What if I told you that your thoughts may not be your own? Or that the wrestling fans you interact with online are nothing more than bots? Have you ever noticed that the same handful of wrestling fans and personalities take up multiple spaces? Or that more often than not, comments with outdated and divisive narratives come from profiles that look like they could have been made by AI?
What if the dead internet theory can be associated with pro wrestling fans?
*cue X-Files theme*
Is this a crazed conspiracy theory? Probably. But it’s still worth diving into for a multitude of reasons. But before we do that, what exactly is dead internet theory?
What is Dead Internet Theory?
Via ChatGPT (ironically): “The Dead Internet Theory is a conspiracy theory that suggests most of the internet is no longer run by real people but is instead dominated by AI-generated content, bots, and automated systems. According to this theory, a significant portion of online interactions, discussions, and even social media engagements are controlled by artificial intelligence, corporations, or government agencies to manipulate public opinion, push propaganda, or drive consumer behavior.”
Now this theory has largely been debunked. However, slivers of truth have spawned from the idea that “automated” users drive content. According to a 2020 study, it was estimated at 15% of all Twitter/X users were bots. This equates to roughly 48 million users at the time. Dan Woods, a former FBI security specialist, rates that number to be significantly higher – at 80%.
“When I consider the volume and velocity of automation we’re seeing today, the sophistication of bots that a given set of incentives is likely to attract, and the relative lack of countermeasures I saw in my own research, I can only come to one conclusion: In all likelihood, more than 80% of Twitter accounts are actually bots. This, of course, is my opinion.” – Dan Woods.
So this begs the question: What does this have to do with professional wrestling?
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Tony Khan Was Right About Bots (sort of)
What was once deemed a crazed Twitter rant, Tony Khan once suggested that a hoard of anti-AEW bots existed on the internet; most notably between Facebook and X, and that they were paid for by WWE. This is most likely not true. However, he was right about the bots to an extent.
Ever wonder why so much of the activity of these accounts is retweets and replies? Like who actually has 80% of their activity as straight up retweets?
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) April 8, 2022
Now what TK might have missed here is that these bots are likely in lower numbers than he believes, and there are bots on both sides of the fandoms. As you can see below (one example of many), this kind of thing exists for both parties. Whether or not these bots are paid for by their respective companies is left to your discretion. However, there’s a more sinister effect here when it comes to bots, or should I say ‘bot-like’ thinking.
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Robotic Hiveminds
Plenty of narratives exist about AEW that simply are not true. In fact, I will get into them in a later piece. However, what I’ve noticed over the years of observing behavior online is that wrestling fans like to repeat talking points. Bot or not, negative discourse drives engagement.
According to research, while there’s no exact figure, a significant portion of online opinions can be influenced by bots. There are estimates suggesting that even a small percentage of bot accounts (around 5-10%) can significantly sway public opinion on social media platforms by actively participating in discussions and spreading specific narratives.
Meaning even if an opinion of a false narrative is spread online, it can catch like wildfire and therefore become truth to so many.
And we’ve seen this time and time again with wrestling influencers, have we not? A handful of wrestling influencers/podcasters, some even collecting WWE paychecks, are out there spreading misinformation and narratives about AEW that would falter if held up to the most basic of scrutiny. Unfortunately, many fans eat it up and spread it around like the gospel.
It puts into question the actual opinions of a portion of online wrestling fans, and well…
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The Dead Internet Wrestling Fan Theory
This theory would suggest that much of the discourse, engagement, and even opinions in the wrestling community (on social media, forums, YouTube comments, etc.) are either driven by bots, or driven by online users willing to believe any narrative that fits their pre-conceived biases, therefore engaging in bot-like behavior themselves.
In other words, many online fans are not applying a level of critical thinking within wrestling fandoms. And this can be applied to any and all wrestling promotions.
For example, we often see toxic fans look past the actual content of AEW itself to add negative discourse. However, their focus is on attendance, ratings, controversies, and their owner, Tony Khan. And yes, this does go both ways, though the online discourse has been majority AEW-hate for some time now.
But is there any actual weight to this theory?
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Final Words
The Dead Internet Wrestling Fan Theory would be an interesting way to explain why wrestling discourse online feels so toxic, repetitive, and often shallow in nature. And while bots do exist in the wrestling space, the number is likely very small. However, the nature of tribalistic culture within the fandoms lead me to believe that many within the wrestling fandom engages in bot-like behavior.
It takes a level of critical thinking to see WWE and AEW for what they are, what they aren’t, and either enjoy them or quietly dismiss them. Critical thinking is applying the same level of unbiased criticism towards both companies when applicable, and if not possible, admitting said bias, and simply moving on.
As I’ve said before, I am not a WWE fan. I wish them and their talent well. But my biases prevent me from commenting on the product fairly other than a historic perspective and not a current one.
So that begs the final question. Do you think like a bot? Have you engaged with fans that sound like they could be bots, or display bot-like behavior? Or above all else, are you a bot?
-JDS
mocwrestling@yahoo.com
