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There is a rumour that there is an Internet-based network, similar to the dark web (not to be confused with the deep web) called Mariana's Web (after Marianas Trench.)

The Infographics Show discussed the rumours of its existence:

Marianas web the scariest part of the Internet. Marianas web became widely known because of an iceberg infographic that spread across the Internet. This infographic divides the internet into different levels ranging from level zero or the common web that most of us are familiar with to several other hidden levels. Marianas web is identified as level 5 - the most hidden level of the internet.

[...]

there is no concrete evidence that clearly proves or disproves its existence

This (machine-translated English, from Portugese via Spanish) Softonic article gives credence to its existence, while dismissing some of the fictitious software required to reach it:

In the fifth layer we would find the so-called Web Marianas. The Mariana Trench, known as the deepest place in the oceans of Planet Earth, may have inspired the name.

In a popular infographic that goes around the internet, in this part of the Deep Web begin with speculations about the use of a tool called "Closed Shell Systems" (closed systems), in addition to another called "Polymeric Falcighol Derivation" (Falcighol Polymer Derivation) ).

All this, however, would be fictitious names and tools, created from nothing. Only some curious new users end up believing them. Leaving the jokes aside, however, it is well known that several websites need programs and settings much more advanced than Tor to be accessed.

These sites are what would form the so-called Marianas Web.

This Engadget article dismisses it as a myth:

Mariana's Web is certainly the definition of spooky BS, especially because it's technically impossible; it's supposedly only accessible through quantum computers -- which currently only exist in science fiction.

Yet to the chagrin of people who love facts, it's slowly starting to be reported as fact.

A question on Quora has received conflicting answers.

Is there any evidence of a network beyond the dark web, called Marianas Web?

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    It's going to be very difficult to provide any answer other than "we don't know"... to say "No there's not" would require proving a negative! I think the question as worded "Is there any evidence..." is much more answerable.
    – elliot svensson
    Commented Oct 26, 2018 at 14:20
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    When you're treating an image from 4chan that's obviously a joke as evidence of a rumor, it must be a truly slow week.
    – IllusiveBrian
    Commented Oct 26, 2018 at 14:59
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    OP, I don't believe your definition of Mariana's Web is precise enough to permit an accurate answer to your question. If your definition of existence is that there is some server that requires a tool other than Tor to access, then that is trivially true, since many commercial APIs are secured and would at least require authentication
    – Bradley Thomas
    Commented Oct 26, 2018 at 20:33
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    This is indeed a difficult question to answer, but not merely because it is hard to prove a negative, but because the OP demonstrates that even after reading references that argue it is nonsense, they are not convinced. An answer must be better quality (more definitive) than the Quora answers and the Engadget article.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Commented Oct 27, 2018 at 1:02
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    @elliotsvensson: IMO, your title change ("Is there any evidence") makes it worse. It doesn't help because it still has the "prove a negative" problem - how do you prove there is no evidence? Meanwhile, simpler titles are preferred for easier browsing. Providing evidence is expected of every answer. [And it opens up the Bayesian debate of what "evidence" is. The iceberg infographic IS evidence of the existence of Marianas Trench, and you should update your priors upon seeing it... but it isn't strong evidence, and your priors should only shift ever so slightly.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Commented Oct 27, 2018 at 23:19

1 Answer 1

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No, it's an Internet urban legend

"Marianas web" is an expression originating from an infographic first published on Imgur in 2011 that attempted to provide a classification of the deep web architecture.

According to this infographic, the web is divided in five layers, each more difficult to access, and the deepest is supposed to be "Marianas web".

First of all, it should be noted that the layers chosen are extremely arbitrary, and by no mean is that classification backed by any relevant authorities.

Then, reading the description of the fifth layer shows you need "Polymeric falcighol derivation", described as such:

Shit… I don't really know *****. All I know is that you need to solve quantum mechanics in order to view this on even the normal web, let alone closed servers. Quantum computation exists, and the government powers have them. So be careful what you do here.

In addition to the fact that the whole "Polymeric falcighol derivation" term is purely made up, quantum computing is a very experimental field with no real-world application as of now (let alone in 2012). I believe the existence of "Marianas Web" can thus be dismissed.

According to RationalWiki, the graph was expanded in 2014 where three new levels were added. I'll leave it to you to decide whether those are credible or not.

Sources:

To be honest, explicitly dating an Internet phenomenon is quite hard. The earliest source I've found for the infographic dates back to September 2011, and polymeric falcighol derivation yields only 5000 results, mostly related to deep web topics originating from Reddit, Quora, or alt-science blogs. Similarly, Google trends show a beginning of the trend around October 2011 with a peak in May 2014.

UPDATE

Regarding the attribution and origin of my claims, I've found a 12 page paper from Robert W. Gehl that explicitly deals with the Mariana's Web internet phenomenon, along with extensive references & bibliography.

What can be taken from the article:

  • The author can not attribute the origin with 100% precision either. They link the origin back to the Imgur image I posted earlier.
    • As I can't find any other strong support for the image being posted on 4chan first, I'll remove the mention in my answer.
  • There was at some point a deep web site called Mariana's web, created after the birth of the meme. I contained cat facts and claimed the user had to read through all of them before accessing the deeper levels
  • The author agrees that:

    there are no layers “deeper” than Tor (or Freenet, or I2P)

  • In his conclusion, the author calls the "Mariana's web" real, in the sense that:

    the Marianas Web is also real in the sense that conspiracy theories have real-world effects

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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Sklivvz
    Commented Oct 30, 2018 at 21:12

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