Dead Internet theory
The dead Internet theory is a conspiracy theory that asserts, due to a coordinated and intentional effort, the Internet now consists mainly of bot activity and automatically generated content manipulated by algorithmic curation to control the population and minimize organic human activity.
In 2021, a post titled "Dead Internet Theory: Most Of The Internet Is Fake" was published onto the forum Agora Road's Macintosh Cafe esoteric board by a user named "IlluminatiPirate",[11] claiming to be building on previous posts from the same board and from Wizardchan,[2] and marking the term's spread beyond these initial imageboards.
[3] The Dead Internet Theory suggests that this is part of the conspiracy to limit users to curated, and potentially artificial, content online.
The second half of the dead Internet theory builds on this observable phenomenon by proposing that the U.S. government, corporations, or other actors are intentionally limiting users to curated, and potentially artificial AI-generated content, to manipulate the human population for a variety of reasons.
[1][17] Generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) are a class of large language models (LLMs) that employ artificial neural networks to produce human-like content.
[22] In correspondence with Gizmodo, a Google spokesperson acknowledged the role of generative AI in the rapid proliferation of such content and that it could displace more valuable human-made alternatives.
[5] ChatGPT is an AI chatbot whose late 2022 release to the general public led journalists to call the dead internet theory potentially more realistic than before.
[8][24] Before ChatGPT's release, the dead internet theory mostly emphasized government organizations, corporations, and tech-literate individuals.
[2] Imperva's report for 2023 found that 49.6% of internet traffic was automated, a 2% rise on 2022 which was partly attributed to artificial intelligence models scraping the web for training content.
[29][30] Subjects of these AI-generated images included various iterations of Jesus "meshed in various forms" with shrimp, flight attendants, and black children next to artwork they supposedly created.
[34] In January 2025, interest renewed in the theory following statements from Meta on their plans to introduce new AI powered autonomous accounts.
[citation needed] As LLMs such as ChatGPT become available to the general public, they are increasingly being employed on Reddit by users and bot accounts.
[25] University of South Florida professor John Licato compared this situation of AI-generated web content flooding Reddit to the dead Internet theory.
[15] In a 2024 article in Fast Company, journalist Michael Grothaus linked this and other AI-generated content on social media to the Dead Internet Theory.
[2] Numerous YouTube channels and online communities, including the Linus Tech Tips forums and Joe Rogan subreddit, have covered the dead Internet theory, which has helped to advance the idea into mainstream discourse.
