New TikTok subculture: nuclear fallout prep
How to handle all that comes with it, from outages to aliens
Big shout out to all you very hot / cool / smart people who subbed from the FWIW interview. What a fun way to start off … 👽
“I’m not afraid of nuclear bombs because, historically, the UFOs have been stopping them.”
If I was anyone but myself (a discerning, informed, 30-year-old girl who’s got a grip), I think I would’ve closed out of TikTok yesterday a completely different person than when I opened it. I’ve used the app sparingly since its ownership changed hands, mostly to supplement threads I’m already pulling from other platforms for Who Broke It.
But, far be it from me to remain too far outside the loop. So I tapped in. My algorithm was clearly still running on the fumes of my last searches related to Iran a month ago, spitting out a couple videos of amateur foreign policy analysts and jokes about gas prices. But then it got dark. Quickly.
Every single video it fed me offered some sort of imminent, catastrophic prediction: the power grid will be cut off, gas will run out, airports will close, food will be limited. At first, a lot of these creators looked like normal people using their awareness of fuel and energy limits in other countries to warn of what could happen here. Next thing you know:
“If a nuclear fallout happened tonight, would you know what to do? … I had nuclear disaster response training, and I think it’s important for the common citizen to have this knowledge. It’s not meant to scare, it’s just meant to educate.” The Dramatic Nurse, TikTok
This “prepare not scare” energy can be helpful, sure. But these endless scroll algorithms aren’t built for emotional reassurance in a time of war. It took only 51 minutes of swiping for my hand-tailored algorithm to start serving me predatory financial grifts and deeply unnerving conspiracies.
I’m no stranger to covering fanatical end-times content, but I am unaccustomed to just randomly stumbling into it. The doomsday clock is ticking loud on TikTok — here are the three tiers of trending content being pushed to millions.
I tracked almost every video that came up on my FYP in the 3h 15min I spent on TikTok yesterday. I excluded a few videos that were outdated (pre-2026) or repetitive. Otherwise, you can see how I tracked every video that I was served. I didn’t comment, repost, or visit any profiles from what was put in front of me. Au naturale! Feel free to check it out.
TIER 1: On the Ground
These 20 videos have at least one foot firmly planted in reality. Most of the creators are using current or historical events to make predictions about what is coming down the pike. Some key features:
🌍 Global outlook: This tier is looking internationally to inform their predictions for what’s to come in America — lots of references to Australia and Asian countries limiting driving, expanding remote work, limiting electricity
⛽ Everyday effects: Almost all of them warn of imminent energy grid restrictions in the U.S., disruptions in the food supply chain from fertilizer production disruption, and market instability
😷 Emotional appeal: Overt and covert references to trauma from COVID are dominant, many people saying they feel like they did in March 2020 — but they downplay that looming sense of doom, urging people to prepare themselves
Example: @makeitworkchris, 193,000 likes — claiming he has “proof” lockdowns are coming
Example: @altleftmedia, 114,000 likes — warns of a “massive recession” by summertime and layoffs by fall
TIER 2: In the Basement
These 23 videos share one major trait: They are trying to sell you something. But these salesmen exist in two distinct groups.
Preppers: I put my phone down last night wondering how many literal doomsday preppers move quietly among us. Because, yes, there were some people who looked straight out of central casting, but others … woulda never known.
🥫 Stocking up: In case you’ve wondered specifically what goes in bunker, TikTok is itching to tell you, beyond the classic rice and beans and all the way into herbal medicine and chemical compounds that, of course, are available for sale
🔌 Bugging in: (I will be adopting this term in my everyday life) The goal is to do the opposite of bug out, instead rehearsing preparedness and ensuring you have the tools to live off-grid
Example: @mark.ttshop, 375,000 likes — predicts a blackout is coming and asks what you’d do if you wake up and have no power?
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Hint: You’re gonna be ok because you bought a solar-powered power bank that he’s selling for 60% off
Scammers: I’m never surprised to see this group taking advantage of innocent, freaked out people worrying about their future.
🔗 Crypto push: I’m almost weirded out when I don’t see crypto scammers in the mix at this point, promoting meme coins or deceiving wallets that usually lead to what’s called a “rug pull”
🤖 AI advisory: Multiple fake accounts selling financial advice through (admittedly pretty good quality) AI videos, with tons of people in the comments wanting to learn more
Example: @cryptowise, 33,000 likes — promoting a new crypto that Trump will announce today (no such thing), that will make us all “generational wealth”
TIER 3: Touching the Sky
These 18 videos made me feel like I was losing my typically non-slip grip on reality. It might sound hard to believe, but the people sharing these “prophecies” did directly tie them to Iran and potential global conflict. That’s how you get the video that opened this deep dive, where she shares that UFOs will stop any nukes so there’s no reason to fear.
This group has pushed past earthly anxieties, believing that this crisis could usher in a brave, new world. I’ll do my best to organize but, some of these are just too … original.
👽 Intergalactic intuition: I had no idea so many people have communicated with aliens before. Or were actively preparing to start communicating with them in the wake of some sort of “liberation” of mankind. One girl says it won’t take long so “don’t shit yourself.” Another gives it “15-20 years” from the oil shortage til utopia.
One prophecy came up over and over by a man named Chris Bledsoe. After he was abducted by a UFO in 2007 (ok), he returned with a prediction that a “great awakening” in 2026 will allow us to get telepathic messages from extra terrestrials about humans and the Galactic Federation. So … something to look forward to!
💫 Zodiac attack: The astrology girls are deeply unwell over all of this. This one is actually fleeing the U.S. because of her projections and would love for you to buy her course if you want to do that yourself.
⏰ Time suspicion: It’s always a sign to log off when you start getting videos about how “the birds know” that “they’re messing with the time” because it feels different than the ‘90s.
These comments actually made me lmao
This type of ideology is invasive, especially when it’s churned out and readily available for unsuspecting minds. It takes root so much faster than you think. I found myself considering that I do, in fact, feel like “I’m sitting here waiting for something to happen.” Only, I find myself less confused about the source of that suspense when I remember that there is a man behind the messaging — and potential massacre.
As I write this, we creep closer to this arbitrary and movable deadline Trump has put in place before he sends an entire nation “back to the stone age.” If there were ever a time for aliens to intervene and for the believers above to be proven right, I would hope it is tonight.
LOOSE ENDS
📰 Something you should read today: Ye’s bigotry and violence wasn’t a phase — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News
🥹 Something to make you smile today: I went to the NY Sign Museum this weekend and it was an absolute DELIGHT!!! Learning about how the city has it’s own “vernacular” lettering. I’m like ready to pivot my career to sign rescuing and painting.
We all live in suspense. Endlessly. Sane-erasing (opposite of sane washing.)