What Really Happens On MTV’s Show “Catfish”: The Show’s Secrets Exposed!

By Jen D., February 9, 2016

Ready for the secrets behind MTV’s popular show, “Catfish”?!

Well, if you’re like most people, you didn’t learn the modern meaning of the word Catfish until it happened to you, someone close to you, or you watched an episode of “Catfish” on MTV- a show which exposes the increasingly less underground world of catfish and online scammers.

When it comes to the Catfish “caught” by the show’s hosts, Max Joseph and Nev Schulman, Catfish are often diverse in age, demographics, gender, and reasoning. Many have self esteem issues, which explains the act of hiding behind a computer. Sometimes it’s an appearance concern, excess weight, failed or never begun relationship with the person they’re catfishing, fear of being judged for a disability, age, or location concern.

Secret Number One: Producers Already Know 
The very first “Catfish” documentary happened more or less as it was shown… with the show’s male hosts showing up at people’s doors with cameras and confronting the situation. However, legal and ethical concerns now prohibit that. Instead, MTV’s producers are in touch with all parties (though separately) and have background checked each person who appears and already conducted interviews, similar to any reality television screening process. The Producers do allow the shows hosts to have less information, so that the scenes unfolding are more natural and authentic. This means that Schulman and Joseph have to do all the work to get from the start to the end point, which is really what makes a good show along the way.

Secret Number Two: Liars Want To Confess

Although it’s sometimes the case that the person being catfished contacts the show and wants the person they’re communicating with exposed, more often than not the catfish comes first. I guess, you know, lying about your identity and concealing your real self gets to be a burden after awhile and catfish want to unload their troubles to producers. Sometimes, the person being catfished was suspicious, while others had no idea or were happy having a pen-pal or romantic relationship with some they ‘love’ but have never met! Other times the catfish isn’t a catfish at all. They are the photos and person they claimed to be and only didn’t meet in person for other reasons.

Secret Number Three: What Tools Does The Show Use?

They have the staff, money, and ingenuity to catch a catfish. What do you have? Well, actually, a lot more than you think! Some of the tools used by Nev and Max are the same as what we use at SocialCatfish and what you can use as well. The most important methods include a Reverse Image Search. This can tell you whether an image links up with a stock photo anyone can google, find, and use online… or if it (seems to) link to a real life, actual person who is whom they say. The second method you have is patience. You probably know your situation better than anyone. You have the time and motivation to do precisely what the show does- carefully find out who someone is by fact checking. Last, social media. The show uses it frequently. They look at the Facebook or Instagram page of the person in question and look for others who seem to know them and how many friends or photos they have. Be wary of pages that look like ghost towns!

Secret Number Four: Catfish Can Still Throw The Show For A Loop

Imagine you’re the Producers of a reality TV show. You have a budget, a general script of how events will go, and have spent an immense amount of time screening through multiple screenings, psychological health tests (reality television often includes basic psychological testing to make sure the participants aren’t about to snap), background checks, countless interviews, and in person screenings. You have a show to create and you hope it will be entertaining. Well, when you’re dealing with catfish who, for whatever reason, are used to being behind the scenes and often have some insecurity concerns… the catfish may or may not actually cooperate once filming comes. This helps the show’s climatic buildup, even if there is risk involved for those behind the scenes. What this means is that the tension and anticipation you see on camera is real, The person being catfishes is nervous and the show’s hosts are waiting for the figurative ‘other shoe’ to drop!

Secret Number Five: Sometimes The “Like” Is Real

Though lying or hiding information is a permanent deal breaker for some, the show has had success stories, where the couple overcame the odds and went on to date, become friends, or get engaged (at least for a little while). Sometimes the person being catfished found out they were dating a transgender person and still stuck by them, other times the person wasn’t a catfish at all and was who they said they. In one amusing episode, involving Ashley and Mike from Season 2, BOTH were lying and sending fake photos of themselves, due to embarrassment about their weight! This particular situation ended tragically, however, as they fell in love but Mike died from deep vein thrombosis in 2013.

Secret Number Six: You Don’t Need The Television Show Catfish

You might enjoy watching the show, but if you’re wanting to know who is behind the emails you’ve been exchanging, there are other methods than going on a television show. Check out our article, “How To Find Out Anything About Anyone Online” or go to Social Catfish https://socialcatfish.com and do a unique search or reverse lookup!