If you search for “shrimp Jesus” on Facebook, you may come across dozens of images of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated crustaceans entangled in various shapes with a stereotypical image of Jesus Christ.
Some of these hyper-realistic images have garnered more than 20,000 likes and comments. So what exactly is going on here?
The “Dead Internet Theory” has an explanation: artificial intelligence and bot-generated content have overtaken the human-generated Internet. But where does this idea come from and does it have any basis in reality?
What is the dead internet theory?
The dead internet theory essentially posits that internet activity and content, including social media accounts, are mostly created and automated by artificial intelligence agents.
These agents can quickly create posts alongside AI-generated images designed to generate engagement (clicks, likes, comments) on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. As for the shrimp Jesus, it looks like AI has figured out that it’s the latest mix of absurdity and religious iconography to go viral.
But the dead internet theory goes even further. Many of the accounts that engage with such content too appear to be run by artificial intelligence agents. This creates a vicious cycle of artificial engagement that has no clear agenda and no longer involves people at all.
Harmless Engagement or Sophisticated Propaganda?
At first glance, the motivation for these accounts to generate interest may seem obvious – engagement on social media leads to advertising revenue. If a person creates an account that gets increased engagement, they can earn a share of advertising revenue from social media organizations like Meta.
So does the dead internet theory stop at harmless engaged farming? Or perhaps beneath the surface lies a sophisticated, well-financed attempt to prop up autocratic regimes, attack opponents and spread propaganda?
While the Jesus shrimp phenomenon may seem harmless (albeit strange), there is potentially a longer-term trick.
As these AI-powered accounts grow in followers (many fake, some real), the high number of followers legitimizes the account to real users. This means an army of accounts are created there. Accounts with a large number of followers that could be implemented by the highest bidder.
This is extremely important as social media is now the main source of news for many users around the world. In Australia, 46% of 18 to 24-year-olds cited social media as their main source of news last year. This is an increase of 28% in 2022, taking over traditional sources such as radio and television.
Bot powered disinformation
There is now strong evidence that social media is being manipulated by these bloated bots to influence public opinion with misinformation – and this has been happening for years.
In 2018, a study analyzed 14 million tweets over a ten-month period in 2016 and 2017. It found that social media bots were significantly involved in spreading articles from unreliable sources. Accounts with large followings legitimized misinformation and disinformation, causing real users to believe, engage with, and re-share bot-posted content.
This approach to social media manipulation has been found to emerge following mass shootings in the United States. In 2019, a study found that posts generated by bots on X (formerly Twitter) significantly contribute to public discussion, serving to amplify or distort potential narratives related to extreme events.
More recently, several large-scale pro-Russian disinformation campaigns have aimed to undermine support for Ukraine and encourage pro-Russian sentiment.
Uncovered by activists and journalists, the coordinated effort used bots and AI to create and spread false information reaching millions of social media users.
On X alone, the campaign used more than 10,000 bot accounts to rapidly publish tens of thousands of messages with pro-Kremlin content attributed to American and European celebrities who appeared to support the ongoing war against Ukraine.
At this scale, the impact is significant. Some reports have even found that almost half of all internet traffic in 2022 will be done by bots. With recent advances in generative AI – such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini models – the quality of fake content will only improve.
Social media organizations are looking to address abuse of their platforms. Notably, Elon Musk has explored requiring X users to pay for a membership to stop bot farms.
Social media giants are able to remove large amounts of detected bot activity if they choose. (Bad news for our friendly Jesus shrimp.)
Mind the dead internet
The dead internet theory is not really claiming that most of your personal interactions on the Internet are fake.
However, it is an interesting lens through which to view the internet. That it’s no longer for the people, by the people – that’s the sense in which the internet we knew and loved is “dead”.
The freedom to create and share our thoughts on the internet and social media is what made it so powerful. Naturally, bad actors seek to control this power.
The dead internet theory is a reminder to be skeptical and navigate social media and other websites with a critical mind.
Any interaction, trend, and especially the “overall mood” may very well be synthetic. Designed to slightly change the way you perceive the world.
