The Zombie Apocalypse
Back in 2022, I wrote an article on the “Dead Internet Theory” that explored the idea that the internet had basically “died” back in 2016 – that artificial intelligence and bots had taken over the internet entirely.
Well, a lot has changed since then, and none of it for the good.
The wild and wonderful digital bazaar called the World Wide Web is officially dead – well, or more accurately, is undead.
You see, what started as a digital ecosystem of connectivity for curious minds and odd strangers has now become zombified and overrun by bots, fake followers, A.I., A.I. posts, scripts, and look-alike content, click farms, and a sea of synthetic engagement that pretends to be alive but isn’t.
The Dead Internet Theory is no longer a theory – it’s our new digital reality.
Let’s start with just a few of the cold, hard facts:
- Bots make up 49.6% of all internet traffic (32% of which are malicious bots).
- Internet advertisers lost $84 billion to fraud in 2023.
- Ad fraud online is projected to double to over $170 billion by 2028.
- Facebook removed 631 million fake accounts in the first quarter of 2024.
- TikTok deleted over 1 billion fake followers in a single quarter in 2023.
- 25% of Instagram Influencers purchased fake followers at some point.
- In 2024, the FBI dismantled a botnet called “911 S5,” which had control of 19 million devices – running machines (phones, laptops, routers) rerouted to act like real users.
- Click farms and fake reviews – a $152 billion per year problem.
It’s true – a significant portion of internet traffic today is fraudulent, non-human – fake. And, worse, most of the fake traffic is malicious and has deceptive intent.
For those unfamiliar with “bots” – they are automated software agents that crawl websites or perform actions repetitively online. Not all bots are bad (i.e., search engine “spider bots” are benign but hugely annoying to SEO folks,) but the problem we have today is that a large fraction of bots are used specifically for malicious purposes…
…and they are growing more sophisticated and human-like by the year.
In fact, according to Imperva’s 2024 Bad Bot Report, in 2023, 66.6% of bad bot traffic was classified as “evasive” (able to mimic human behavior to avoid detection). These bots can bypass simple CAPTCHAs, randomize their patterns, use stolen credentials, etc., making them harder to filter out.
To drive home the real scope and scale of this new online reality, let’s put some dollars and “sense” in the mix.
In 2024, brands in the U.S. spent a total of $258.6 billion on online ads, according to a report from industry trade group the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and professional services firm PwC.
Let’s do our own simple, quick math:
$258.6 billion spent × 50% of web traffic is automated bots
= $129.30 billion in wasted ad spend in 2024
Let that sink in for a moment.
Ironically, US merchant and department store magnate John Wanamaker (an early retail and marketing pioneer) uttered this little gem of a quote over 100 years ago…
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
And just think, this was BEFORE the internet…so if we redo the math from above, it’s safe to assume that 75% of your advertising today is wasted, (which not coincidentally lines up perfectly to the 80/20 rule.)
The Ghost in the Machine
When you fuse together these dimensions – fraudulent traffic, bots, ad fraud, fake social engagement, click farms, malware (all growing and turbocharged with today’s A.I.) – the online ecosystem is becoming more of an “internet simulation layer.”
Yes, the internet is technically dead in the human sense, as it’s now populated by zombie digital ghosts who crawl the tombstones to awaken more cyber zombies.
We’re witnessing a dramatic shift. From communication to simulation.
From a web of real connections to a web of simulated reality.
That’s one of the chilling new realities of the Dead Internet Theory: the web hasn’t gone away – it’s been taken over with automated zombies – it’s been stolen and repurposed.
Humans take note.
Our digital world is no longer ours.
Are there still real people out there?
Of course – you’re reading an article from one right now .
Perhaps, small communities of authentic, real people are our last hope.
The Last Refuge of Sanity
So now what?
The implications are immense for humanity and the business world alike.
Oh, and marketing, it’s close to dead.
The marketing zombies have overtaken the advertising ecosystem entirely.
The only question left is:
“When will all products and services become fake…simulated?”
Maybe that’s why the tech world created the metaverse – so we can all live happily ever after in a simulated reality.
Hmmm.
Lots to think about here.
This topic warrants much more discussion, but I’ll close with a few “notes to self.”
- The internet has no soul, fight to keep yours
- Truth and trust are sacred, give yours purposefully
- Beware the undead, they are watching, waiting
- While the world continues to speed up, slow the “f” down!
- Remember (or study) the old days “pre-internet” – this is the NEW way forward
- Quality over quantity, less is more
- Handshakes over headphones, hugs over texts
- Patience grasshopper, the world is still ripe with opportunity, love and joy
- Learn all the “new” rules so you can break them like a pro
- Question the questions, stay unruly, fight the status quo
Last, but not least, let’s redefine A.I. on our own terms:
Awakened Inspiration
And always remember, wisdom is your truth.
We’ve got this