Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Substack have suddenly discovered a problem that has been rotting in their own kitchens for years: AI-generated garbage. They are now pledging to combat what the internet has started calling ‘AI slop’—the low-effort, often incoherent content that floods feeds like a food truck parked permanently outside a hospital.
The irony is so thick you could spread it on toast. These platforms spent the last eighteen months training their algorithms to promote engagement at any cost, which meant algorithmically surfacing the cheapest, fastest-produced content imaginable. Now they are acting like concerned city councils trying to ban street vendors while simultaneously operating premium food truck franchises in the same parking lot.
Snapchat’s new policy will label AI-generated content and restrict its distribution. YouTube and LinkedIn are doing something similar. Substack, which has become a retirement home for people with opinions and access to an API, is also joining the crackdown. None of them are banning the stuff outright, mind you. They are just making it slightly less visible while continuing to accept advertising revenue from the same companies pumping out this content.
The real comedy is that these platforms built their business model on the principle that any content is better than no content. Now that users are drowning in it, they are acting shocked—shocked!—that someone would flood the market with bulk-produced digital slop. It is like a restaurant owner banning cheap frozen dinners after spending a decade serving them at premium prices.
If you use any of these platforms, expect to see fewer obviously fake articles. If you create content, expect the bar for ‘obviously fake’ to remain comically low.