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

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 63bn 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.

The findings are a snapshot of a rapidly expanding industry that is saturating big social media platforms – from X to Meta to YouTube – and defining a new era of content: decontextualised, addictive and international.

  • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
    6·
    17 hours ago

    i havent found you tube interesting in years. I also use 3rd party viewers if I have to watch something there so there is no algorithym to suggest anything.

    Works better that way.

          • TexasDrunk@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            15 hours ago

            I have a pretty good time with New Pipe but I’ve heard others haven’t had the good experience I have.

          • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
            1·
            17 hours ago

            Freetune works for me, on a roku I use playlet, on android there are a few others.

            There was a good recommendation on here the other day, but I didn’t write it down.

            You also can create playlists in various media players like VLC.

            I would highly encourage whoever you really like to head over to nebula. I know paying seems not great but they do get a portion of that money and there are no ads.