I Learned (Most of) Those Radio Segments Catching Cheaters are Fake

We have a local radio station that often does a segment involving catching someone cheating on their partner. The name can vary but apparently, lots of stations do it whether it is called, "War of the Roses," or, "To Catch a Cheater," or something else. I saw on Reddit there was as question asking about something that is fake but lots of people believe. A common refrain was that these segments are generally actors. It was pointed out that most people would just--you know--get off the phone if things went wrong and they were caught cheating. It was also discussed how odd it was folks fell for the scam that they had won a dozen roses (or some other award) from their local grocery store and their first impulse was to reveal to a random stranger they were cheating and wanted to send the prize to their illicit affair. 

I was admittedly shocked to think it was all fake, but then again I am a gullible person sometimes. I did some research and yeah, these segments generally are B.S. After all, the FCC says someone has to consent to be on the radio so maybe if the segments are pretaped and everyone gives permission to be embarrassed for cheating they're real, but that seems unlikely. Plus, if a divorce happens the radio crew could get called into court. If someone becomes violent and gets hurt or even killed, the radio station is liable as well. It just would be easier to get some men and women to fake being cheated on than to put up with that headache of litigation.

Even people calling into a radio station could be fake sometimes. A massive popular syndicated show that is heard in various regions? That possibly has real individuals calling in to offer an opinion on an issue, sure (that's nothing saucy or embarrassing). A little local radio station that wants you to call in with your, "Dirty little secret," and always seems to get absurdly juicy revelations that are even sometimes illegal? Be suspicious of that, is all I'm saying.

I'm bummed to think that the, "First date follow-ups," where people call someone who ghosted them after a date might be bupkis, but I guess in the same way a lot of reality television shows barely reflect reality (some programs outright admit to using actors for, "Recreations," of events, after all) we need to accept that few people are stupid enough to easily get caught cheating on the radio and then spend 5 minutes arguing about it for us all to hear instead of simply hanging-up. It is a bit like finding out how wrestling is staged entertainment. You know it is, "Fake," but you can still enjoy the artistry of it, I'd argue. Plus, it is a little less cringe-inducing realizing that nobody actually cheated on their longtime partner with a coworker. That's a silver lining, I suppose.