Wokefishing
- “pretending to share my values just to date me”
- “they acted progressive until we were together, then changed”
- “the word for faking your politics to attract someone”
- “when someone hides their real beliefs while dating”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Wokefishing | Catfishing |
|---|---|---|
| Their identity | Real | Fabricated |
| What's faked | Beliefs and values | Face, name, whole life |
| Will they meet you? | Yes | Usually avoids it |
| How it surfaces | Slowly, in remarks | On meeting — or never |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Wokefishing rather than Catfishing are usually searching for phrases like “pretending to share my values just to date me”, “they acted progressive until we were together, then changed”, “the word for faking your politics to attract someone”.
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”
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.
- 2020
Wokefishing. Coined by journalist Serena Smith at Vice, amid a period of heightened social-justice activism.
04 · Read either one