Technologies

‘Slop’ Is Merriam-Webster’s 2025 Word of the Year as AI Content Floods the Internet

«AI Slop»: a succinct definition of the current state of the internet.

In a year dominated by the booming AI industry and an overwhelming flood of digital creations, Merriam-Webster has crowned «slop» as its 2025 Word of the Year. This four-letter word acts as a judgment on the sprawling glut of low-quality content now clogging screens and social media feeds everywhere.

Originally used in the 1700s to refer to soft mud and in the 1800s to describe food waste or rubbish, «slop» now takes on a decidedly 21st-century twist. Merriam-Webster defines it as «digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.»

Think ridiculous videos, glitched-out ads, fake news that almost fools you, crappy AI-authored books and, yes, talking animals. Now, even luxury brands like Valentino are pushing out «slop» ads.

«Like slime, sludge and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don’t want to touch,» Merriam-Webster quipped in its announcement, capturing a widespread cultural mood that’s part bemusement, part exasperation with today’s worsening AI landscape.

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2025: A year defined by the AI content deluge

Tech platforms, both large and small, have grappled with the surge of generative AI content in 2025, from deepfakes to clickbait-style creations that prioritize volume over value. The wave of AI slop reflects not just how easy it’s become to generate content at scale, but also how little of it often resonates meaningfully with human audiences.

Merriam-Webster’s editors say the word stands out because it captures both a cultural trend and a collective sentiment — one that’s less about fear of technology and more about poking fun at how mindlessly content can spread.

Other words that shaped 2025

While slop snagged the top spot, Merriam-Webster also highlighted other terms that defined the year’s discourse, including:

67, a viral slang term born on social media, delighting Gen Alpha with an inside-joke energy.
Performative, used to call out behavior done for show or clout rather than substance.
Touch grass, a phrase urging people to disconnect from digital obsession and reconnect with the real world.
Gerrymander and tariff, words driven by political and economic headlines.

These picks show the breadth of public interest in 2025, ranging from internet culture to politics to how we live with technology.

A global linguistic snapshot of the past year

Merriam-Webster isn’t the only publication weighing in on the year’s language. Here are some other 2025 Words of the Year:

Oxford University Press chose «rage bait,» highlighting content designed to spark outrage and engagement online.
Macquarie Dictionary in Australia spotlighted «AI slop,» which is similar to Merriam-Webster’s theme of digital clutter.
Cambridge Dictionary picked «parasocial,» focusing on one-sided relationships with online personalities and AI chatbots.
Dictionary.com embraced the slang term «67,» a viral and almost meaningless expression that captured a slice of youth culture.

Together, these choices mirror a generation negotiating fatigue, fascination and frustration with the digital world.

Why it matters

For a tech-savvy audience, slop isn’t just a funny word; it’s a symptom of deeper trends in AI deployment, content moderation and cultural perception. Our CNET experts have covered AI slop in depth, from defining what it is and how it’s showing up on the internet and in commercials, to analyzing how it’s turning social media into a wasteland.

As tools for automatic generation become increasingly common and easier to use, the signal-to-noise ratio in digital spaces will only become more pronounced and important. Whether you’re building apps, curating feeds or trying to avoid the next wave of meaningless memes, the 2025 Word of the Year is a reminder that quality still counts and sometimes language itself can call that out with perfect clarity.

Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.

Technologies

Reddit Outage Resolved: Here’s What Happened

Did you have trouble reading your favorite subreddits today? You weren’t alone.

If you had trouble accessing the news and discussion forum Reddit on Tuesday, you weren’t the only one. However, as of 10:15 a.m. PT, the site appears to be back up and running normally. Reddit’s status monitoring page, RedditStatus.com, notes that «all systems (are) operational» after the brief outage.

But earlier, at 9:30 a.m. PT, RedditStatus.com said the company was «investigating elevated errors across reddit.com and native apps.» RedditStatus.com reported degraded site performance for both desktop web use and native mobile apps.

Earlier on Tuesday, the site-monitoring service DownDetector also reported issues at Reddit, providing additional details. At one point on Tuesday, DownDetector received over 100,000 reports that the site was having problems. At 10:25 am PT, the report numbers fell to under 600. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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«Reddit is currently experiencing a significant internal outage causing widespread service disruptions,» the site said earlier Tuesday. «The impact is categorized as Very High, primarily affecting mobile app access (55%) and website connectivity (39%). While reports are heavily concentrated in major hubs like New York City and Chicago, the lack of ISP correlation suggests a broad, nationwide issue stemming from Reddit’s internal servers rather than external network providers.»

A representative for Reddit did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another social media site, X, formerly Twitter, also showed problems on Tuesday, according to DownDetector. Those problems seemed to spike around 6:30 a.m. PT and improve after.

Technologies

This 3-in-1 Charger Is a Must-Have for Travelers, and It Just Hit a Record-Low of $95

Snag it for $45 off and charge your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch at the same time.

If you’re a frequent traveler, then you know that outlets are a precious commodity in places like airports and coffee shops. So why waste one on a single device when you can charge up to three at once? Right now, you can grab this seriously sleek Ugreen Magflow three-in-one foldable charger for just $95 at Amazon. That’s a $45 discount and the all-time lowest price we’ve seen. Just don’t wait too long, as this deal could expire at any time.

At just 7.4 ounces, this compact charging station is designed to be taken on the go. But despite its size, it still supports 25-watt MagSafe charging for iPhones, as well as 5-watt wireless charging for AirPods and Apple Watches. The charging stand also tilts up to double as a stand, and it’s equipped with 16 magnets to keep your phone aligned and securely in place. Plus, it’s got built-in protections against overheating, overcharging, short-circuiting and more to prevent damage to your devices.

Why this deal matters

This folding Ugreen charger is great for juicing up your devices on the go, and it’s never been more affordable. Plus, Ugreen makes some of the best MagSafe chargers on the market right now, so don’t miss your chance to grab one at a record-low price.