A wave of artificially generated videos depicting exaggerated scenes of urban decay in British cities is gaining millions of views on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. These clips, often portraying a distorted version of south London's Croydon, are part of a growing online trend that experts are calling "decline porn," which uses fabricated or decontextualized content to push narratives of societal collapse in Western nations.
The videos frequently feature absurd scenarios, such as taxpayer-funded water parks with dirty, litter-filled pools or arcades with machines full of knives, populated by AI-generated characters. While some creators claim the content is satirical, it is often taken at face value by viewers, fueling racist commentary and spreading misinformation about specific communities.
Key Takeaways
- AI-generated videos showing fake scenes of urban decline in the UK have gone viral, amassing millions of views.
- The trend was started by an anonymous creator who says the intent is humor, not political messaging.
- These videos often rely on racial stereotypes and contribute to a wider online narrative known as "decline porn."
- Despite some videos having AI labels, many viewers believe the fabricated scenes are real, leading to anger and misinformation.
The Anatomy of a Viral Fake
One prominent series of these AI videos focuses on Croydon, a borough in south London. In one clip, a group of young men in balaclavas and puffer jackets are shown sliding down a water slide into a grimy pool. The caption falsely presents the scene as a new, taxpayer-funded local amenity. In reality, the entire video is a digital fabrication.
The creator behind many of these initial videos, who operates under the handle "RadialB," revealed he is in his 20s and lives in the north-west of England, having never visited Croydon. He explained that his goal was to create something absurd and funny, but also realistic enough to stop users from scrolling past. "If people saw it and they immediately knew it was fake, then they would just scroll," he stated. "The selling point of generative AI models is that they look real."
The characters in his videos are often what he describes as "roadmen," a slang term for urban youth. He generates them using prompts like "roadmen wearing puffer jackets, track suits, and balaclavas," claiming they are "cultural archetypes" that make the videos "funnier."
What is 'Decline Porn'?
"Decline porn" is a term used to describe online content that selectively portrays Western cities as being overrun with crime, grime, and social decay, often linking these issues to immigration. While some content uses real footage without context, there is a growing use of AI to create entirely fake scenarios that support this narrative.
From Satire to Division
While the creator disavows any political intent, the content has undeniably provoked strong reactions. The framing of these fake facilities as "taxpayer-funded" taps into political grievances, and the comment sections of these posts often feature intense debates and racist remarks. RadialB acknowledged this, stating, "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."
He added that he does not deny the racism his videos can provoke but suggested that platform moderation filters out many of the comments. Social media companies like TikTok and Instagram have policies against racist abuse, and some of the videos carry small labels indicating they are "AI-generated" or contain "synthetic media." However, these disclaimers often go unnoticed.
The impact on the community being misrepresented is significant. One TikTok user from Croydon, C.Tino, posted a video response criticizing the trend for falsely portraying his home as a "ghetto." He warned, "These videos are making people think this is real life. It's becoming out of hand now."
Perception vs. Reality in London
A January YouGov poll highlighted a significant gap in how London's safety is perceived. While a majority of Britons surveyed believed the capital is unsafe, only a third of London residents agreed. Furthermore, 81% of Londoners said they felt safe in their own local area, suggesting that external narratives may not align with the lived experience of those in the city.
A Broader Trend of Digital Distortion
These AI-generated clips are not an isolated phenomenon. They fit into a much larger ecosystem of content that aims to portray European and American cities in a negative light. This includes videos that use real footage of homelessness or crime but strip it of any context, as well as increasingly sophisticated digital alterations.
For example, South African YouTuber Kurt Caz, who has over four million subscribers, was accused of using AI to alter a video thumbnail to support his narrative of London being a "messed up" city. The original footage showed a friendly interaction with a cyclist in Croydon. The thumbnail, however, depicted the cyclist wearing a balaclava and showed shop signs edited to display Arabic text instead of English.
High-Profile Amplification
These narratives of Western decline are also being promoted by influential figures. Elon Musk, owner of X, has frequently posted about the topic to his more than 230 million followers. At a rally in the UK, he spoke of a "destruction of Britain" caused by "massive uncontrolled migration," amplifying the core message found in much of the "decline porn" content.
"What I see happening is a destruction of Britain. Initially a slow erosion, but a rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration." - Elon Musk
The creator of the Croydon videos, RadialB, claims his motivation was not to be a "decline porn" influencer but to create an "artform" that games social media algorithms for engagement. Despite having one TikTok account banned for sharing graphic content, he has already started a new one, continuing to post similar videos. This highlights the ease with which such content can be created and disseminated, and the challenge platforms face in managing the line between satire and harmful misinformation.