>The creator, who uses the online handle RadialB, says he didn’t expect to spawn copycats or be politically provocative. He says his content is intended to be funny – but that he also wants people to believe his fake scenes are real to grab their attention.
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>”If people saw it and they immediately knew it was fake, then they would just scroll. The selling point of generative AI models is that they look real,” RadialB tells me over the phone. He refuses to share his real name but reveals he is in his 20s and from the north-west of England. He has never been to Croydon.
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>RadialB acknowledges the videos provoke political reactions: “I could put stuff up and there would be like 50-year-olds and 60-year-olds in the comments raging and saying all this political stuff.” But he suggests some of the comments are ironic.
>Other users have objected to this wave of AI slop videos as an unfair racial stereotype of their neighbourhood. One black TikTok user from Croydon called C.Tino posted a response, saying the trend falsely portrayed the area as “ghetto”.
>”These videos are making people think this is real life. It’s becoming out of hand now,” he said.
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>January, pollster YouGov released new data suggesting a majority of Britons now believe London is unsafe, but only a third of people surveyed in the capital agreed – and 81% of them said their own local area was safe.
>But RadialB says his intention was not to become a “decline porn” influencer – and instead just wants to make people laugh with a sort of “artform” that games the recommendation systems. He appears to wash his hands of responsibility for how his content may be used or copied.
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Press X for the “I’m not political” stuff
>Users as far away as Israel and Brazil said they shared the videos because they “got engagement” or to “join in on the trend”. Several other accounts posting in Arabic, and that appear to be based in the Middle East, have also shared multiple videos about London being in decline – including the ones of Croydon.
Wonder if Starmer politely agrees with that, Labour already tried to create a “UK sucks” media campaign in Albanian to reduce the pull factor, so if people are doing it for free I can see them agree to it.
Eurolib0908 on
Submission statement:
This article is relevant to r/neoliberal because it highlights how the information ecosystem, shaped by market incentives and platform governance, can be distorted to undermine evidence-based policymaking. While neoliberalism emphasises the importance of free markets under the rule of law, engagement-driven algorithms that reward ‘decline porn’ and disinformation erode the institutional trust and shared reality necessary for functional markets and liberal democracy. This phenomenon also affects housing and urban policy, as these fake narratives often exploit genuine concerns about housing shortages and public services to promote exclusionary or populist agendas rather than market-oriented solutions.
Readers should consider the tension between free speech and platform responsibility. While the creator claims that his content is satirical art, the amplification of fabrications by algorithms can create negative externalities that markets alone may not correct. The accessibility of generative AI in producing convincing fakes has lowered the barrier for bad actors to manipulate public opinion and monetise outrage. The discussion should focus on how institutions can maintain legitimacy in an era where reality can be easily distorted, and on whether policy interventions, such as transparency requirements for synthetic media, can align platform incentives with social welfare without stifling innovation.
2 Comments
>The creator, who uses the online handle RadialB, says he didn’t expect to spawn copycats or be politically provocative. He says his content is intended to be funny – but that he also wants people to believe his fake scenes are real to grab their attention.
…
>”If people saw it and they immediately knew it was fake, then they would just scroll. The selling point of generative AI models is that they look real,” RadialB tells me over the phone. He refuses to share his real name but reveals he is in his 20s and from the north-west of England. He has never been to Croydon.
…
>RadialB acknowledges the videos provoke political reactions: “I could put stuff up and there would be like 50-year-olds and 60-year-olds in the comments raging and saying all this political stuff.” But he suggests some of the comments are ironic.
>Other users have objected to this wave of AI slop videos as an unfair racial stereotype of their neighbourhood. One black TikTok user from Croydon called C.Tino posted a response, saying the trend falsely portrayed the area as “ghetto”.
>”These videos are making people think this is real life. It’s becoming out of hand now,” he said.
…
>January, pollster YouGov released new data suggesting a majority of Britons now believe London is unsafe, but only a third of people surveyed in the capital agreed – and 81% of them said their own local area was safe.
>But RadialB says his intention was not to become a “decline porn” influencer – and instead just wants to make people laugh with a sort of “artform” that games the recommendation systems. He appears to wash his hands of responsibility for how his content may be used or copied.
…
Press X for the “I’m not political” stuff
>Users as far away as Israel and Brazil said they shared the videos because they “got engagement” or to “join in on the trend”. Several other accounts posting in Arabic, and that appear to be based in the Middle East, have also shared multiple videos about London being in decline – including the ones of Croydon.
Wonder if Starmer politely agrees with that, Labour already tried to create a “UK sucks” media campaign in Albanian to reduce the pull factor, so if people are doing it for free I can see them agree to it.
Submission statement:
This article is relevant to r/neoliberal because it highlights how the information ecosystem, shaped by market incentives and platform governance, can be distorted to undermine evidence-based policymaking. While neoliberalism emphasises the importance of free markets under the rule of law, engagement-driven algorithms that reward ‘decline porn’ and disinformation erode the institutional trust and shared reality necessary for functional markets and liberal democracy. This phenomenon also affects housing and urban policy, as these fake narratives often exploit genuine concerns about housing shortages and public services to promote exclusionary or populist agendas rather than market-oriented solutions.
Readers should consider the tension between free speech and platform responsibility. While the creator claims that his content is satirical art, the amplification of fabrications by algorithms can create negative externalities that markets alone may not correct. The accessibility of generative AI in producing convincing fakes has lowered the barrier for bad actors to manipulate public opinion and monetise outrage. The discussion should focus on how institutions can maintain legitimacy in an era where reality can be easily distorted, and on whether policy interventions, such as transparency requirements for synthetic media, can align platform incentives with social welfare without stifling innovation.