Is Discovery Channel’s Naked And Afraid Fake?

Fans of “Naked and Afraid” might remember show participant Alison Teal from Season 1 of the show. In a Reddit AMA, Teal recalled that not all of her skills were shown on the show when it aired, but possibly for a good reason. “I was like, ‘Wait, what about the 40 ft ladder I built, and what about the fishing net I made?’ etc., etc…BUT, as a filmmaker myself, watching someone build a fishing net for 5 days is probably pretty boring.”

Not showcasing every survivalist’s skillset isn’t surprising, considering it’s a television show. However, an article published in Channel Guide Magazine dives further into the show’s behind-the-scenes nature. Phaedra Brothers was a Season 3 competitor who made it through all 21 days. However, she started the show in a pretty bad state after eating some bad food and contracting food poisoning. Months later, when the show aired, her illness was depicted as drinking bad water and sold to viewers as poor decision-making on her part. When the episode aired, Brothers attempted to reach out to producers to rectify the false storyline but to no avail. In a quote published by Channel Guide, Magazine Brothers said, “They [the producers] decide the storyline. But in that particular incidence, I think they thought it would be a better, more dramatic story, but it wasn’t the truth.”

There are certainly some reality TV truths viewers think are fake, but this change in the storyline in “Naked and Afraid” is something that brings the show’s credibility into question. If an illness can be written into the episodes as a side effect of days and nights fully immersed in nature, what else can?