TikTok, Instagram Flooded by Unlabelled AI Content

Rome: Slopaganda, a term recently coined to describe propaganda based on artificial intelligence, represents a new form of manipulation in digital spaces. It is not characterized by fake news or hate speech but by the subtle integration into everyday online conversations, seamlessly embedding itself into digital life.

According to Ansa News Agency, a study by AI Forensics, a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating algorithms and holding major technology platforms accountable, reveals that TikTok and Instagram are awash with inadequately labelled AI-generated content. This content, referred to as “AI slop,” exploits visual plausibility and viral potential to deceive algorithms. The study highlights that 25% of TikTok’s search results include AI-powered synthetic images, whereas the percentage is notably lower on Instagram.

A significant factor in this trend is the emergence of Agentic AI Accounts, a new category of profiles dedicated to the automated production and dissemination of AI-generated content. Experts suggest that these accounts, employing generative AI tools to produce synthetic images on a massive scale, signify a fundamental shift in the creation of social media content. According to AI Forensics, over 80% of AI content on TikTok originates from Agentic AI Accounts, in contrast to 15% on Instagram.

Labelling, or watermarking, of AI-generated content is an issue being addressed in European AI law. The European Commission has recently initiated a public consultation to develop guidelines and a code of practice aimed at making AI systems transparent. AI Forensics reports that only half of the AI-generated content on TikTok is adequately labelled, with the figure dropping to 23% on Instagram. Researchers also discovered “limited visibility” of some labels on AI content, which are entirely absent for Instagram’s desktop users.