#engagement farm

[critical-skeptic]

The AI Bait Farm: Social Media’s Death Spiral Toward a “Dead Internet”

Social media, once hailed as the digital agora—a global forum for connection, community, and expression—is now collapsing under its own weight. What we’re seeing isn’t just the rise of engagement bait or low-effort content farming; we’re witnessing the systematic erosion of authenticity, creativity, and relevance in real time. A plague of AI-generated imagery, emotionally manipulative captions, and algorithmic engagement farming has turned platforms like Facebook into breeding grounds for digital junk food: empty calories designed to elicit clicks, not meaningful interaction.

It’s tempting to dismiss these posts as benign annoyances, but that would underestimate the scale of the problem. These aren’t isolated gimmicks but symptoms of a much larger trend that risks accelerating the so-called “Dead Internet Theory.” And while this theory may sound like dystopian hyperbole, the patterns emerging are impossible to ignore.

What’s Happening Right Now?

Scroll any social media feed, and you’ll encounter the same formulaic garbage on repeat:

Emotionally Charged AI-Generated Content: Glamorous “old” women, impossibly muscular veterans, or attractive models in bizarrely curated patriotic or religious contexts. These images aren’t just unrealistic—they’re uncanny, almost dreamlike, betraying their machine-made origins. The posts are paired with captions like “God bless veterans 🇺🇸,” or “My husband just called me fat… Should I leave him?”—phrases designed to spark outrage or sympathy and lure you into engaging.

Engagement Loops: The visible caption is always vague or incomplete, forcing curiosity-clicks. Comments are flooded with spam or scam accounts promoting phishing links, further eroding trust and degrading the space.

Virality via Exploitation: These posts prey on universal human emotions—empathy, nationalism, anger, or intrigue. But their purpose isn’t to inspire or connect; it’s to hijack your attention, feeding the algorithmic gods who reward viral reach with ad revenue or data exploitation.

Proliferation of Bots and Bad Actors: Many of these accounts are entirely fake—AI-created personas operated by bot farms or individuals running automated content machines. Their purpose isn’t just engagement; it’s often outright malicious, funneling traffic to scams or phishing attempts.

The Connection to “Dead Internet Theory”

The Dead Internet Theory suggests that much of the content we interact with online is no longer produced by humans but by bots, algorithms, and automated systems. According to this idea, the internet as we know it is no longer a thriving ecosystem of organic human activity but an elaborate facade—an echo chamber of fake engagement designed to sustain platforms financially.

Here’s why this matters: platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are beginning to resemble the early symptoms of Dead Internet Theory in action. Just as spam and bots overtook chatrooms like Yahoo Messenger in the late 2000s, social media is now becoming a wasteland of fake interactions, auto-generated content, and meaningless noise. Back then, the spam crisis killed platforms overnight as users fled the sinking ship. Today, social media is far too entrenched in our lives to collapse outright—but it’s showing signs of terminal decay.

Why This Matters

Proliferation is Exploding: AI tools have made it absurdly easy to generate realistic images, plausible captions, and entire fake personas. What used to require a skilled designer or content creator can now be achieved by anyone with access to free tools. This democratization of fakery is flooding the internet at a scale unimaginable even five years ago.

Authenticity is Losing the War: Social media’s original value was its ability to connect real people and foster genuine conversations. When most of what you see is fake, the ability to trust anything erodes. Even legitimate content creators are overshadowed by bots churning out endless garbage.

Runaway Algorithmic Incentives: Platforms profit from engagement, no matter how low-quality it is. Every click on an AI-generated post boosts ad revenue and data collection. In a perverse way, platforms have no incentive to fix this problem because the garbage works. It keeps users scrolling and interacting, even if that interaction is meaningless.

Psychological Exhaustion: Fake content exploits human emotions, but the constant bombardment of manipulative bait is exhausting. Users disengage not just from the fake posts but from the platform itself. This creates a vicious cycle: as genuine users leave, bots and bad actors fill the void.

The Parallel to Chatroom Collapse: Yahoo Chat and similar platforms died when spam and bots overwhelmed the system. Users fled because the signal-to-noise ratio became unbearable. Social media risks the same fate—but on a global scale.

Where This Leads: The Dead Internet in Action

If unchecked, this runaway trend has clear consequences:

A Content Wasteland: As fake posts dominate feeds, genuine voices will be drowned out. Social media will lose its relevance as a platform for real interaction.

Hyper-Skepticism: As more content is exposed as fake, users will begin questioning everything—even legitimate posts. This erosion of trust has broader implications for how we engage with the internet as a whole.

Collapse of Platforms: While platforms like Facebook might be too big to fail outright, they risk becoming relics of a bygone era, replaced by smaller, niche platforms that prioritize authenticity (or so we hope).

What Can Be Done?

Demand Better Algorithms: Platforms need to prioritize authenticity over engagement, even at the cost of ad revenue. This means investing in better moderation tools to weed out bots and spam, rather than rewarding it.

Raise Awareness: Most users don’t realize how prolific and fake much of their feed is. Calling it out—not just with comments but through larger discussions—can help push the issue into the spotlight.

Support Genuine Content: Follow and engage with real creators, especially those calling out or exposing these trends. Visibility matters, and genuine content needs all the help it can get.

Educate Yourself: Learn to spot fake content. Look for subtle tells: overly smooth skin, incoherent details (like garbled name tags), or too-perfect lighting. The more you recognize these patterns, the less likely you are to fall for the bait.

Final Thoughts: A Warning Shot

Social media is heading down the same path as the chatrooms of old: a slow, suffocating decline into irrelevance. But unlike Yahoo Chat, which we abandoned without much consequence, social media is woven into the fabric of our lives. If it collapses—or worse, becomes an entirely “dead” internet of bots and fake engagement—the consequences for society are far-reaching.

What’s happening now isn’t inevitable, but it is accelerating. And unless platforms, users, and creators fight back against the onslaught of AI spam and engagement farming, we’ll find ourselves living in a digital wasteland, endlessly scrolling through meaningless noise. The time to act is now—before the last vestiges of authenticity are buried under a pile of algorithmic garbage.

[mortiflyer]

What

[janesurlife]

And he should do it again

jokes aside, Carlos wasn't giving max drs he was managing his tyres but lecfosi are so easy to clickbait its hilarious

[superchat]

i cannot think of a worse message in elden ring than the ones where ppl write ones like "didnt expect gorgeous view. therefore, praise the message!"

like youre rlly slapping bottom of the barrel commentary and asking for ppl to like and subscribe, how did you manage to bring cesspool youtube culture to an rpg

[midnightmoonkiss]

I literally can’t stand people that like write a scenario that isnt specifically for one character

wdym ten different guys would do this exact thing to you

I mean sure probably BUT I HATE IT

I MISS HOW PERSONALIZED THINGS USED TO BE

Back in my day everyone got their own scenarios and now these things clog the tags im gonna go crazy😭

Whoever started this trend i dislike you fr😪ruining tumblr

[moonsidesong]

i generally dont have that many sexuality headcanons for bfdi characters and if anything i dont think 99% of them even think about that kind of thing themselves but i do think there would be a bit where announcer's like. Im So Disappointed, You Guys. It's June. And None Of You Even Wished Me A Happy Pride Month At All. and the other contestants are like 'announcer are you gay? i dont think you ever told us that' and hes just like. No It's Fine. Whatever. Sheesh . and then the scene just carries on like normal

[danganronpa96]

Since the inbox has been agreed upon (via majority vote haha funny YTTD reference) to stay closed until chapter 5 daily, there's not much I content I can really make now that I'm painfully free.

That being said I am going to shameless steal the idea I'm already doing on the discord server.

So, I've been sharing out of context dialogue lines from the daily life, as long as we reach a particular number of unique reactions on a message. And, hey, why not do that here too for the tumblr-only crowd?

Peep this, every time this post hits an increment of 15 likes (since that really is the only unique counter, if I just said notes one person could comment or reblog this a bunch of times lol), you'll receive one line! That is so insane

[pseudophan]

one of the reasons i can't spend too much time on phannie twitter is the secondhand embarrassment i get whenever i see someone get a little bit of followers and start tweeting like engagement farming blue checks. just because you're not getting paid for it that doesn't make your painfully unoriginal qrts any less cringe i'm sorry

[auuwmk]

im that guy that's mutuals with your mutuals so i pop up on your dash from time to time like an annoying mosquito (sorry 😔)

[sc3n3gr4d13ntz]

(OOC)

HELLP!!!!!! not canon to the blog I just thought it'd be funny to post something abt if infected ever found out unpleasant ate his cat LMAOOO

[rotruff]

waving. if you have a song / movie / other media you associate with your selfship put and/or explain it in the tags

proship / adjacent dni + don't steal my shit

[tetedurfarm]

wanted to take some photos of my van gogh hotots (van gotots?) but my plant light makes them look very ethereal

their mom is smashbox, my severe head tilt doe. because of her neck, she can't get into a nestbox or really pull any fur, so i put her in a small solid-bottom cage for the night of her due date so she could kindle in deep shavings. however, because she can't really pull fur, the kits still chilled a little before i got to them. rabbit instincts say that if kits are going to die, they need to be disposed of, so she had already begun eating them; i actually knew she'd kindle before i got to where her cage was because i could hear the kit she was working on at the time squealing (it was not particularly pretty, the condition it was in. helios the corn snake got an extra dinner that week.) fortunately, the rest of the litter made it out unscathed except for these two, who are down an ear each.

all in all, this litter turned out as good as it possibly could have. all but one kit is alive and well, fostered off to another doe. it was a good sized litter (six live!), and there were miraculously no sports (mismarks) and no boxers (eyeliner on only one eye)! like genuinely insane odds on that.

just watch the earless ones be the nicest ones in the litter 🙄

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - July 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Footage reveals 'miracle eagle chick' in flight

“In an unprecedented display of extended eagle parenting, the two white-tailed parents skipped this year's breeding season to continue to tend to their year-old offspring. The youngster's wing was broken when the nest fell to the ground during unseasonably wild weather last year. […] The fully-grown chick was being fed fish by its parents, caring behaviour that the eagle expert described as “unprecedented” for the birds. […] “If an immature bird was to reappear near its nesting parents or any other pair the following year [after dispersing], it would likely be aggressively chased away. That’s why this is so exceptional.””

2. Rare wild horses back on Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe after being saved from extinction

“For the first time in at least 200 years, wild Przewalski's horses have returned to Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe. [...] Przewalski's horses are considered the last truly wild horse left on the planet as other species like the American Mustang are descended from domesticated animals. The species were once common across the vast steppes of Central Asia. [...] The zoo will also be sending some Przewalski’s to Mongolia in 2026 where a reintroduction programme has seen their population boom to well over 850 animals.”

3. For one Austin summer camp, public transit is part of the adventure

“[... “O]ver 90% of the kids will tell you that their favorite part of ATX Kids Club is riding the bus.” That’s the program’s goal: getting kids to have fun on public transit so they’ll grow up using it. The nonprofit’s summer camp, which takes kids ages 4 to 12 on field trip “adventures” around the city, uses Capital Metro buses as its main form of transportation. [...] Before camp, [the field trip leader] said, he believed in stereotypes about transit being dirty and “scary” — but his experience with Austin’s bus system has been the opposite so far.”

4. Brazil Prevents Meta from Using People to Power Its AI

“[…P]ersonal photos of Brazilian children are used to build powerful AI tools without their knowledge or consent. In turn, others use these tools to create malicious deepfakes, putting even more children at risk of harm. […] The Brazilian government’s decision is a powerful, proactive move to protect people’s data privacy in the face of swiftly evolving uses and misuses of AI. Yesterday’s action especially helps to protect children from worrying that their personal data, shared with friends and family on Meta’s platforms, might be used to harm them in ways that are impossible to anticipate or guard against.”

5. Ambitious Living Shoreline Project Combats Coastal Land Loss in South Carolina

“Living shorelines stabilize coastlines by reducing the impacts of waves and rising sea levels. They are made of materials that promote the growth of marsh grasses and commercially important species like oysters and crabs. […C]oastal sites could offset almost 80 percent of tidal habitat loss with careful conservation and management. […] Young people in this AmeriCorps program receive training, a living stipend, an education award, and connections to potential employers.”

6. Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge announces proposal to modernize water infrastructure

“Under the refuge’s proposal, the Service would improve 4,400 feet of an earthen water delivery ditch, rehabilitate 1,200 feet of Upper Lake Dam, develop 100 feet of new diversion channel into critical nesting habit for federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, modernize current water monitoring stations and improve 640 feet of the Pahranagat Ditch Drain. […] The improvements will result in significant habitat improvements for multiple bird species, [… and] also enhance flood control holding capabilities of the Upper Lake for the Pahranagat Valley.”

7. New chemical process separates textile fibers for easier recycling

“A combined team of chemical and biomolecular engineers [... have] developed a way to chemically separate fibers in textiles, allowing them to be recycled more quickly and cheaply than conventional methods. [... T]hey found they could break apart the textiles in as little as 15 minutes. They also noted that the process [breaks down polyester and spandex into] organic compound[s] that could conceivably be used to create more polyester. [... T]he material integrity of both the nylon and the cotton were retained, suggesting they could be used to make new batches of clothes.”

8. Pongamia trees grow where citrus once flourished, offering renewable energy and plant-based protein

“[Some Floridian] farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel. […] Pongamia trees also don't need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don't require teams of workers to pick the beans. […] The legume is now being used to produce several products, including Panova table oil, Kona protein bars and protein flour. The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint[….]”

9. Trans candidate celebrates receiving more votes than anti-trans campaigner Posie Parker

“An independent trans candidate says that she hopes receiving more total votes than anti-trans campaigner Posie Parker at the general election will show trans children that they are loved. […] Bristol Central was won by Green Party’s out bisexual co-leader Carla Denyer, while Parker received just 196 votes, equal to 0.5 per cent[….] Elsewhere, trans candidate Sophie Molly secured 225 votes standing as an independent at the other end of the country, in Aberdeen South[….]”

10. Ohio zoo celebrates birth of critically endangered western lowland gorilla

“The Columbus Zoo said the gorilla was born June 29 and first-time mother Sue is "very attentive and providing excellent care to her little one, who she nuzzles and cradles closely." […] “With tiny hands and beautiful big brown eyes that melt our hearts, this baby is absolutely precious—in regard to both the cuteness factor and what the baby represents for this species’ future. We are proud of the dedication of our care teams who diligently work to provide the gorillas with top quality care and wellbeing while continuing the legacy of the Columbus Zoo’s renowned gorilla program,” said Audra Meinelt, curator of the Columbus Zoo’s Congo Expedition region.”

June 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[sylvrndoodles]

rassa ( ˙꒳​˙ )

[ozziescribbler]

Me: This YouTuber/streamer is commenting on something or someone shitty and making pretty great points, neat! The YouTuber: casually drops the r-slur when ANY word for 'stupid' would suffice Me: Why?!

[killerlookz]

wahhhh can we normalizing tagging things appropriately and not adding every tag somewhat adjacent to the post topic 😭😭😭