Bryan Clark
@bryanclark.bsky.social
Ex-journalist (NYT, TNW, USA Today, others). Now VP of Editorial at Graphite.
Writes about systems that break people and people who break systems.
Writes about systems that break people and people who break systems.
Reposted by Bryan Clark
Arianda Grande has 6 fingers on the latest Vogue cover. No one caught it. We live in hell.
January 30, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Arianda Grande has 6 fingers on the latest Vogue cover. No one caught it. We live in hell.
What's your slop breaking point?
When did you first notice your feed felt... off? Like you were scrolling through a content factory instead of a community?
I'm genuinely curious when it all tipped over for you.
When did you first notice your feed felt... off? Like you were scrolling through a content factory instead of a community?
I'm genuinely curious when it all tipped over for you.
January 30, 2026 at 8:15 PM
What's your slop breaking point?
When did you first notice your feed felt... off? Like you were scrolling through a content factory instead of a community?
I'm genuinely curious when it all tipped over for you.
When did you first notice your feed felt... off? Like you were scrolling through a content factory instead of a community?
I'm genuinely curious when it all tipped over for you.
The gap between what platforms claim to do (connect people, surface quality) and what they actually do (maximize engagement, monetize attention) is the whole story.
The fine print is always the story.
The fine print is always the story.
January 30, 2026 at 8:14 PM
The gap between what platforms claim to do (connect people, surface quality) and what they actually do (maximize engagement, monetize attention) is the whole story.
The fine print is always the story.
The fine print is always the story.
The pattern is always the same:
Platform promises democratization
Algorithm rewards volume
Bots and farms exploit the gap
Platform profits from the chaos
Policy "crackdown" targets symptoms, not incentives
Rinse. Repeat.
Platform promises democratization
Algorithm rewards volume
Bots and farms exploit the gap
Platform profits from the chaos
Policy "crackdown" targets symptoms, not incentives
Rinse. Repeat.
January 30, 2026 at 8:14 PM
The pattern is always the same:
Platform promises democratization
Algorithm rewards volume
Bots and farms exploit the gap
Platform profits from the chaos
Policy "crackdown" targets symptoms, not incentives
Rinse. Repeat.
Platform promises democratization
Algorithm rewards volume
Bots and farms exploit the gap
Platform profits from the chaos
Policy "crackdown" targets symptoms, not incentives
Rinse. Repeat.
Merriam-Webster named "slop" the 2025 Word of the Year.
Its definition: "AI-produced low-quality digital content made in quantity."
We needed a new word because the old ones—spam, junk, noise—didn't capture the industrial scale of what's happening.
Its definition: "AI-produced low-quality digital content made in quantity."
We needed a new word because the old ones—spam, junk, noise—didn't capture the industrial scale of what's happening.
January 30, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Merriam-Webster named "slop" the 2025 Word of the Year.
Its definition: "AI-produced low-quality digital content made in quantity."
We needed a new word because the old ones—spam, junk, noise—didn't capture the industrial scale of what's happening.
Its definition: "AI-produced low-quality digital content made in quantity."
We needed a new word because the old ones—spam, junk, noise—didn't capture the industrial scale of what's happening.
The term for this is "workslop" when it hits your job—AI content that looks polished but lacks substance.
BetterUp Labs calls it an "invisible tax" because someone downstream always has to clean it up.
AI doesn't remove work. It moves work.
BetterUp Labs calls it an "invisible tax" because someone downstream always has to clean it up.
AI doesn't remove work. It moves work.
January 30, 2026 at 8:13 PM
The term for this is "workslop" when it hits your job—AI content that looks polished but lacks substance.
BetterUp Labs calls it an "invisible tax" because someone downstream always has to clean it up.
AI doesn't remove work. It moves work.
BetterUp Labs calls it an "invisible tax" because someone downstream always has to clean it up.
AI doesn't remove work. It moves work.
Meta's not even pretending anymore.
Zuckerberg on their Q3 2025 call: improvements in recommendation systems "will become even more leveraged as the volume of AI-created content grows."
Translation: slop is a feature, not a bug. It keeps feeds "fresh" for free.
Zuckerberg on their Q3 2025 call: improvements in recommendation systems "will become even more leveraged as the volume of AI-created content grows."
Translation: slop is a feature, not a bug. It keeps feeds "fresh" for free.
January 30, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Meta's not even pretending anymore.
Zuckerberg on their Q3 2025 call: improvements in recommendation systems "will become even more leveraged as the volume of AI-created content grows."
Translation: slop is a feature, not a bug. It keeps feeds "fresh" for free.
Zuckerberg on their Q3 2025 call: improvements in recommendation systems "will become even more leveraged as the volume of AI-created content grows."
Translation: slop is a feature, not a bug. It keeps feeds "fresh" for free.
YouTube announced in July 2025 it'd demonetize "mass-produced, repetitive" AI content.
Sounds tough, right?
Except they still host it. Still serve it. Still collect ad revenue when you accidentally watch it.
The policy targets creators. Not the system that rewards them.
Sounds tough, right?
Except they still host it. Still serve it. Still collect ad revenue when you accidentally watch it.
The policy targets creators. Not the system that rewards them.
January 30, 2026 at 8:12 PM
YouTube announced in July 2025 it'd demonetize "mass-produced, repetitive" AI content.
Sounds tough, right?
Except they still host it. Still serve it. Still collect ad revenue when you accidentally watch it.
The policy targets creators. Not the system that rewards them.
Sounds tough, right?
Except they still host it. Still serve it. Still collect ad revenue when you accidentally watch it.
The policy targets creators. Not the system that rewards them.
Here's the incentive structure:
* Content creation = nearly free (AI handles it)
* Content review = expensive (humans required)
* Engagement = money
So platforms optimize for volume. Quality is someone else's problem. Usually yours.
* Content creation = nearly free (AI handles it)
* Content review = expensive (humans required)
* Engagement = money
So platforms optimize for volume. Quality is someone else's problem. Usually yours.
January 30, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Here's the incentive structure:
* Content creation = nearly free (AI handles it)
* Content review = expensive (humans required)
* Engagement = money
So platforms optimize for volume. Quality is someone else's problem. Usually yours.
* Content creation = nearly free (AI handles it)
* Content review = expensive (humans required)
* Engagement = money
So platforms optimize for volume. Quality is someone else's problem. Usually yours.
The Kapwing report dropped some wild numbers:
One Indian channel running AI-generated monkey videos earns $4.25 million a year.
Meanwhile, human documentarians struggle to break even.
The platform isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed.
One Indian channel running AI-generated monkey videos earns $4.25 million a year.
Meanwhile, human documentarians struggle to break even.
The platform isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed.
January 30, 2026 at 8:11 PM
The Kapwing report dropped some wild numbers:
One Indian channel running AI-generated monkey videos earns $4.25 million a year.
Meanwhile, human documentarians struggle to break even.
The platform isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed.
One Indian channel running AI-generated monkey videos earns $4.25 million a year.
Meanwhile, human documentarians struggle to break even.
The platform isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed.
Worth noting these contracts often survive administration changes. Bipartisan demand keeps the revenue flowing. Has anyone mapped which members of Congress receive donations from these contractors?
January 30, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Worth noting these contracts often survive administration changes. Bipartisan demand keeps the revenue flowing. Has anyone mapped which members of Congress receive donations from these contractors?
Nobody’s saying don’t arrest criminals.
Get a warrant, arrest that person.
But mass raids that sweep up kids at schools and detain citizens? That’s not targeted law enforcement. That’s terrorizing entire communities.
There’s a huge difference between those approaches.
Get a warrant, arrest that person.
But mass raids that sweep up kids at schools and detain citizens? That’s not targeted law enforcement. That’s terrorizing entire communities.
There’s a huge difference between those approaches.
January 30, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Nobody’s saying don’t arrest criminals.
Get a warrant, arrest that person.
But mass raids that sweep up kids at schools and detain citizens? That’s not targeted law enforcement. That’s terrorizing entire communities.
There’s a huge difference between those approaches.
Get a warrant, arrest that person.
But mass raids that sweep up kids at schools and detain citizens? That’s not targeted law enforcement. That’s terrorizing entire communities.
There’s a huge difference between those approaches.
In that case I was also raised by black boomers.
January 30, 2026 at 4:10 AM
In that case I was also raised by black boomers.
They could PPV that and I would take out a second mortgage to watch it.
January 29, 2026 at 11:23 PM
They could PPV that and I would take out a second mortgage to watch it.
This is the pattern: negotiate fiercely over the next dollar while pretending the last hundred billion doesn't exist. One Big Beautiful Bill Act already bought the car. Everything else is bickering about gas money.
January 29, 2026 at 10:37 PM
This is the pattern: negotiate fiercely over the next dollar while pretending the last hundred billion doesn't exist. One Big Beautiful Bill Act already bought the car. Everything else is bickering about gas money.
Survival ≠ recovery. Measles erases up to 73% of a child's immune memory. Those 789 kids are now vulnerable to diseases they were already protected against (for 2-3years). Plus the hearing loss, brain damage, and lung scarring we won't hear about.
January 29, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Survival ≠ recovery. Measles erases up to 73% of a child's immune memory. Those 789 kids are now vulnerable to diseases they were already protected against (for 2-3years). Plus the hearing loss, brain damage, and lung scarring we won't hear about.
That's not frugality, it's an admission that he'd lose to two women talking about true crime in their living room.
January 29, 2026 at 9:59 PM
That's not frugality, it's an admission that he'd lose to two women talking about true crime in their living room.
To add: Career prosecutors don't threaten mass resignation lightly. These are people who stayed through every administration. When they're heading for the exits, the institution is already on fire.
January 29, 2026 at 9:56 PM
To add: Career prosecutors don't threaten mass resignation lightly. These are people who stayed through every administration. When they're heading for the exits, the institution is already on fire.
The people who know how to prosecute actual crimes are walking out the door while the DOJ chases grad students and nurses. This is the plan. Hollow out the institution, then point at the chaos as proof government doesn't work.
January 29, 2026 at 9:56 PM
The people who know how to prosecute actual crimes are walking out the door while the DOJ chases grad students and nurses. This is the plan. Hollow out the institution, then point at the chaos as proof government doesn't work.
David Brooks could get fired into the sun and somehow land a column at Sun Magazine and a fellowship at the Solar Institute
January 29, 2026 at 9:55 PM
David Brooks could get fired into the sun and somehow land a column at Sun Magazine and a fellowship at the Solar Institute
Superintendent's email confirms it: 30-day surge starting Feb 4, target list already in hand.
Anyone heading there: Haitian Community Help & Support Center and G92 coalition are coordinating. Document everything.
Anyone heading there: Haitian Community Help & Support Center and G92 coalition are coordinating. Document everything.
January 29, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Superintendent's email confirms it: 30-day surge starting Feb 4, target list already in hand.
Anyone heading there: Haitian Community Help & Support Center and G92 coalition are coordinating. Document everything.
Anyone heading there: Haitian Community Help & Support Center and G92 coalition are coordinating. Document everything.
Billionaires: "AI will create abundance for everyone!"
Also billionaires: fires 30,000 people to make AI
The abundance is arriving any minute now, I'm sure.
Also billionaires: fires 30,000 people to make AI
The abundance is arriving any minute now, I'm sure.
January 29, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Billionaires: "AI will create abundance for everyone!"
Also billionaires: fires 30,000 people to make AI
The abundance is arriving any minute now, I'm sure.
Also billionaires: fires 30,000 people to make AI
The abundance is arriving any minute now, I'm sure.