The Dead Internet Theory

[Maurice Caine]

While browsing the Farms an interesting remark came to my attention, something about a 'Dead Internet' Theory. I went looking out for it and found the following /x/ thread (archive). TL;DR the theory consists of the assumption that bots are being utilized to derail discourse on 4chan and most likely other online communities. What's the goal of said machine? Who controls them?

 

[Kiwifarmsname]

Chinks or Silicon Valley honkeys who'd rather have the 10,000 bucks worth of personal data per user that a site like 4shit draws in, rather than just taking what the droves of braindead phoneposters give them.

 

[Bongocat]

I've stopped making the distinction between bots and humans that behave like bots.

Have you ever sat there and watched a boomer trying to use social media? It'll really change your perspective.

 

[biggest big boy]

i am not a schizo but if i was i would find this interesting (also i find this interesting and might be a schizo)

 

[Long Tongue Silver]

I've stopped making the distinction between bots and humans that behave like bots.

Have you ever sat there and watched a boomer trying to use social media? It'll really change your perspective.

It's Eternal September driven to its most logical conclusion.

 

[HarveyMCR]

I remember back in 2016, after the election of trump, a document was leaked that discussed how Share Blue and other liberal think tanks were going to divide Trumps supporter base in light of his success. Among them were things like saying he abandoned them, discrediting all his accomplishment and using all of his compromises as weaknesses, and saying that Trump didn’t actually represent modern right wing ideology. There were other tactics in there too, like banning conservative hubs and disenfranchising websites using financial tools. It’s scary how accurate that document was in retrospect. I remember laughing at it, saying to myself “this is absurd. We’ve won. The election of trump is going to start a new age of conservatism”. Looks like we were playing checkers while they were playing chess

 

[L50LasPak]

Its a theory I already subscribe to, but at a lower level. I don't think AI is sophisticated enough to have taken over entire websites across the board like that, but I don't think we're terribly far away from that situation either. Maybe only a few years.

 

[DeadFish]

Dont forget troll armies

 

[Neo-Holstien]

the sanguine yet bitter taste of remembering pre 2018 internet, this makes sense, demoralize the shitters making tranny techs job hell and breaking the will of white and east asian men is in itself a goal for (((liberals))) and malcontents

 

[Nathan Higgers]

Perhaps the real bots were the e-girls we met on the interwebz.

 

[Kosher Dill]

I'm not convinced these hypothetical super-AI bots would be economical compared to human useful idiots. They're not exactly in short supply.

 

[mr.moon1488]

It's dangerous autist containment. When 4/pol/ is "on" it's like a fucking internet kaiju that can rip anything apart. By keeping people focused on stupid shit, the (((problematic))) stuff only comes and goes rather than being nonstop.

 

[T0oCoolFool]

In 2016, a political forum I am a member of saw a huge influx of political campaign bots from both sides. They were easier to spot then, since what typically gave them away was the same exact talking points being repeated almost word for word. New accounts and posting at the same times was also another thing that gave them away. However, over the years it's gotten harder to spot; the talking points are more varied, people can buy old accounts now, and now bots don't post at the same time anymore.

These days the bots seem to be less about trying to change your mind and more of trying to waste your time by "debating" you in circles so important information gets buried.

 

[Jones McCann]

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[The Real SVP]

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[tehpope]

I just assume everyone posting online is a bot unless evidence otherwise comes up.

 

[KimCoppolaAficionado]

While browsing the Farms an interesting remark came to my attention, something about a 'Dead Internet' Theory. I went looking out for it and found the following /x/ thread (archive). TL;DR the theory consists of the assumption that bots are being utilized to derail discourse on 4chan and most likely other online communities. What's the goal of said machine? Who controls them?

This theory is based on classic Channer Narcissism: the idea that 4chan (which by now is an appendix in the wider Internet at best) is the most culturally-important part of the Internet. Go on any media-related board, and you'll see dozens of people claiming that, for example, anyone who mentions anything related to Games Workshop in any way is actually a paid shill employed by Games Workshop to drum up sales by... talking to a base that already knows about GW and has long since developed their opinions on their product. This is the same mentality, only now with an extra level of narcissism: they aren't even just paying some retard in India to post and bump the thread, they're writing super-advanced learning AI to do it!
I will also add the context that this theory emerged on /x/ as an attempt to explain why "the truth" (which given the average /x/phile could range from 9/11 trutherism to the Flat Earth to Gnosticism to "literally every celebrity is transgender" to werewolves being real) was allegedly being "suppressed" by meme and shitpost threads.

 

[Foxxo]

As a TF2 player, I can confirm that this is 100% true.

 

[byuu]

Mark V. Shaney is my favourite shitposter.

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

This is more true of Twitter than anywhere else, you'll just see droves of generic looking accounts repeating the same phrase about drinking somebody's tears over and over, it becomes clear instantly that it's a bot mantra and not real people posting unique opinions, and the perpetrators are hoping that their forced meme will be interpreted as a genuine one.