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A two-part podcast that prompted a nationwide vigilante investigation, the bizarre tale of the GAA Catfish has been taking the country by storm.
The sprawling account of one catfish of many hats — Nikki, Cora, Emma, the list goes on — the first episode centred around Johnny B’s first-hand experience of being bamboozled by a fake Instagram account.
Following the release of part one, a number of men came forward and The 2 Johnnies released a follow-up podcast recounting the all-too-familiar experiences these men had shared.
Far more than an amusing anecdote, the podcasts serve as a cautionary tale, detailing the emotional exploitation suffered by those taken in by these fake accounts. Shining a light on a now notorious catfish that has deceived over 30 men with over 13 fake accounts, the story is far from over.
While we’re still waiting with bated breath for an official follow up, The 2 Johnnies gave a brief insight into what we can expect from part three.
“I feel like I’m living in Catfish-ville,” Johnny B says as he recalls the volume of messages they received since releasing the latest instalment.
The podcast hosts and RTÉ 2FM presenters have confirmed that they have been directly contacted by over 100 men that have been catfished by the infamous Nikki.
While they also heard from many men that their friends or teammates had similar experiences, they’re not taking hearsay into account. Apparently inundated with emails, messages and phone calls, the pair are collecting and processing this abundance of information for an in depth tell-all promised to be released very soon.
Throughout the course of their research, they found that the earliest account run by the GAA Catfish was set up 12 years ago, in 2010. They also found a recent fake account masquerading as a doctor working in St. James’s Hospital.
Urging their listeners to not believe everything they see online or read on WhatsApp, The 2 Johnnies are well aware of the sheer amount of rumours and unfounded gossip circulating in group chats throughout Ireland.
Reminding us all to exercise some good old-fashioned cop on, the Johnnies have no intention of naming names and encourage their followers to keep their own theories to themselves.
“We’re protecting the people involved because they’re real people,” they say, “and their mental health has to be taken into account.” Recalling their own experience of online scrutiny from a few months back, The 2 Johnnies are taking everything with a pinch of salt.
Ending their update by saying that if we thought the story so far was scandalous, we should prepare ourselves for plenty more madness, as well as calling for Instagram to take action in the verification process.
To catch up on the story so far, take a look at our GAA Catfish summary, right HERE.