**Dead internet theory** is a fringe idea [postulated](https://forum.agoraroad.com/index.php?threads/dead-internet-theory-most-of-the-internet-is-fake.3011/) by a user on Agora Road MacIntosh Cafe, arguing that most of the internet content beyond 2007 is mostly produced by artificial intelligence and curated by algorithms controlled by a corporate/government partnership. >[!quote] IlluminatiPirate >The Internet feels empty and devoid of people. It is also devoid of content. Compared to the Internet of say 2007 (and beyond) the Internet of today is entirely sterile. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do, see, read or experience anymore. It all imploded into a handful of normalfag sites and these empty husks we inhabit. Yes, the Internet may seem gigantic, but it's like a hot air balloon with nothing inside. Some of this is absolutely the fault of corporations and government entities. While most of the source material is both unverifiable and morally questionable, the theory is demonstrative of a broader cultural critique of the Internet’s evolution into corporate [[The Obama Panacea|technocracy]], combined with a nostalgia for the hodgepodge serendipity of the read-only web. It claims that the modern internet is controlled by a cabal of corporate interests that exploit users through a combination of botnets and influencers. >Large proportions of the supposedly human-produced content on the internet are actually generated by artificial intelligence networks in conjunction with paid secret media influencers in order to manufacture consumers for an increasing range of newly-normalised cultural products. It is unclear whether this claim is directed at large media corporations such as Facebook or Google, or toward smaller scale operations. The advent of AI-generated content has [reportedly](https://www.404media.co/email/b161a988-dd86-4440-8e73-f9585a45cad2/) turned into something akin to a "dead mall." Regardless, there are certainly examples of bad-faith actors creating [elaborate networks](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/27/style/what-is-inside-this-internet-rabbit-hole.html?mtrref=www.jennyodell.com&gwh=D003D3061EE0E4DE6316B18F7B8513D2&gwt=pay&assetType=PAYWALL) of products, businesses, and fraud sustained by marketing to people who only want to engage with one ideology. > There is a large-scale, deliberate effort to manipulate culture and discourse online and in wider culture by utilising a system of bots and paid employees whose job it is to produce content and respond to content online in order to further the agenda of those they are employed by. This is perhaps a sensational conclusion to draw, but not without justification. For starters, the prevalence of bot traffic has [steadily increased](https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2023/05/bot-traffic-on-internet-reaches-record.html) over time, while human traffic has [plateaued](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1264226/human-and-bot-web-traffic-share/) and diminished since 2020. According to one [report](https://assets.barracuda.com/assets/docs/dms/Bot_Attacks_report_vol1_EN.pdf), bots accounted for 64% of Internet traffic in 2021. Exactly why bots are so prevalent may be difficult for typical human users to understand. One [suggestion](https://community.unix.com/t/how-much-web-traffic-is-bot-traffic/381715) is that bot traffic is partly driven by hosting models priced by page views/month, while content creators readily purchase [fake YouTube views](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/11/technology/youtube-fake-view-sellers.html) to boost their audience. Dead Internet theory is a good illustration of how [[Belief|beliefs]] may form with incomplete evidence augmented by broader social issues. The evidence may not support a global corporate conspiracy, but it does indicate an [erosion of trust](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/how-much-of-the-internet-is-fake.html) in the quality of available information from many of its primary resources. > [!quote] Max Read > Years of metrics-driven growth, lucrative manipulative systems, and unregulated platform marketplaces, have created an environment where it makes more sense to be fake online — to be disingenuous and cynical, to lie and cheat, to misrepresent and distort — than it does to be real. The result is a diffusion of echo-chambers in which individuals appeal to the prevailing [[Elite-Expert Model|elite-expert]] social model rather than the polite and evolving discourse of the town square. >Now everyone is too cowardly to have an opinion so they copy others they like, they are more likely to follow trends and say what others said, you can also see it with the paranoia of always wanting to listen to experts. This theory is likely related to the [[attention crisis]].