FACT CHECK (August 2025):
The viral declare circulating throughout social media that “50% of ladies have a backup companion” just isn’t based mostly on any new analysis. In actuality, the story traces again to 2014, when British polling firm OnePoll allegedly carried out a survey of 1,000 girls within the UK. Eleven years later, there may be nonetheless no report of the examine’s methodology or dataset. The one proof comes from a collection of sensational articles in retailers akin to CBS Information, the Every day Mail UK, and Philadelphia Journal—all of which cite one another, not the unique analysis.
The declare in 2025:
Credit score/Hyperlink: femcoreofficial Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/p/DNV0Y32xQkX/?igsh=aTR1OXAwenBuaTI0
The fact:
- No peer-reviewed examine exists.
- The ballot, if it occurred, was restricted to 1,000 girls within the UK.
- Extrapolating these outcomes to say “half of all girls” is each false and defamatory.
- The story is being recycled in 2025 with none new findings, fueling controversy with out context.
The Origins of the Declare
In 2014, OnePoll’s so-called “examine” recommended that half of ladies saved a “Plan B”—a backup man ready in case their present relationship failed. Married girls, the survey claimed, have been much more prone to have a fallback companion than those that have been relationship.
The protection learn like tabloid scandal disguised as science. CBS reported that backups have been often “previous pals” identified for about seven years, generally exes or coworkers. The Every day Mail went additional, claiming 12% of ladies felt extra strongly about their backup than about their present companion, and that almost 70% have been nonetheless involved with him. Philadelphia Journal added a snarky twist, marveling at the concept some girls believed their Plan B would “drop every part” if known as upon.
It was juicy, salacious—and statistically meaningless.
The 2025 Revival
Eleven years later, the identical narrative has resurfaced throughout Threads, X, Fb, Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube. The recycled declare now masquerades as new analysis, regardless of the absence of recent information. Posts body the story as if it displays common fact, with some even suggesting “half of ladies are dishonest or planning to cheat.”
That is misinformation by omission. By leaving out the context—that the declare comes from an previous, unverified, and unreplicated ballot—immediately’s viral posts gas gendered mistrust and backlash.
Why It Issues
At its core, the “backup companion” narrative just isn’t innocent gossip. It perpetuates dangerous stereotypes: that ladies are inherently duplicitous, emotionally untrue, or continually in search of higher choices. In the meantime, males are framed as unsuspecting victims. The scandal isn’t shaky information—it’s the best way misinformation, as soon as planted, is weaponized to pit genders towards one another.
What we’re witnessing in 2025 just isn’t revelation however repetition: a recycling of outdated, unverified sensationalism. The unique ballot was questionable; immediately’s viral posts are worse, stripping away even the flimsy particulars and presenting hypothesis as reality.
The Backside Line
There is no such thing as a credible scientific proof proving that half of ladies preserve a “backup man.” What exists is an eleven-year-old, unverified ballot of 1,000 UK girls—magnified into a worldwide scandal by means of repetition and clickbait.
The actual story isn’t that ladies are secretly sustaining backup lovers. The actual story is how rapidly misinformation ages into “reality” when left unchallenged.
Credit score/Hyperlink: Egoitz Bengoetxea Iguaran/disloyal-girl-looking-to-another-boy.jpg)
