Social media is obviously one of the most popular things in the world. But, if you’ve been feeling a little differently about it lately, you’re not alone. With the rise of AI, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake, making everyone feel at least a bit uncomfortable.

If the state of social media is really bothering you, there’s a theory that could explain why. Technically, it’s considered a conspiracy theory, but it does have some merit. According to the dead internet theory, the internet has become annoying to use because real people aren’t actually the ones using it. Instead, it’s just a bunch of AI-generated bots.

The dead internet theory has gained a lot of traction as AI has become more popular.

Jake Renzella, a lecturer at UNSW Sydney, and Vlada Rozova, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, defined the mysterious-sounding theory for The Conversation. “The dead internet theory essentially claims that activity and content on the internet, including social media accounts, are predominantly being created and automated by artificial intelligence agents,” they explained.

A TikTok creator named Cat, who shares “non-pretentious, non-patronizing AI education,” also addressed the theory. “Originally, when the theory was invented in, like, 2021, it was referring to bots in systems of engagement on the internet,” she said. “So think, like, likes, comments, reposts — kind of like a ghost audience faking virality. But now with AI, the scope of the dead internet theory has expanded to include not just the engagement being fake, but the actual content itself.”

Another TikTok creator, Thomas Mulligan, posited that the dead internet theory was actually created a bit earlier, around 2016. He acknowledged that it is a conspiracy theory, but said that doesn’t mean it’s completely without truth. 

“Every day, the line between human creation and machine creation gets a little bit more blurred,” he said. 

He’s not wrong.

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Of course, the dead internet theory can’t possibly be entirely true.

As Cat said, “I mean, we’re here, right?” Similarly, on the BBC podcast “More or Less,” host Tom Calls said, “The theory that the internet is 100% dead can be easily disproven.” They’ve got a point. After all, you’re sitting here reading the words that I wrote (and I promise I’m real).

Still, it seems like more of the internet is probably fake, or “dead,” than we realize. To prove this point, Doug, one of the hosts of “The Lemonade Stand” podcast, brought up the theory in one episode. He then quoted a bunch of different statistics about it from reputable sources like UC-Berkeley, London CyberLab, and Yale, with the web pages on a screen behind him. His fellow hosts were completely on board until he said, “All of this is fake. I made up all of this with an AI this morning. None of these websites [is] real.”

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The presence of so many bots on the internet poses a threat.

According to the 2024 Imperva Threat Research Report, almost 50% of internet activity comes from bots, with one-third being “bad bots.” As Renzella and Rozova pointed out, this has dangerous implications. 

The more followers an account has, the more reputable it looks. Bad actors could easily use bot followers to look legit, so they could spread misinformation and propaganda.

Karola G | Pexels

We were all taught from a young age that we can’t trust everything we see on the internet. But, with how pervasive the internet is in our lives now, it’s getting harder not to trust it. We turn to it for every little question and problem that arises, and we just assume we’re getting factual information from it.

This means we all have to be on guard. The information we’re viewing at any given moment could be fake or intentionally misleading. Always double-check your sources. And, perhaps even more importantly, go ahead and take a step back from social media if you’re feeling repulsed by it.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.