Slop image of a slop politician
You've probably got used to the sight by now of Donald Trump sitting at his desk, holding his marker pen, conceitedly blowing smoke up his own arse, and signing all manner of "executive orders."
Everybody's triggered by this, either positively or negatively, and they're all paying attention. Having a war/mineral deal on the table also helps to get eyes on the ball.
As for me, I feel increasingly like this meme:
In fact, checking in on the Donald gives me the same clammy feeling I get on those rare occasions when I log onto my Facebook account to see what "delicacies" Mr. Zuckerberg has seen fit to insert into my now intensely neglected "Faecesbook" feed
Everybody's triggered by this, either positively or negatively, and they're all paying attention. Having a war/mineral deal on the table also helps to get eyes on the ball.
As for me, I feel increasingly like this meme:
In fact, checking in on the Donald gives me the same clammy feeling I get on those rare occasions when I log onto my Facebook account to see what "delicacies" Mr. Zuckerberg has seen fit to insert into my now intensely neglected "Faecesbook" feed
In both cases I am overwhelmed by an all-consuming sense of wading through purulent slop.
Slop (or "slop content" as it is sometimes known) is one of the most important aspects of the
So, what exactly is slop?
This is a good question and the answer is actually under debate at the moment. Some link it to AI-generated content and say it is "forced" on us in the same way that spam once was:
"Content slop has three important characteristics. The first being that, to the user, the viewer, the customer, it feels worthless. This might be because it was clearly generated in bulk by a machine or because of how much of that particular content is being created. The next important feature of slop is that feels forced upon us, whether by a corporation or an algorithm. It’s in the name. We’re the little piggies and it’s the gruel in the trough. But the last feature is the most crucial. It not only feels worthless and ubiquitous, it also feels optimized to be so."
This definition is a useful starting point, but, in my view, it grossly underestimates and mischaracterises the slop.
What makes slop powerful and dangerous is that it is worthless garbage that is algorithmically optimised to be "just good enough" or "interesting enough" to get you to voluntarily bury your snout in it.
For example, if you are a boomer or genXer and go on Facebook, their algorithm will bombard you with content for 70s tribute bands or "farewell tours" by reformed 80s outfits. You might have zero interest in those bands, but the algorithm has your age and other bits of info, and feeds you what lots of other people of a similar age and background might be interested in.
Or you might just get generic shit that almost anybody might be vaguely interested in, like funny cat videos or weird AI-generated images.
Shrimp Jesus
The key point here is slop is not forced on us and it doesn't necessarily feel worthless. We choose to consume it and it only feels worthless if we have the time and mind to reflect on it. Most people don't and therefore exist in a largely passive relationship to their slop.
The other characteristic of slop is that, even though it is targeted, it is also messy and imprecise. For example I got this in my FB feed last time I logged on:
A total miss as I hate Father Ted. I assume Facebook shoved this into my feed simply because it 'believes' that a person with my "algorithmic characteristics" (British, male, Gen-X, likes comedy, etc) might possibly be interested in an unfunny sit-com from the 1990s.
The same cheap, attention-grabbing, messy targeting characteristics that we see with such online content now seem to have infected our politics, particularly embodied in the "slop politics" of Donald Trump 2.0.
Since becoming President around a month ago, Trump has managed to "flood the zone" not so much with shit (in accordance with Steve Bannon's advice) but with political slop.
Are you worried about excessive government spending? Well, along comes Trump (and increasingly "Kid Ketamine" Elon Musk) with some slop DOGE "initiatives that are reportedly going to "claw back trillions in waste." Somehow or other that just doesn't happen. Instead they just cause minor chaos and piss off enough people that they get watered down or simply dropped or forgotten. But, never mind, you already enjoyed having your snout well and truly buried in the lovely slop and the transitory sensation that something important was happening. So, win-win!
Worried about migrants and countries "not sending their best," etc.? No problem, there's Trump at his desk signing EOs like there's no tomorrow, clamping down on all the "bad hombres" and setting up deals with El Salvador's Nayib Bukele to take back America's "most unwanted" huddled masses.
It all sounds good, but the reality is that you paid attention for a bit, and after all nothing much happened again. Maybe things are even worse than under Joe Biden.
Yup, you were "slopped" again.
Real politicians look for sensible, solid, workable solutions that can be processed into actual laws, and then enforced. It's hard work and it unfortunately takes time and requires building consensus. It's also kind of boring.
Yup, you were "slopped" again.
Real politicians look for sensible, solid, workable solutions that can be processed into actual laws, and then enforced. It's hard work and it unfortunately takes time and requires building consensus. It's also kind of boring.
Slop politicians, by contrast, throw everything up in the air and shoot off a few performative gestures that are just good enough to grab your incontinent attention and make you feel like something important is happening, when, on reflection, you're just this guy:
Another characteristic of the slop politician is he doesn't want you to reflect too much. To stop you doing so he's ready with a whole fresh trough-load of slop. Maybe even a pipeline.
Donald Trump isn't the only one like this, and there have been others over the years moving in this direction, but Trump -- especially in his second term -- is unquestionably the defining politician of what we must now call "Slopolitics."
However, looking on the bright side, there is probably a limit to what he can get away with. Even Trump, with his extremely sloppable followers, won't be able to keep an endless tsunami supply of slop coming. We may already have passed peak slop.
Either Trump will have to deliver something more substantial soon (a real stretch for him) or else the coming gaps in the slop waves will allow more and more people -- even his dumb MAGAtard followers -- to reflect on the utter worthlessness and vacuity of his incessant political posturing.
However, looking on the bright side, there is probably a limit to what he can get away with. Even Trump, with his extremely sloppable followers, won't be able to keep an endless tsunami supply of slop coming. We may already have passed peak slop.
Either Trump will have to deliver something more substantial soon (a real stretch for him) or else the coming gaps in the slop waves will allow more and more people -- even his dumb MAGAtard followers -- to reflect on the utter worthlessness and vacuity of his incessant political posturing.
Gulf of Slop anyone?
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Colin Liddell is the Chief Editor of Neokrat and the author of Interviews & Obituaries, a collection of encounters with the dead and the famous. Support his work by buying his book here (USA), here (UK), and here (Australia), or by taking out a paid subscription on his Substack.
Follow on Twitter and Bluesky
Follow on Twitter and Bluesky
So much slopolitics just to "oWn tHe LiBs" or whatever... Peak american degeneracy.
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