The AI Slop Crisis Could Save LinkedIn
A weapon to fight Broetry
I don’t hate reading AI content on LinkedIn. [Hook]
But I loathe the 100th remixed version of the same post about someone’s startup.
41% of LinkedIn posts are AI generated. Yet 300 million new users have signed up since 2023.
What gives? [Re-Hook]
Slop was a problem for LinkedIn long before AI came along.
The crisis is a chance to make LinkedIn a better place for everyone. [Body]
Read on to see how. [Call-to-action]
If you cringed reading that, you’re not alone. This style of writing is called Broetry: formulaic posts with a hook, re-hook, body and call-to-action. The short, choppy sentences are designed to “stop the scroll” and make a quick point. Buzzfeed coined the term back in 2017.
I swore I’d never write this way. But the style is valuable for readers on their phones during a commute, lunch or bio break. LinkedIn writing is a constant tension between sounding normal and serving the algorithm.
LinkedIn’s Strange Stew
“I’m starting a new job!” | “Microsoft’s FY26 Q4 earnings👇” | “Rabies prevention saves lives” | “I’m running a marathon!” | “I’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer” | “Most career advice is bullshit.”
LinkedIn’s feed stirs up a strange brew of news, sales pitches, humblebrags, thought leadership, asks for help with a dash of humor.
Most of LinkedIn’s users aren’t writers and have full-time jobs doing other things. AI promises to help them post with less effort, and boy did they use it. Almost half of long-form content is AI generated, and AI posts are twice as long as human ones.
AI has made the stew’s ingredients less tasty, but AI comments are the gristle you want to spit out. Some are basic, others make no sense whatsoever. One writer I follow responded to an inane comment with “Did you even read what I wrote?”
LinkedIn has become the poster child for AI slop, with more than any other Internet platform. Substack CEO Chris Best piled on last week while announcing a new AI detection approach, saying “we don’t want Substack to turn into LinkedIn.”
Why we can’t have nice things
LinkedIn took action of its own last Thursday, replacing the “Enhance with AI” button with a proofreader, improving bot filters and adding a button called “Seems like AI slop”.
I’m skeptical as to how this will play out.
Disagree with a post? Don’t like the author? From a company you compete with? Flag it as AI slop ❌
Written by a friend? A colleague? Someone who gave your post a thumbs-up? Let it slide. 🙈
I saw this firsthand during my time at Google. In 2021 we had to remove YouTube dislike counts because of harassment and coordinated attacks. Scammers still extort money from creators and spread malware with copyright reporting threats.
On the positive side, Gmail’s spam filters block 99.9% of all spam, but they combine user reports with many other signals.
Just call it “Seems Like AI Slop”
Make no mistake, while I’m skeptical about the new button, I’m equally optimistic.
I don’t mind AI in my feed, what I hate is slop. I want to hear about my buddy’s marathon or new job, and I don’t mind them using AI to write about it. But the 100th remixed post about someone’s new startup is just sloppy.
I’m especially hopeful it could be a weapon to fight Broetry. The first 10 Broetry-style posts in my feed were all flagged as 100% AI-generated by a leading AI detector.
I’d prefer LinkedIn remove the AI and just call the new button “Seems like Slop.”
Act like an owner
Some LinkedIn users want a quick dose of content between meetings. Others want to say their piece. Here are a few tips:
Filter your own feed: set it to “recent” instead of “recommended” and unfollow people whose content you think is sloppy. (Hopefully not mine 🤔)
Scan for AI yourself: Pangram offers 3 free scans a day, I use them on articles I’m suspicious of. (More on AI detectors next week)
Say something worthwhile: Use AI or no, but don’t just repeat what you said last week.
Comment on others’ posts: Last week I asked about tariffs, constitutional law in India, AI-generated slides and model training. Authors are usually thrilled to get a comment from a real-life human, and you get to learn from an expert for free.
And resist the urge to use the “seems like AI slop” button as a weapon. It won’t last if people abuse it.
LinkedIn can be a mind-numbing mess, but where would we turn if it didn’t exist? Substack? X? Facebook? Instagram? Reddit?
Microsoft owns LinkedIn, but it belongs to its users. The job seekers. The humblebraggers. The thought leaders. The oversharers. And yes, even the startup CEOs.
We own LinkedIn, too. So let’s act like it.
(And for the love of all things, please write comments that are actually legible.)
Dad Joke: Where do sharks go to for networking? LinkedFin. 😆
Comedians? LinkedGrin. 😂
Soccer players? LinkedShin. 🤣