When we hear about the Dead Internet Theory, it’s often somewhat ambiguous what exactly makes content ‘dead’. For the most part, it’s AI-generated, low-effort slop or bots pretending to be human littering every comment section on the internet. While I am in agreement that more and more online spaces are being poisoned by AI art or fabricated interactions, the truth is that the internet is still very much alive.
In Chongqing, China, a city with over 30 million people, it can be hard for any one individual to stand out. But if you were roaming the bustling streets of this multi-layered and historical metropolis, and you did come across a man named Western Toilet, you’d be sure to notice.
As opposed to many modern content farms that orient their content towards maximising engagement, Chongqing Punk delivers a particularly refined blend of entertainment and educational content that acts as a bandage to any person’s algorithm.
CQP’s videos are not created purely as breadcrumbs to lead viewers towards supporting them financially or consuming more of their content. Instead, they seem to embody an artistic vision that is clearly inspired by the fictional Cyberpunk universe and its extended themes.
The thought-provoking statements delivered in such an unapologetic way remind me of the way you feel when someone tells you “You are now blinking manually” and you can’t help but adjust your frame of mind and become suddenly aware and in control of your eyelids. Despite this, there is no expectation for people to ‘wake up’ or ‘assemble the resistance’ – in fact, Chongqing Punk explicitly mocks those who create or promote such content. CQP offers instead an observant and articulate human voice.
At heart, the people behind these videos, not to mention the narrator himself, are clearly passionate about their work and the message it sends. In a country filled with government endorsed creators sharing overwhelmingly positive content for the sake of attracting tourists, Chongqing becomes an incidental, if not coincidentally fitting backdrop to a number of questions that affect people all across the globe.
From the exceptional choice of music, to their rapid pacing, the channel carves a clear identity and establishes itself as, in my humble opinion, the epitome of social commentary. I cannot recommend enough that you delve into the rabbit hole that is their videography.
Truth Decay 
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