Bizarre Videos and Fake News Flood SNS... "Slop" Named Word of the Year

Selected by Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster, the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States, has selected "slop" as the 2025 Word of the Year, AP reported on the 15th (local time). Merriam-Webster selects its Word of the Year annually based on factors such as word lookups and increases in search volume.

When "slop" first appeared in the 1700s, it referred to "muddy sludge," but its meaning later expanded to include "something of little value." Recently, the term has further evolved to mean "low-quality digital content, usually mass-produced using AI."

Greg Barlow, President of Merriam-Webster, explained in a pre-recorded interview with AP that the word is "associated with the innovative technology of artificial intelligence (AI), and it captures a phenomenon that people find both intriguing, annoying, and somewhat ridiculous." He cited examples such as "bizarre videos, strange advertising images, shoddy propaganda, fake news that looks real, and poorly written AI-generated e-books."

He added, "People want what is real and authentic," noting, "In the age of AI, 'slop' is closer to a language of resistance. When it comes to replacing human creativity, there are times when AI does not appear all that 'intelligent.'"

"Slop" was also included in the list of Words of the Year selected by the British current affairs weekly, The Economist. The Economist analyzed that low-quality content produced by AI generates profits for creators but imposes significant costs on the majority of users. As AI-generated content floods portals like Google and social networking services (SNS), ordinary readers now need to spend more time and effort to discern valuable information.

Meanwhile, on this day, Merriam-Webster also released other notable words. These included "6-7," a term with ambiguous meaning that has exploded in popularity among American Gen Z, as well as political, social, and economic terms such as "gerrymander," "conclave," and "tariffs."