Chuck DarwinDec 27

More than 20% of the videos that YouTube’s algorithm shows to new users are “AI slop”
– low-quality AI-generated content designed to farm views, research has found.

The video-editing company Kapwing surveyed 15,000 of the world’s most popular YouTube channels
– the top 100 in every country
– and found that 278 of them contain only AI slop.

Together, these AI slop channels have amassed more than 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers,
-- generating about $117m (£90m) in revenue each year, according to estimates.

The researchers also made a new YouTube account and found that 104 of the first 500 videos recommended to its feed were AI slop.

One-third of the 500 videos were “#brainrot”, a category that includes AI slop and other low-quality content made to monetise attention.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

More than 20% of videos shown to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’, study finds

Low-quality AI-generated content is now saturating social media – and generating about $117m a year, data shows

The Guardian
Show threadCrystal_Fish_CavesDec 27
@cdarwin yeah but are actual PEOPLE watching? or is AI slop being watched, you know, Robot Porn??
Show threadHawtP0tat0Dec 27
I can confirm real people watch it. I have banned so many of these channels from my grandfathers YouTube subscriptions
Show threadmaaneeackDec 28
@HawtP0tat0 check out the blocktube extension and the ublock ai blocklist
Show threadMisuse CaseDec 28
@maaneeack @HawtP0tat0 Is there a way to put the uBlock AI blocklist on a phone? Or can it only be done on a laptop/desktop browser?
Show threadMarjorieRDec 28
@MisuseCase @maaneeack @HawtP0tat0 You can certainly export your UBlockOrigin settings, including any optonal blocklist/filters and settings you have added, from your computer and then import them into UBblockOrigin on Android Firefox. Saves a bit of work setting up manually.
Show threadMisuse CaseDec 28
@marjolica @maaneeack @HawtP0tat0 Okay. The mobile device in this situation is an iPhone so I don’t know if I can get it to work.
Show threadMarjorieR
@MisuseCase @maaneeack @HawtP0tat0 yes I think you are right.
There is a Webkit (not Gecko) based Firefox for iOS but last time I checked - the rest of my family use the walled garden Apple ecosystem - it couldn't install extensions, though basic adblocking was still a bit better than Safari.
Dec 28 at 2:21pmWeb