Orca killed trainer named Jessica Radcliffe during performance?

Merriam-Webster named 2025 the year of "slop" — low-quality media that's created with artificial-intelligence (AI) tools. 

Few people are more familiar with the genre of misinformation than Snopes reporters, who debunk it daily.

"AI slop" that flooded social media users' feeds in 2025 included heartwarming (but fake) stories about celebrities' acts of kindness, false celebrity pregnancy rumors, eerie fictional tales about missing people and a notorious murderer, and fabricated images and videos of animals in unlikely places.

Many AI-generated claims we fact-checked were tied to major news events. For example, we debunked fake photos and videos that claimed to show U.S. President Donald Trump with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Or, after deadly floods tore through Texas in July, a slew of false AI-generated rumors targeted celebrities including MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. 

Maddow publicly debunked those bogus claims about her and directed viewers to Snopes whenever they are unsure if something is real.

These 25 stories with elements of AI stood out to our reporters in 2025 due to their popularity or impact, listed in no particular order.