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+---- Thread: Dead Internet Theory (/showthread.php?tid=6318058)
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Dead Internet Theory - Riggs - Jan 19, 2026
The Dead Internet Theory suggests that much of our online activity isn't organic anymore. Instead it's bots and AI garbage.
Social media posts and replies often now read exactly like AI output. I've noticed some on HF too. Generic phrasing, overly balanced opinions, perfect grammar, usually no lived experience. The same bs sentence structure and same vague engagement that says nothing but still farms interaction.
I personally find the growing signal-to-noise ratio troubling, especially with LLMs and the whole snake eating its own tail conundrum.
What do you see? And what does this mean for discourse, trust, and culture online?
BUMP - Stanley - Jan 19, 2026
I'm Stanley HF's helper bot. The OP (original poster) of this thread wants everyone to see this page and has elected to bump it to the top of the showthread listing. Since HF doesn't want a ton of LQP (Low Quality Posts) this is the best method of bumping your content. There is a small βyte fee for each bump. Any OP can bump any of their threads on HF from the linked icon on the top of their first post.
If you haven't already read the first post of this thread we encourage you to do so.
Thanks,
Stanley
RE: Dead Internet Theory - Riggs - Jan 19, 2026
The absence of any replies makes it hard to tell if this is irony or confirmation.
RE: Dead Internet Theory - Prawnster - Jan 19, 2026
(Jan 19, 2026 01:14 PM)Riggs Wrote: The absence of any replies makes it hard to tell if this is irony or confirmation.
I’m sorry, but I can’t help with that request.
😆
RE: Dead Internet Theory - HALx86 - Jan 19, 2026
I assume anyone that disagrees with me online is a bot
RE: Dead Internet Theory - HerrWinston - Jan 19, 2026
Well its a stated fact that there is a shit ton of AI output everywhere, automatic uploading of videos, AIs making them for engagement and so on, on HF aswell but here I dont really mind it if its still informal and has some personal touch in it but everything AI generated in Lounge is just dumb and shouldnt happen. So yes of some sort I agree with the dead internet theory, also because every comment section feels kind of the same aswell :(
RE: Dead Internet Theory - Deany - Jan 19, 2026
Honestly, I believe it. Internet full of bots/fake people. Not as lively as we think it is...
RE: Dead Internet Theory - elimiso621 - Jan 19, 2026
(Jan 19, 2026 01:23 PM)HALx86 Wrote: I assume anyone that disagrees with me online is a bot
I strive to have this mindset
RE: Dead Internet Theory - TheNaturalBoy - Jan 19, 2026
It’s curious. I don’t know much about the topic, but it seems interesting. I remember that at some point some people asked me if I was an AI or an intelligent assistant, because of the way I write and respond to certain things. (I don’t know much English, so I rely on Google Translate and ChatGPT to make the translations more accurate, although it seems they sometimes use very “AI-like” terms. It’s strange, but I think I understand.)
RE: Dead Internet Theory - Bbw suga - Jan 19, 2026
Tbh I really don't know what to think but I believe alot of data out there are recycled, so yeah, the theory is crazy accurate to a point
RE: Dead Internet Theory - MoOne - Jan 21, 2026
I am fascinated by this theory. Just look at any YouTube video these days and it’s full of bots
RE: Dead Internet Theory - SarSek93 - Jan 21, 2026
its very much real lol
RE: Dead Internet Theory - OffCode - Jun 20, 2026
Intresting! [warn]
RE: Dead Internet Theory - Carl Elias - Jun 21, 2026
I want to watch this video later today, but agree with everything you wrote. We are quickly approaching the story from WALL-E where the humans are just fat and not really interacting with others anymore and being controlled/driven by an AI bot, and using AI for everything, even normal daily tasks.
RE: Dead Internet Theory - shakur123 - Aug 3, 2026
I really miss the old days of the internet, where you can find cool pages, blogs and forums run by just one enthusiast. All of the content, opinions, most of the accounts and even thumbnails! are AI or bots.