Introduction

Washington: A new study reveals that web pages and online content on the internet are vanishing at an alarming rate.

The Perception vs. Reality of Internet Permanence

Traditionally, the web is seen as a permanent repository of content. However, the latest research shows that a significant portion of the internet is disappearing due to the deletion or removal of pages.

The Extent of Disappearing Content

For instance, 38% of the web pages that existed in 2013 are now gone. Even newly created web pages are not immune, with 8% of the pages available in 2018 no longer accessible by 2028.

The Impact on News and References

This phenomenon means a vast amount of news and important references are disappearing from the internet. The study indicates that approximately 23% of news pages and 21% of government websites contain at least one dead link. Furthermore, 54% of Wikipedia pages have at least one reference link that no longer exists.

The Situation on Social Media

A similar trend is observed on social media platforms. About 20% of tweets on Twitter (now X) vanish within a few months of being posted.

Research Methodology

Conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington, this study sampled around 1 million web pages to determine their existence between 2013 and 2023.