Viral videos keep insisting that fossil fuels are the only thing standing between modern society and collapse, but the numbers tell a very different story. Energy specialists are now dismantling that narrative with clear data on costs, climate impacts, and the rapid rise of cleaner alternatives. I set out to trace how those experts are puncturing the myth that oil, gas, and coal are irreplaceable, and what their findings mean for the choices households and governments face next.
At the center of the backlash is a simple point: the story that fossil fuels guarantee prosperity and safety is not just outdated, it is actively misleading. From grid planners to climate scientists, the people closest to the data are showing that renewables are cheaper in many markets, that pollution from burning fuels is still driving dangerous warming, and that clinging to old infrastructure now carries more economic risk than building what comes next.
The ‘outdated and misleading’ claim about U.S. energy
When an energy creator named Jan went viral arguing that the United States still “runs on fossil fuels” and that any shift away from them would wreck the economy, an Expert publicly called that framing “outdated and misleading.” The rebuttal did not deny that oil and gas still play a large role, but stressed that the country’s power mix has shifted so quickly that treating fossil fuels as an unshakeable foundation ignores what is already happening on the grid. In that analysis, the expert pointed to the way wind, solar, and storage are now built into long term planning, not as fringe add ons but as core capacity that utilities expect to rely on for decades.
That critique matters because the original video framed any move away from fossil fuels as a reckless experiment, rather than a continuation of trends already underway in power markets and technology. By labeling Jan’s argument “Outdated and” warning that it misleads viewers about current realities, the expert was effectively saying that clinging to yesterday’s snapshot of the grid is no way to make decisions about tomorrow’s investments. Reporter Katie Dupere captured how that pushback landed with audiences who had been told for years that renewables were a fantasy, and why the expert’s calm explanation resonated more than the alarmist tone of the viral clip from Sun in the early morning PST hours when it first spread.
What burning fossil fuels really does to the climate
Another viral moment came when an Expert on TikTok confronted a different myth, the claim that fossil fuels are not really driving climate change. In a short video, the specialist explained that the greenhouse effect is not a matter of opinion but basic physics, and that pretending otherwise leaves people vulnerable to bad policy choices. The creator framed the myth as “dangerous” because it encourages viewers to dismiss the link between their energy system and the extreme weather they are already experiencing.
The same expert boiled the science down to a single, memorable line: “Here’s the simple truth: When we burn coal, oil, and gas, they release gases that trap heat in the air. Over time, it’s like the p…” That explanation, captured in the Here transcript, directly counters years of messaging that casts carbon dioxide as harmless. By walking through what happens “When” those fuels are burned and what accumulates “Over” time, the expert turned an abstract debate into a concrete description of how heat trapping gases build up in the atmosphere and why that matters for everything from crop yields to coastal flooding.
Fantasy economics versus real world energy costs
On the economic front, a separate Expert recently took aim at what she called an energy “fantasy,” the idea that fossil fuels are always cheaper and more reliable than renewables. In that analysis, she laid out how modern grids are already integrating large shares of wind and solar, backed by storage and flexible demand, and argued that pretending this system cannot work in the “21st century grid” ignores both engineering advances and market data. Her “Spoiler” was blunt: the cheapest new power in many regions is now clean, not fossil based.
Independent cost comparisons back up that claim. A detailed fact check of solar myths noted that, “Contrary to what we’ve been told by the eco zealots, actually renewable energy is costing more,” is itself misleading, because the best solar power projects are already undercutting fossil alternatives on price, as shown in Contrary analyses of Power Generation Costs in 2024. Broader assessments find that Renewable electricity has become the cheapest power source in most regions and is on track to account for “90%” of global electricity growth, with fossil fuel demand for power now in structural decline, according to Renewable market data. Those numbers do not mean every project is cheaper everywhere, but they do undercut the blanket assertion that clean energy is inherently more expensive.
The fossil fuel lobby’s counter narrative
Despite this shift, a well organized counter narrative continues to argue that fossil fuels are the best and only serious option. In Washington, talking points circulated as Energy Talking Points by Alex Epstein claim that “Myths That Government” climate policy and “Dictated Green Energy” are “Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels,” insisting instead that fossil fuels are “the most reliable, affordable source of energy there is.” In a companion document, the same author labels as a Myth the idea that “Investments” in clean energy are a primary strategy against inflation, and asserts the “Truth” that “Subsidizing” renewables will raise costs and undermine reliability.
Oil industry allies have echoed those themes in public campaigns. One recent fact check described how an Expert pushed back on messaging from company insiders who argued that human activity is not the main driver of climate change and that cutting fossil fuel use would devastate living standards. The analyst’s warning, “Don’t be fooled,” was aimed at viewers who might not realize how much of that rhetoric is designed to protect existing profit streams rather than reflect the state of climate science. By unpacking those claims in plain language, the expert tried to give audiences tools to separate genuine concerns about grid reliability from talking points crafted to delay regulation.
Evidence of a global energy pivot
While the debate rages, the global power system is already changing in ways that undercut the fossil fuel myth. Earlier this year, senior data analyst Nicholas Fulghum at the think tank Ember described “Record” solar power growth and stagnating fossil fuels in 202, telling Nicholas Fulghum and colleagues at Ember and Electrek that the “driving force” behind recent emissions trends is the rapid build out of solar capacity. That shift is not just about climate targets, it is also about households and businesses responding to falling prices and incentives, from rooftop systems on suburban homes to utility scale arrays feeding entire cities.
Behind those installations sits a vast body of research. Hundreds of scientists worldwide are collaborating to keep climate data and analysis accessible online, even as political fights over regulation intensify. Their work underpins national assessments, corporate risk disclosures, and local planning decisions, and it gives context to the choices utilities are making when they retire coal plants or delay new gas pipelines. In that sense, the “hard data and real facts” that experts cite in viral videos are not isolated talking points, they are the public facing edge of a much deeper scientific effort.
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