Slop and Slopaganda: AI-Generated Imagery and the Attention Economy of Social Media

Academic lecture exploring how AI-generated images and videos are transforming political propaganda, digital communication, and engagement-driven content on social media.

How is generative AI changing the production and circulation of political propaganda? In his lecture “Slop und Slopaganda. KI-generierte Bildwelten und die Reaktionsökonomie sozialer Medien,” Prof. Dr. Roland Meyer from the Zurich University of the Arts and the University of Zurich examines the growing influence of AI-generated imagery on digital communication and political discourse.

The lecture focuses on “slop,” rapidly and cheaply produced AI-generated content that increasingly circulates across social media. While much of this material serves commercial clickbait purposes, similar techniques are also used for political messaging, disinformation, and mobilization. Meyer introduces the concept of “slopaganda,” a combination of slop and propaganda, to describe how generative AI is reshaping political communication.

Unlike traditional, centrally organized propaganda, slopaganda operates through decentralized networks of social media accounts, where public and private actors create and distribute content optimized for clicks, likes, and engagement. Using contemporary examples, the lecture explores how the boundaries between commercial content and political propaganda become increasingly blurred.

The event is part of the interdisciplinary lecture series “Aporien der Anwendung. Künstliche Intelligenzen in Geisteswissenschaften und Künsten” at Freie Universität Berlin.

Date: December 16, 2026
Time: 6:15–7:45 PM
Location: Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Theatre Studies, Lecture Hall, Grunewaldstraße 35, 12165 Berlin
Organizer: Institute of Theatre Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Roland Meyer, Professor of Digital Cultures and Arts, Zurich University of the Arts and University of Zurich
Audience: Researchers, students, media professionals, communication specialists, artists, and anyone interested in AI and digital culture
Focus: Generative AI, AI-generated images and videos, slopaganda, political communication, disinformation, social media, and the attention economy
Lecture series: Aporien der Anwendung. Künstliche Intelligenzen in Geisteswissenschaften und Künsten
Accessibility: Step-free access via the rear entrance on Schmidt-Ott-Straße