Among the many conspiracy theories \u2014 about a flat Earth, reptilian overlords, or microchips in Covid vaccines \u2014 there\u2019s one that seems absurd for now, but may turn out to be an eerie prophecy for the not-so-distant future: the \u00abdead internet\u00bb theory. According to its believers, bots are everywhere. Real people have vanished from the web and are replaced by AI-generated content, while secret forces manipulate the remaining few. The idea first surfaced years ago, but the explosion of AI-generated content has given it new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to its believers, bots are everywhere. Real people have vanished from the web and are replaced by AI-generated content, while secret forces manipulate the remaining few. The idea first surfaced years ago, but the explosion of AI-generated content has given it new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The theory (not a theory in the scientific sense, but rather a loose collection of ideas) has murky origins. One of its best-known manifestos appeared in 2021 on the Agora Road forum. A user <\/span>calling themselves<\/span> IlluminatiPirate<\/span><\/em> posted<\/a> a thread titled <\/span>\u00abDead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake.\u00bb<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He introduced himself as right-wing and claimed that the modern internet (as of January 2021) felt \u00abempty, devoid of people and content compared to, say, the internet of 2007.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00abThe internet of today is entirely sterile. There\u2019s nowhere to go and nothing to do, see, read, or experience anymore,\u00bb he lamented.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n According to him, powerful entities (especially Facebook, Google, and Twitter) manipulate the web through bots, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to feed users carefully crafted narratives. Real people, he argued, had mostly disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could say the author, an American conservative nostalgic for the chaotic freedom of the 2000s, mistook the rise of moderation rules for the \u00abdeath\u00bb of the internet. Yet, there is a kernel of truth in his paranoia: the sheer amount of generated content and fake online personas is indeed growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And these fake accounts are being used to manipulate reality and deceive real users \u2014 not as part of a global conspiracy, but through targeted, tactical operations. One clear example: since the start of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the aggressor has massively used botnets and algorithmic manipulation to spread propaganda narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scale of the problem is staggering. In October 2025, Facebook announced<\/a> it had blocked over 8 million accounts linked to scam centers, which is nearly the population of Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent months, the \u00abdead internet\u00bb idea has resurfaced \u2014 this time fueled by tech insiders. Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, wrote in September 2025 that while he\u2019d never taken the theory seriously, he\u2019s now seeing \u00aba lot of LLM accounts\u00bb on X (formerly Twitter). Commenters roasted him: \u00abSam never believed in the dead internet theory \u2014 so he decided to make it real.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n