The Dead Internet Theory: Is the Web Alive or Just Pretending?
2My "off the cuff" PowerPoint Presentation/rambling session on "The Dead Internet Theory"
Credits/Sources:
Ahmed, A., Qamar, R., Asif, R., Imran, M., Khurram, M., & Ahmed, S. (2024). Dead Internet Theory. Pakistan Journal of Engineering, Technology & Science, 12, 37–48. https://doi.org/10.22555/pjets.v12i1.1077
Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake. (2021, January 5). Agora Road’s Macintosh Cafe. https://forum.agoraroad.com/index.php?threads/dead-internet-theory-most-of-the-internet-is-fake.3011/Maxwell, T. (2025, January 10).
Oh No, This Startup Is Using AI Agents to Flood Reddit With Marketing Slop. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/oh-no-this-startup-is-using-ai-agents-to-flood-reddit-with-marketing-slop-2000548827
The ‘dead internet theory’ makes eerie claims about an AI-run web. The truth is more sinister. (n.d.). UNSW Sites. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/05/-the-dead-internet-theory-makes-eerie-claims-about-an-ai-run-web-the-truth-is-more-sinisterWalter, Y. (2025).
Artificial influencers and the dead internet theory. AI & SOCIETY, 40(1), 239–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01857-0
WesGPT (Director). (2024, December 31). My AI Agents are taking over Reddit [Video recording]. • My AI Agents are taking over Reddit
Shao, C., Ciampaglia, G. L., Varol, O., Yang, K.-C., Flammini, A., & Menczer, F. (2018). The spread of low-credibility content by social bots. Nature Communications, 9(1), 4787. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06930-7
Additional Readings:
Propaganda By: Edward Bernays
ISBN: 978-0970312594
Crystalizing Public Opinion By: Edward Bernays
ISBN: 978-1078273268
Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated: The Collapse and Revival of American Community By: Robert D. Putnam
ISBN: 978-1982130848