Dead internet theory

Most of it’s fake now, but your edge is being real.​

Read time: 5 mins

Hi Reader,

If you’ve ever walked a city street so late at night that it’s very early in the morning, you may have had a strange thought.

In the eerie stillness, it can feel for a moment as though you’re the only person in the world. The usual crowds are gone, and the absence of what should be there is impossible to ignore, until some other person, off to start their working day, breaks the spell.

Phew. The world is still there.

It is hard, in any real-world city, to maintain the illusion of being the only person for any length of time. Yes, even in Manresa.

But the internet is different. There is always an element of unreality to an online interaction with another human: how do we know for sure that they are who they say they are? Can we be certain they’re even actually a person?

This idea sits at the core of what became known as the Dead Internet Theory, the belief that the web is now so saturated with AI-generated content, bots, and synthetic personas that genuine human presence is becoming rare, and possibly even obsolete.

This newsletter explores that idea. Because if you rely on the internet to learn, create, connect, teach, or earn, it’s worth understanding how much of what you interact with might no longer be real.

Many people don’t notice the shift.

They keep scrolling.

They keep sharing.

And they wonder why their work is ignored, their trust is fading, or their feeds feel lifeless.

This issue is about noticing the shift, so you can do something about it.

From the experts

AI slop & bot flood

• Bots now account for roughly half of global web traffic.
• Platforms like Medium and Reddit are filled with articles, comments, and posts people didn’t write.
• Much of it is SEO sludge, dopamine-bait, or click traps that look human, but aren’t.

Human-created content gets buried.
Authentic voices lose visibility.
And what remains is a sludge of infinite sameness.

The truth crisis

• Deepfakes are now affordable, real-time, and convincingly human.
• Google Veo 3 can generate hyperrealistic videos of people saying things they never said.
• That erosion of evidence. The inability to prove what really happened chips away at society’s ability to agree on anything.

Where trust breaks, so does cooperation. When platforms fail to tell the difference between real and fake, we all pay the price.

Video below by @eattheethos on IG​

New tools, new risks

As a creator, I find Veo 3 thrilling.
The idea that I could create a short film or visual story with a few prompts feels like magic.

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But it is also scary af.

It cost me around €3 to create the video above.
Anyone with a browser can generate a speaker, a background, a message, and a voice.
​It will only get cheaper and more convincing from here.

We’ve reached a point where belief no longer comes from seeing.

The tools are here. Now it’s up to us to decide with our actions and how we spend our attention, how we use and regulate it.

Human authenticity as a brand asset

On a more positive note:

If everything starts to feel synthetic, being human becomes a differentiator.

People are seeking signals that say:
​“This was made by someone like me.”

• Flaws, fingerprints, inflection points.
• Behind-the-scenes process.
• Unpolished moments that can’t be faked.

The most underrated way to stand out is to... be human.

Escape the algorithm

A selection of links to fill up your browser tab with.

Article: Humans now share the web equally with bots, report warns amid fears of the ‘dead internet’ - The Independent, April 2024

Article: AI chatbots are intruding into online communities where people are trying to connect with other humans - The Conversation, May 2024

Article: On the internet, where does the line between person end and bot begin? - The Guardian, April 2024

Article: Is anyone out there? - Prospect, September 2024

Video: Someone's school project...

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Video: AI Slop: Last Week with John Oliver

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Reminder: Your brain knows the difference. Invest in real connection.

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If you got this far,

you're part of 68% of subscribers, so thank you, Reader.

Try this this week:

1. Share a piece of work that clearly couldn’t have been made by AI.
2. Tell a story only you can tell.
3. Show your seams: the notes, the stumbles, the process.
4. Choose one post, newsletter, or video and make it deliberately more human, not more perfect.

If a section has particularly interested you, click the link of the corresponding section. It helps me prepare future newsletters.

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See you in two weeks.

​Peace,

Has

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