Study Finds 59% of TikTok Videos Shown to New Users Are AI Slop
The study quantifies the scale of low-quality AI content on major short-video platforms, particularly in categories that reach children, and questions the effectiveness of TikTok's existing moderation tools.
Reporting from 1 sources: GIGAZINE.
A new study by video editing platform Kapwing found that 59% of the first 500 videos shown to new TikTok users were low-quality AI-generated content. YouTube Shorts fared better at 21%. The categories of children, science & education, and health had the highest densities of AI slop. TikTok has introduced user controls and AI literacy efforts, but Kapwing argues the settings are passive and data shows no reduction in AI content reaching new users.
Video editing platform Kapwing analyzed 10,742 TikTok videos across 20 categories and separately examined the first 500 videos shown on the "For You" page of new accounts. Of those 500, 294 (59%) were classified as low-quality AI-generated videos. On YouTube Shorts, 104 of the first 500 videos (21%) were low-quality AI content.
The category with the highest density of low-quality videos on TikTok was "children" at 57.4%, followed by science & education (35.0%), health (33.8%), and history (33.5%). Fitness (1.6%), music (1.5%), and fashion (1.3%) were almost entirely human-created. Dr. Dana Suskind, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago, called the spread of AI-generated misinformation for children "very dangerous for developing brains."
TikTok introduced a feature in November 2025 that lets users adjust the amount of AI-generated content in their feed and has invested in AI literacy initiatives. Kapwing argues these passive settings are insufficient and that actual data shows no decrease in AI content reaching new users. In June 2026, Florida sued TikTok under its children's social media law, alleging the company misled parents about what videos children would see.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.