A beloved family member is convinced that a terrible idea that they have found online is real and true. They believe they have evidence in the sense of providing links to supportive online content. I have been trying to connect with them, and find a way to help them. Their current state is distraught and anxious. Just now I was thinking that maybe helping them to understand that anything online is suspect, "take it with a grain of salt!", which is something I learned early, last millennium, would be helpful. I specifically and definitely(!) remember hearing about the dead internet theory in 2012, yet, I can't find any good references from then! I've googled, archive.org'd (unskillfully), and even thought to check Yandex, but balked at enabling js. Here's my question: can anyone here provide an origin or references for the "Dead Internet" theory? (That predate 2016, which is when Wikipedia says the idea occurred)