's some sort of regulation and labeling, you're probably just going to have to accept, Scott, that you're going to be duped sooner or later. I mean, I think all of us at this point have seen videos that are AI. But that being said, there are some things to watch out for. AI Videos tend to be very short because it takes a lot of computing to make them. And they often contain scenarios that if you take a second, you'll realize are kind of unrealistic, like all those bunnies aren't going to bounce on a trampoline all at once once. A reverse image search can help, too, or searching a news story on the event you're seeing. But interestingly, Scott, you know, one of the things researchers I spoke to about this say is they actually don't want people to become cynical and just assume everything is fake, because when that happens, it makes it really hard to hold bad actors to account. You know, people can say, oh, that's just fake. I didn't really do that thing. And so we've got to try to cling to reality. Even for the cute animal videos, you know, that raccoon that passed out next to the toilet, I thought that was AI But I did my homework and I was relieved. And it brought a little joy into my life to see that a raccoon really can still get drunk in a liquor store in 2025. And that's a real thing.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

We can always count on raccoons to give us realistic, entertaining Internet content, I think.

[Jeff Brumfield]

Let's hope. Let's hope the raccoons aren't put out of work by all this AI image generation.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

That was NPR's Shannon Bond and Jeff Brumfiel.

[Scott Detrow]

Deep, deep, deep into the slop.

[Episode Host / Moderator]

Thank you. And my condolences to both of you.

[Shannon Bond]

Thanks, Scott.

[Jeff Brumfield]

Thank you.

[Scott Detrow]

This episode was produced by Alaina Burnett and Daniel Offman and edited by John Ketchum, Brett Neely and Courtney Dornig. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigun. Thank you to our Consider this Plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors and unlock bonus episodes of consideration. Consider this. You can Learn more at plus.NPR.org It's Consider this from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow.

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