Word of the Year 2025: How AI Filled the Internet with Digital Slop.

According to ТСН: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has chosen the term “slop” as the word of the year for 2025. This word denotes low-quality, meaningless, or fake digital content that is widely spread on the internet, especially through the use of generative artificial intelligence.

Merriam-Webster President Greg Barlow noted that the popularity of the word has surged due to the development of AI tools that enable quick creation of text, images, and videos of dubious quality. This word reflects both the excitement over new technologies and the irritation at their consequences, as well as the growing distrust of digital content.

The term slop first appeared in the 18th century, where its meaning was a liquid mixture or mud. Over time, the term has evolved, and today it encompasses low-quality materials, including fake news, propaganda, artificially generated books, videos, and advertising images.

Merriam-Webster emphasizes that while such content existed before, the mass availability of artificial intelligence tools has made it ubiquitous. This has raised concerns about misinformation, deepfakes, and copyright infringements.

Barlow stressed that the rise in searches for the word “slop” indicates not only a problem but also a change in user attitudes. According to him, people are increasingly trying to differentiate genuine content from artificial and are seeking authentic sources of information.

Since 2003, Merriam-Webster has chosen a word of the year by analyzing search query dynamics and the relevance of terms in public discourse. In 2024, the word of the year was “polarization.” Previous entries on this list included terms like “vaccine,” “gaslighting,” “pandemic,” and “feminism.”

Interestingly, there is also a growing interest in the pure Ukrainian language in Ukraine, although a significant share of mixed-language variants still exists in everyday speech. The issue of speech quality is becoming increasingly relevant today, as digitalization and the spread of new technologies influence the perception of content in society.