From Gen Z and Millennials’ mesmerization watching Kim Possible take a holographic FaceTime from her watch, to Gen X’s amazement as Marty McFly attempts to get “Back to the Future” in Doc’s DeLorean time machine — it is evident that the takeover of artificial intelligence sat under our noses long before ChatGPT and deepfakes. But how much power does AI really hold? Specifically, will it one day be able to take over something as vast as the World Wide Web? Introducing “Dead Internet Theory”: the online conspiracy that argues eventually, the Internet will lose control of itself as it’s slowly taken over by AI-generated content and bot activity.
Social Suicide
Preliminary ideas relating to The Dead Internet Theory first surfaced on the archive forum 4Chan in the late 2010s. A more concrete ideology appeared in a 2021 post titled “Dead Internet Theory: Most Of The Internet Is Fake” on another forum called Agora Road’s Macintosh Cafe, according to Forbes Magazine. The post suggests that the Internet consists of very little human activity, and AI has reformed it into an algorithmic space meant only for selling products and ideas.
For those aspiring to make a career out of the Internet and social media, the Dead Internet Theory presents pros and cons. On the one hand, if you manage to get your content to go viral just a few times, you might be a shoo-in for many users’ algorithms, and as we know, views and followers are any influencer’s currency.
Balaj Raza, a junior at the University of Miami with more than 17,000 followers on TikTok, said he uses AI to his advantage as a content creator for his personal brand and as a social media assistant for UM’s official social media pages — UM’s Instagram alone has almost 260,000 followers. The content creator says AI is “a double-edged sword.”
“It’s helped me streamline my tasks as a content creator, like editing, generating captions, suggesting content ideas — just making things more efficient,” said Raza.
Nonetheless, Raza also said he feels the other side of the sword in his work.
“Careers can get really hurt as the space gets oversaturated with AI-generated content, which makes it harder for human creators to stand out. There’s also a concern that brands may start relying more on AI-generated influencers or content instead of hiring real creators,” said Raza.
“AI is blurring the line between real and fake more than ever. It’s weaponized in ways that align with the Dead Internet Theory,” said Raza. “It’s up to us to stay aware, and it’s crucial to develop digital literacy skills to navigate this space.”
Specifically, Raza said he suggests basic fact-checking, source verification and being skeptical of content to guide us through what the Internet and social media have become in the age of AI.
What happens if we aren’t attempting to combat bots in the simplest of ways?
Just a Theory
Stephen Murrell, a computer science professor at UM specializing in AI, addresses the increase of bot content online but feels the Dead Internet Theory is, as conspiracy theories can be, far-fetched.
“You know the sort: the COVID vaccines contained microchips to track or control you, the moon landings never happened, school massacres were carried out by a government wanting an excuse to control gun ownership,” said Murrell. “There is a difference, though. Dead Internet seems to be supported by facts, but it is a back-formation. There is a lot of ‘bot created’ internet content. The idea that it is intended to reduce human behavior is possibly just a foolish conclusion, but more likely a deliberate lie for self-aggrandizement or publicity.”.
Similarly to the conclusion of Raza, Murrell said he believes there is little we can do to minimize bot content interaction beyond the small deeds.
“Some of this activity has a lot of money behind it — a large part coming slightly indirectly from the Chinese government, some from Russia and its friends, some from corrupt government officials and a lot from greedy corporations everywhere,” said Murrell. “My only hope is that someone with a lot more money than I could imagine having, decides to do something about this very destructive situation.”
Like other conspiracy theories, Murrell expects that the Dead Internet Theory will die out eventually. Nonetheless, the internet as we know it is bound to change inevitably.
“It will just carry on as it is, getting more and more worthless. When that has continued for long enough, it may well happen that people realize it is all lies and stop paying attention,” said Murrell. “Monsters and ghosts only exist if you believe in them. I really can’t see that happening in the near future.”
Making and Breaking
The Dead Internet Theory extends beyond the bounds of social media and the Internet at our fingertips. For UM senior Kallie Tsartsalis, the theory will linger as she starts her post-graduate career in photography.
“Working with AI tools, particularly in Photoshop, I’ve become pretty good at recognizing AI-generated content,” said Tsartsalis. “The technology has improved considerably but still faces challenges, which I see with human and animal renderings.”
Tsartsalis mentioned the subtle inconsistencies she finds in AI-generated features in programs like Adobe Photoshop, such as humans having extra fingers, unnatural-looking proportions or animals having additional toes. However, she said she believes that AI’s repercussions go beyond her artwork and specifically feels that the effects will be seen in the education system.
“The ability of AI to generate answers undermines the core purpose of schooling: to foster independent learning and critical thinking. I think this shift may diminish the value of the learning process itself,” Tsartsalis said.
Michel Dupagne, a media management professor who majored in library science during his undergraduate years, would agree with Tsartsalis, specifically regarding his students preparing to write their Capstone research papers in his media technology course.
“Students over the years have told me the content they’re getting on social media is sufficient and if [they] want more information, [they] can go to the [original] source. Are they going to go to the source? Generally speaking, no,” Dupagne said.
Just as we’re no strangers to AI, we’re also not strangers to fake news. The first findings of the Dead Internet Theory came about around President Trump’s first election in 2016, when fake news infiltrated platforms like Facebook, forcing the platform to moderate their content through censorship to maintain a positive reputation.
Like Raza, Dupagne said he encourages staying skeptical towards information, especially as platforms move away from content moderation.
“If you have less content moderation, you’re going to have more fake content, controversial content,” said Dupagne. “You need to ask yourself, if there is no moderation, do we allow people to do anything they want? Sort of a very libertarian way to do whatever you want on social media, create whatever you want. Are there no more rules or regulations?”
If social media platforms maintain their moderation efforts to minimize the spread of misinformation and ‘bots,’ Dupagne said he recognizes the potential for societal backlash as this decision can be perceived as an inhibitor of free speech.
Whether you think of the Dead Internet Theory as a war to fight, a game to play or just the new way of life, it’s up to you to make your own rulebook.
words_amanda mohamad. illustration_sovannreach po. design_sal puma.
This article was published in Distraction’s Spring 2025 print issue.
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