Short-form video content creators face an interesting challenge: How do you grab someone's attention and keep them watching your video in a never-ending video feed? The answer, increasingly, seems to be to simply make something up: add AI-generated images, subtitles, and AI voice-overs, and you could be in line for the big bucks thanks to creator incentive programs.

Media Matters, the company's senior video producer, Abby Richards, went in depth about why conspiracy theory videos abound on platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts and how easily they can be created with the power of AI. The YouTube video delves into the reasons behind the flood of conspiracy theory videos on platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts and how easily they can be created with the power of AI.

Based on the idea that a scientist eating Play-Doh in his lab documented his height increase, weight loss of 60 pounds, and cure of cancer, the channel set out to create its own short conspiracy theory content, utilizing several AI tools and following YouTube's "entrepreneurial guru" to create an all-too-familiar, ludicrously over-the-top subtitled conspiracy theory video.

In the case of TikTok, the responsibility for such dubious and misinformative content lies with the recently launched "Creativity Program Beta."

However, monetization only becomes effective for videos longer than 60 seconds and only if the user watches the video for more than 5 seconds. This gives creators a financial incentive to create videos with a strong hook to draw viewers in (in this case, a totally outlandish claim or suggestion) and to enrich the content as much as possible to keep viewers engaged.

Thanks to the proliferation of AI image generation tools and AI voice effects, a simple conspiracy script of completely made-up information and the resulting fancy editing is all that is needed to create videos that have the potential to make creators a lot of money if they garner enough views, on TikTok itself, not provide exact figures on how much revenue is generated through its program, but it is estimated that eligible videos can earn their creators between $4 and $8 for every 1,000 views.

While TikTok may be the primary source of such content, casual viewers of YouTube short videos these days may have seen videos that are very similar. Video creators often distribute their content across multiple platforms to maximize their potential audience, and YouTube Shorts has its own ad-based monetization program.

Video content creators are not alone in enlisting the help of AI to maximize user engagement. Several gambling companies are reportedly using AI to optimize content "so that customers can make informed decisions" and "prioritize relevant content for users based on past behavior."

Ultimately, companies that use such media as a platform are responsible for limiting the proliferation of conspiratorial and/or potentially harmful AI-generated or assisted content to drown out user-generated efforts and to stop the spread of misinformation and dangerous practices. responsible for putting policies and controls in place.

However, when large financial incentives are involved, companies and creators seeking to maximize profits, even if they contribute to dangerous social harms, are unlikely to expend the effort necessary to stem the flow of AI-generated and supported media that attracts large amounts of money. It seems unlikely that they will.