FACT CHECK (August 2025):
The viral declare circulating throughout social media that “50% of girls have a backup associate” is just not 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 ladies within the UK. Eleven years later, there may be nonetheless no file of the research’s methodology or dataset. The one proof comes from a collection of sensational articles in retailers corresponding 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 research exists.
- The ballot, if it occurred, was restricted to 1,000 ladies within the UK.
- Extrapolating these outcomes to assert “half of all ladies” 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 “research” advised that half of girls saved a “Plan B”—a backup man ready in case their present relationship failed. Married ladies, the survey claimed, have been much more prone to have a fallback associate than those that have been relationship.
The protection learn like tabloid scandal disguised as science. CBS reported that backups have been often “previous buddies” identified for about seven years, typically exes or coworkers. The Every day Mail went additional, claiming 12% of girls felt extra strongly about their backup than about their present associate, and that just about 70% have been nonetheless involved with him. Philadelphia Journal added a snarky twist, marveling at the concept some ladies believed their Plan B would “drop every part” if referred to 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 knowledge. Posts body the story as if it displays common fact, with some even suggesting “half of girls 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—right this moment’s viral posts gasoline gendered mistrust and backlash.
Why It Issues
At its core, the “backup associate” narrative is just not innocent gossip. It perpetuates dangerous stereotypes: that girls are inherently duplicitous, emotionally untrue, or continuously searching for higher choices. In the meantime, males are framed as unsuspecting victims. The scandal isn’t shaky knowledge—it’s the best way misinformation, as soon as planted, is weaponized to pit genders in opposition to one another.
What we’re witnessing in 2025 is just not revelation however repetition: a recycling of outdated, unverified sensationalism. The unique ballot was questionable; right this moment’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 girls maintain a “backup man.” What exists is an eleven-year-old, unverified ballot of 1,000 UK ladies—magnified into a worldwide scandal by way of repetition and clickbait.
The actual story isn’t that girls are secretly sustaining backup lovers. The actual story is how shortly misinformation ages into “reality” when left unchallenged.
Credit score/Hyperlink: Egoitz Bengoetxea Iguaran/disloyal-girl-looking-to-another-boy.jpg)
