The Dead Internet Theory (Most of the Internet is Fake)

The Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake ➤ Today, I want to delve into a theory that’s both disturbing and strangely plausible: the Dead Internet Theory. This theory suggests that a significant portion of the internet we interact with is fake, primarily generated by artificial intelligence and manipulated by paid influencers. It's a concept that gives many a sinking feeling, akin to realizing someone has been lying to your face. The theory resonates with a gut feeling many have experienced for years but couldn't quite articulate – the sense that something is fundamentally wrong with the internet, though the exact nature of that wrongness is elusive. Many people have fragments of the puzzle, but no one has pieced everything together.

The Dead Internet Theory posits that most online content is created by AI networks, alongside media influencers, to manufacture consumers and manipulate public opinion. This artificial content aims to normalize a range of products and control collective attitudes. For younger generations who didn't experience the early internet, today's web is a far cry from its original form. It used to be a space for genuine human expression, a place where people shared passions, hobbies, and thoughts without the influence of algorithms designed to maximize engagement and ad revenue. The internet was once a reflection of human diversity and creativity, not the monetized, homogenized landscape it has become.

The current state of the internet feels empty and devoid of genuine human interaction. Major websites and social media platforms recycle the same content, creating an illusion of activity while stifling original thought. This phenomenon isn’t just a corporate issue but a systemic one, involving governments and powerful entities. Repetitive content and predictable trends dominate our online experience, making it seem as if the internet is a vast yet hollow space, like a hot air balloon with nothing inside. The internet of today is a far cry from its wild and free beginnings, and only now, in its absence, do we realize how much we’ve lost.

Moreover, the theory suggests that algorithms and AI have taken over content creation and curation, pushing public opinion in specific directions and maintaining control over discourse. Social media platforms like YouTube and Reddit are no longer spaces for genuine self-expression but are governed by algorithms that reward conformity and punish dissent. This control extends to news and information, where narratives are carefully crafted to maintain the status quo. The internet, which once promised democratization of information, has been co-opted by powerful interests, turning it into a tool for manipulation rather than enlightenment.

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[travismartinson]

I miss the old YouTube where everything was recommended based on the video you were watching not what they think you want to watch. You used to be able to really go down the rabbit hole and research things.

[lornenoland]

The internet used to be like going to a library, seeking what you want, with helpers available. Now it’s like going to a carnival, with barkers competing for your attention and money, and you leave with nothing of value, feeling entertained, yet cheated.

[ravenmoon]

What's really sad, is those who never experienced the prior internet don't know what we lost. You can't miss what you've never had

[bigg_hmicide]

This entire theory is what I’ve been trying to explain to people for years. Thank you for putting into words what I never properly could

[nathanxxvii]

I think it was the end of chatrooms. Those were real people with real thoughts. It really felt like there was an actual attempt at being friends and learning from someone new. Back in 2000.

[piratealeks]

People massively undervalue their intuition nowadays. If something feels off, it usually is.

[djozerwright]

“The internet on your smartphone is not the same as your PC”. This is absolutely correct. I’m a software engineer, we have to use differences in coding for mobile vs regular internet. Also search engines and browsers can be developed to respond any way the engineer/company wants.

[timmiller]

I’ve noticed that whenever I try to learn something on the internet, such as “how to make pizza sauce” every website I visit seems like it was created by ai and has the same information, worded slightly differently. It’s very very strange.

[evwaldron]

2 minutes in and I'm like "Oh, duh. Didn't realize this was up for debate."

Circa 2000-2001 I was in college doing a dual degree program in radio and tv production. Our college radio station used RealPlayer to stream over the web, which was something outlandishly new. I remember talking to another student and saying that this was the future. That one day, ALL media would be streamed, and that it would be on-demand instead of live... and that since ratings and viewership info would be perfect instead of guesses like the Nielsen system, they'd be able to target ads to you and suggest shows and movies you would have otherwise never heard of... and I remember naively thinking "It'll be AMAZING!!! Imagine watching something and ALL the commercials are for things you love... and you'd get to hear about bands, games, anime... all of which are things you'd actually like!"

Sadly, it doesn't really work that way. Ads are still garbage... and it seems harder than ever to find things I'm looking for on any search engine.

[silenthades]

Something that’s started to piss me off is that I’ve been pushing the “do not recommend channel” on any of the channels that seem like they’re from content farms, bots, or from individuals that feel too emotionally manipulative or corporate. However, next week of course the same channels reappear and I have to re-request not to have the channel recommended.

Doesn’t matter how many times I say “not interested”, whatever is trending will flood my feed. I used to love researching things on Youtube but I can’t even do that anymore. No rabbit holes. No creepy videos at 3am that I have no idea how I found but am glad I did. I hate it.

[jakezufolo]

It’s crazy everyone felt less connected before the internet but afterwards we are more divided than ever

[inthso]

"The Net sucks! Why am I here?"

Internet: "Yes, you're right. Here are 1, 000, 000+ articles and videos on how to reduce your Internet time."

[ernststravoblofeld]

I was one of the guys who set up early internet service providers. When you got your block of ip addresses, you had to agree not to use the internet for commercial purposes. Service providers themselves, were a grey area, as far as that goes. I had a feeling I was not doing the world a favor. More users meant a bigger market that corporations couldn't keep their claws off forever. If you aren't old now, you have no idea what the internet used to be like. It was ugly and slow and totally fucking amazing.

[POLARTTYRTM]

I came back to this video and this is too eerie, man. This video is more relevant than ever, not just the video, but the whole DIT series. This is seriously sinister with all the recent AI craze. You definitely should revisit this series. The inversion of humans vs bots happened ages ago. On twitter now, almost 80% of the traffic is AI/bot-generated.
The talking points of this theory are all too real, it's just uncomfortable and unsettling because of how real they are. This is too prophetic.
Dare you to say anything "not-approved" by someone else, and you risk getting doxxed, hacked, swatted, mass-reported to have your accounts taken down, banned, whatever they do all the time. This actually happened to some people I know, needless to say, they got into serious trouble with some weird people that did all what I said previously. It actually happened to a ton of people. In most cases it was the act of other users with some extended hacking skills, others were seemingly done by bots via unknown methods.
It's not just "uncool" to state anything unpopular, it's also a threat to someone's life.

[TwoBs]

I can’t stand how you’re looked at as being “odd” for not participating in social media.

I see my own sister, who is older than me and was right there with me growing up in the era before dial-up was even common in households, fall right into the trap of posting to Facebook and Instagram a life I know she doesn’t live.

For example, she just put herself in debt ($5, 800) for Christmas to buy her kid a bunch of stuff he doesn’t even really need or want along with booking the family to a big expensive holiday vacation …. just to spend most of the time taking pictures and posting their every moment to social media and posting 4-5 photos just to show how she has X amount of presents under the tree to give off the appearance of a “we have lots of money” fun life all while complaining about the cost of living now.

I see her post pictures of herself and I don’t even know who that person is that I see in the photos. Despite being my sister, it’s _not_ my sister. It’s an over-edited filtered mess of a woman that looks nothing like she posts online …. it’s an unreal feeling, and when I see what her social circle posts, it’s the exact same shit. She fell for it — hook, line, and sinker all while sitting at family gatherings mocking the same types of people that do that very thing as if she’s more aware of it.


It’s made even family gatherings hard to be around because it’s not just her, it’s 90% of the people there with a smartphone in their face posting to social media. When they’re bored, they have their phone in their face. When talking to a family member, they still have a phone in their face. When something is going on (cutting turkey, opening gifts, etc.) someone has a smartphone and is taking photos just to post to social media. If a topic is brought up and discussed? It’s because someone just saw something on social media. It’s a constant barrage of “look at this, check this out, did you see this?, did you see what X/Y/Z posted?”

I end up feeling like the “odd one out” in the family because I sit there thinking “is this even real right now?” because the behaviors are all just so predictable. It’s made going around family — _family_ for crying out loud — a miserable experience because you know they know how they’re being, but act as if it has no affect on them. That they’re “not like that”.





I think that’s what’s really sad is that people know. They know how stale everything is and how the internet is nothing but a way to herd minds anymore. Majority are well aware of it, but the majority also like to think “well, I’m not like that, it doesn’t fool me”

Sometimes I wish the internet would cease to exist. I use it often and know some of my fondest memories were using dial-up back in 95-99 to post on message boards and chat rooms, having some genuine connections with people, but the way it is anymore …. I’d rather it just disappear. It’s created mindless drones, myself included at times.

[jasonggabbott]

Remember back in the day when you would look at the visit counter on the website you went to. Sometimes I'd be the only one that ever went to a website for weeks at a time. I miss those days.

[Sunset]

I was on the web before there were browsers. I have noticed - I mean it’s blatantly obvious that you can’t just poke around and find interesting people who have personal and engaging content. In 1996, one day, I talked to a woman wintering over in Antarctica’s MacMurdo station, I joined a “discussion “ with Koko the gorilla who communicates with sign language. Later, I chatted with a monk who needed Llinux support but he was on a vow of silence and I still feel guilty that I didn’t go out of my way to help him. I used to be in a group for people with ptsd. Some of the participants were only there because they could remove header info and not be found again by other users.
I’m not sure how it became the sleek, vapid thing it is now. I have called it the wikification of the internet. Information is pre packaged, like a wiki article. I’m not dissing Wikipedia, which is useful for many people. The problem is that that’s all you find.

[ChimpingBulldog]

Social media networks ruined the internet. Communication worked perfectly with emails and internet forums based on shared interests. The 'like' button wasn't a feature back then.

[sinjin]

What's funny is when you throw the algorithm for a twist by just doing constant 180s on topics.

You end up in some really bizzare neighborhoods.

[miriamdwelley]

This made me miss the old internet so much. When I could spend hours playing online. In chat rooms meeting random people. People I'm still friends with today. I miss MySpace. They took away our individuality to make us confirm to all be the same. This is why I take breaks and just read books some days.