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Trending short videosExplaining the doomsday porn phenomenon
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@fakeplasticbrands

Instagram · Talking Head Edit

@fakeplasticbrands After being sick this weekend and spending a day in bed doomscrolling, through countless doomsday reel and YouTube essays, i realised that we have started fetishising the end of the world. this some real post late stage capitalism type shi

View original on Instagram

The edit1 shot · 110 text
Shots Text1:48

Performance

Views
398.3K
Likes
35.8K
Comments
229
Engagement
9%
Outlier
16.4×
Length · 15 Sept 2026
1:48

Video #42621 · Talking Head Edit

Explaining the doomsday porn phenomenonfrom @fakeplasticbrands

[01]

Overview

The creator defines and analyzes the concept of 'doomsday porn,' which he describes as the commodification of anxiety and the packaging of human catastrophe as entertainment. He uses examples like betting on wars and sensationalized YouTube titles to illustrate his point, explores the psychological drivers behind this trend, and argues that it leads to compassion fatigue and desensitization rather than genuine preparedness. He concludes by framing this phenomenon as a modern, digital evolution of humanity's historical fascination with violence.

[02]

Simple outline

  1. 1Present a shocking example
  2. 2Define a new phenomenon
  3. 3Explain the underlying mechanism
  4. 4Reveal the psychological cost
  5. 5Deliver a concluding metaphor

[03]

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[04]

Classification

Format
Talking Head Edit
Concepts
Breakdown
Elements
B-Roll CutawayText OverlayTitle Text HookArchival Footage
Account
Personal Brand
Topics
SociologyInternet CulturePsychologyJournalism

[05]

Hook analysis

What stops the scroll in the first 3 seconds

Title hook · 40%

doomsday porn

Verbal hook · 60%

Earlier this year, a journalist received death threats from a group of poly market bettors because he reported the opposite of what they had bet on in the Iran war.

Visual hook

A dramatic shot of a building being demolished in a massive explosion, with the speaker composited in the foreground, creating immediate visual impact and thematic context.

[06]

Hook template

Steal this for your own video

Earlier this year, [a specific person] received [shocking consequence] from [a group of people] because [he/she] [did something that contradicted what that group had invested in].

  • — Earlier this year, a food critic received death threats from a group of crypto investors because he reviewed their favorite restaurant chain honestly and called it overpriced.
  • — Earlier this year, a referee received a flood of doxxing attempts from a group of fantasy football players because she made a call that cost them their league championship.
  • — Earlier this year, a botanist received hate mail from a group of houseplant collectors because she published research showing their prized, expensive plant was a common weed.

[07]

Hook and payoff

The promise the opener makes, and how the video pays it back

Hook

A specific, high-stakes, real-world anecdote that immediately grounds the abstract thesis in a concrete, shocking event.

Payoff

The Grand Metaphor: Synthesize the entire argument into a single, powerful, and memorable metaphor that reframes the modern world and serves as the video's final, impactful takeaway.

[08]

Narrative framework

The structural pattern this video runs on

Framework

The Modern Diagnosis

To identify a modern, digitally-driven societal problem, name it, explain its mechanics and consequences, and reframe it within a historical context to deliver a powerful concluding insight.

  1. 1

    The Thesis Coinage

    Introduce a novel, provocative term for the phenomenon, establishing the video's central concept and giving the audience a new lens through which to view a familiar experience.

  2. 2

    The Modern Proof

    Provide multiple, relatable examples from the current digital landscape to validate the newly coined term and show its prevalence.

  3. 3

    The Conceptual Deepening

    Reframe the initial concept with a more academic or psychological term, moving beyond the provocative label to analyze the core human emotion being exploited.

  4. 4

    The Systemic Mechanism

    Explain the underlying system (e.g., algorithm, market force) that powers and scales the phenomenon, revealing *how* it operates.

  5. 5

    The Preemptive Rebuttal

    Anticipate and dismantle a common, simplistic counter-argument, thereby strengthening the credibility and complexity of the main thesis.

  6. 6

    The Emotional Transformation

    Describe the fundamental shift in human behavior or motivation caused by the phenomenon, contrasting the new state with a previous, more 'natural' one.

  7. 7

    The Psychological Consequence

    Detail the negative, often unseen, psychological toll the phenomenon takes on individuals and society, highlighting the human cost.

  8. 8

    The Historical Context

    Connect the modern issue to a timeless, universal human tendency, providing historical depth and arguing that this is a new manifestation of an old impulse.

Themes

  • Media consumption
  • Desensitization
  • Commodification of fear
  • Existential dread
  • Digital society

Techniques

  • Video essay
  • Montage
  • Cultural critique

Trends

  • Doomscrolling
  • Fear-based content

Post caption

After being sick this weekend and spending a day in bed doomscrolling, through countless doomsday reel and YouTube essays, i realised that we have started fetishising the end of the world. this some real post late stage capitalism type shi

Text overlays

  • title · beginning

    doomsday porn

  • contextual · beginning

    this

  • contextual · beginning

    received

  • contextual · beginning

    from a

  • contextual · beginning

    bettors

  • contextual · beginning

    reported

  • contextual · beginning

    of what

  • contextual · beginning

    bet on in

  • contextual · beginning

    we have a

  • contextual · beginning

    entertainment

  • contextual · beginning

    called

  • contextual · beginning

    portrayal

  • contextual · beginning

    human

  • contextual · beginning

    packaged

  • contextual · beginning

    viewing

  • contextual · beginning

    betting on

  • contextual · beginning

    massive

  • contextual · beginning

    titles

  • contextual · beginning

    'this is the end'

  • contextual · beginning

    or

  • contextual · beginning

    'how ai will destroy us'

  • contextual · middle

    heard of

  • contextual · middle

    but this is

  • contextual · middle

    entirely

  • contextual · middle

    commodification

  • contextual · middle

    of anxiety.

  • contextual · middle

    existential

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    and run it

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    that is

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    for high

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    engagement

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    an entire

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    around

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    few years,

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    content

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    absolutely

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    by creating

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    that

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    irrational

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    by using

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    provoking

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    you could

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    look at this

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    it's just

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    has been

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    but

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    completely

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    we have a

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    clock

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    streamers

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    dissecting

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    deconstructing

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    the world

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    has

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    I've changed

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    something

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    enjoyable

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    maybe

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    to needing

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    what is

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    simply

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    because of

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    that talks

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    the world

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    to have

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    greater

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    importance

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    something

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    enjoyable

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    and people

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    developing

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    real

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    to the end

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    to satisfy

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    to

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    prepared

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    it comes,

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    very least

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    they feel something

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    prepare us

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    whatsoever.

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    compassion fatigue

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    burns out

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    until

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    to real

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    humans,

  • contextual · end

    have always

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    a proclivity

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    for

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    at romans

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    medieval

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    and bare.

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    but modern

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    those

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    too unethical

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    we've

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    other means

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    as a colosseum

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    doom

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    entertainment

  • contextual · end

    well, it's

  • contextual · end

    happening.

  • contextual · end

    So why not

  • contextual · end

    the

  • contextual · end

    and

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    a market

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    the feed

  • contextual · end

    the world

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    and

  • contextual · end

    or not we

Transcript

Earlier this year, a journalist received death threats from a group of poly market bettors because he reported the opposite of what they had bet on in the Iran war. We have a new category of entertainment that I call doomsday porn. The portrayal of legitimate human catastrophe packaged for your viewing pleasure. Life betting on a war for a massive payout. YouTube titles captioned, This is the end or How AI will destroy us. You've heard of food porn, but this is something entirely different. This is the commodification of anxiety. We've taken existential dread and run it through an algorithm that is optimized for high arousal engagement and built an entire money making machine around it. Tier past few years, I've seen countless content creators absolutely blow up by creating content that incites irrational fear by using anxiety provoking titles. Now you could very easily look at this and say, it's just clickbait. The news has been doing it for years. But it's no. It's completely evolved. When we have a doomsday clock and when we have streamers that are dissecting and deconstructing the end of the world, entertainment has transformed from something that is enjoyable and, you know, maybe even relaxing no transformed from something that is enjoyable rank, you know, maybe even relaxing no needing to know what is going on simply because of fear. Because content that talks about the end of the world seems to have a much greater magnitude of importance than something that is just enjoyable to watch. And people are developing a very real addiction to the end of the world to satisfy a need to feel like they're prepared for when it comes. Or at the very least feel like they feel something. But it doesn't prepare worse whatsoever. It just gives us compassion fatigue and burns out hair triggers until we're numb to real human suffering. Humans, for some reason, have always had a proclivity for violence. Just look at Romans and their gladiators, medieval jousters and bare knuckle boxing. But modern society has deemed those things too unethical. No instead, we've turned to other means. The world as a coliseum. Doom weaponized as entertainment because, well, it's already happening, so why not sit back and grab the popcorn? And now it's a market. We're refreshing the feed to see if the world has ended yet and whether or not we made money off it.

Explaining the doomsday porn phenomenon | Viral Hooks