Catfishing
- “how to tell if someone is catfishing me”
- “the word for a fake online identity”
- “someone used fake photos to date me”
- “where does the word catfishing come from”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Catfishing | Kittenfishing |
|---|---|---|
| The person | Doesn't exist as shown | Real, just flattered |
| The photos | Often someone else's | Theirs, older |
| Will they meet? | Avoids it | Yes |
| Legally | Often fraud | Rarely criminal in itself |
| Shows up IRL? | Avoids it | Yes |
| Severity | Full deception | Mild embellishment |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Catfishing rather than Kittenfishing are usually searching for phrases like “how to tell if someone is catfishing me”, “the word for a fake online identity”, “someone used fake photos to date me”.
Kittenfishing
- “slightly lying on a dating profile”
- “their photos looked nothing like they do in person”
- “the word for exaggerating yourself on a dating app”
- “when someone's profile is a flattering version of the truth”
03 · Which came first
Which came first
In shortCatfishing. 2010 — The documentary Catfish gives the deception sense its name; the film's closing anecdote about a catfish shipped among cod supplies the metaphor.
- 2010
Catfishing. The documentary Catfish gives the deception sense its name; the film's closing anecdote about a catfish shipped among cod supplies the metaphor.
- 2017
Kittenfishing. The dating app Hinge coins the term in a June 21 article for the milder-than-catfishing deception.
04 · The mix-up
Where the confusion comes from
The mix-up“Kittenfishing and catfishing are basically the same.”
What's true
Kittenfishing embellishes a real person who does show up in person; catfishing invents a fake identity — often using someone else's photos — for a person who never truly exists as portrayed.
05 · Read either one