Irish podcast duo The 2 Johnnies have released a three-part series detailing a catfishing scheme targeting young men in the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) community. They expose the tactics used by the perpetrator, who created fake online personas to lure victims into relationships, and warn others about the dangers of online deception.
The 2 Johnnies have once again taken the internet by storm with a brand new installment of their ' GAA Catfish' saga. Catfishing is the process of luring someone into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona, and the term was popularized by the MTV show titled Catfish: The TV Show. In 2022, Johnny ‘B’ O’Brien and co-host Johnny ‘Smacks’ McMahon released a two-part episode of their podcast series warning against the dangers of catfishing.
Publishing a third episode in the series in January 2025, the podcasters shared further tales of reported deception, and social media is ablaze with discussions about the situation. According to Statista, 22% of people personally experienced catfishing between 2022 and 2023. The cautionary tale from the Tipperary natives warns against trusting people you meet online, and has been told in three parts, here's the breakdown: \Part One In part one of the podcast series, Johnny B explained that after becoming single, he was followed by an account on Instagram which featured images of a beautiful woman. The name used by the person behind the account was “Cora O'Donovan.” After communicating with the account, they hit it off: 'Last year, I became single. It's never easy, no matter what way it goes. And in January, around Christmas time, this girl follows me on Instagram. She's absolutely stunning. Drop-dead gorgeous. She's from Limerick and has 15,000 followers, and it's followed by a few people I know personally,' he said. 'So, one night I'm looking at her stories and I said, go on. I'll send her an old DM.” After communicating with the account, he and “Cora” arrange to meet, but each time, an excuse is made and the meeting never comes to fruition. One night, the 2 Johnnies are out in Dublin when he receives a message from the account to say that they will meet in a well known pub that evening. On arriving at the pub, they are met by a woman who, for the purpose of the podcast, they have given the pseudonym of 'Nicky,' who has been described by the “Cora” account as her housemate, according to the podcasters. The podcasters are not met by anyone in person who claims to be “Cora” that night, nor do they see anyone who matches the description of the photographs featured on the account. They leave, and continue with their night elsewhere. In the morning, Johnny B receives some messages from the “Cora” account, apologising for not showing up, and invites the 2 Johnnies to come to her house for breakfast that morning. Johnny B accepts the invitation, and goes to the address provided, where he is met by “Nicky,” the person who the podcasters say met them at the pub the evening prior. They say that “Nicky” tells Johnny B that “Cora” is gone to the shops and will be back soon. After spending some time in the house, having breakfast and waiting for “Cora” to no avail, Johnny says he decided it was time to leave, and takes “Nicky” up on the offer of a lift from Dublin to Tipperary. After discussing the continued no-shows of the person he has been communicating with on the “Cora” Instagram account, Johnny B and Johnny Smacks came to the conclusion that the “Cora” account was fake, and are of the opinion that “Nicky” was behind it all, leading them to tell the story of Johnny B's catfishing experience. They believe that she had been using photos, videos, and stories from different accounts across social media to create richly detailed and localised fake online personas. Johnny B said: “I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but in this story I was very much taken for a fool.” \Part Two In the second episode of the podcast series about the catfishing drama, the 2 Johnnies claimed that they had uncovered dozens of young men who had been catfished by or contacted by fake accounts that appeared to be run by the same person behind the fake “Cora” account that Johnny B had communicated with. “Here’s the thing. This is something that you see on Catfish the television show and you think ‘that only happens in America’. This has happened in Ireland to a lot of people and a lot of people that we all know in the entertainment industry in the GAA, everywhere,' they said. They found a number of profiles with elements that would indicate they were fake, going by various names using photographs of different women.These profiles would all communicate with one another, which reinforced the impression of authenticity that the personas had. The podcasting duo wanted to warn people to be cautious with who they spoke to online. 'We're never going to reveal the identity of anyone that’s connected to this story. All we can hope is that this catfishing stops and anyone who is tempted to do something realises how wrong that is,” said Johnny Smacks. “And also there was nothing illegal in this, there's nobody who has been asked for money or tried to be scammed from these accounts. \Part Three The final installment of the podcast delves deeper into the psychological aspects of catfishing, exploring why individuals might resort to such tactics and the impact it can have on victims. The 2 Johnnies also provide tips on how to identify potential catfisher accounts and protect oneself online
CATFISHING ONLINE SAFETY IRELAND GAA PODCAST THE 2 Johnnies
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