If you believe the adage “once a cheater, always a cheater”, you’re going to love this site. (You’re probably also a little too suspicious for your own good. Just sayin’.)
The website Cheaterville.com purports to keep tabs on two-timers by collecting info on the details of their cheating ways. With a tagline that reads, “Don’t be the last to know,” the site is angled as a sort of public service for the overly paranoid.
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The site was launched on Valentine’s Day (of course!) this year and reportedly has already had “millions of viewers” searching for cheaters. Users can peruse mini-profiles of men and women who’ve cheated complete with their names, ages, hometowns and a photo, not to mention the sordid details of their indiscretions. Of course these profiles were not created by the cheaters themselves — because who would do that? — but by anonymous sources, likely their spurned partners. So you should be wary of exaggerations.
Now if you’re curious to know if the lad or lady you’re currently into has a sketchy past, all you do is enter their name into the site’s search engine and see if they have a philandering profile. (Nothing says healthy relationship like an Internet search, right?) The idea is that if nothing turns up, you have a winner. But how well does this database actually work? We searched a few recognizable names to see if the site churned up a profile:
Eliot Spitzer: Has a profile, but it’s notably lacking in the salacious details department. It actually reads more like a Wikipedia entry. Bor-ring.
John Edwards: Has a profile and reading it will likely make you angry at him all over again.
Kobe Bryant: Has a profile but it was definitely written by a fan: The phrase “GUY CODE” is used.
Tiger Woods: Not one but two profiles. The internet has this one covered.
Anthony Weiner: No profile. Now depending on your definition of cheating — more than a few people would consider sexting to be an act of infidelity — this could be an accurate result or huge blind spot for the site. However, NewsFeed, like Huma, will let it slide.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: No profile. Really, anonymous uploaders? We expected more from you.
Results: Our completely unscientific sample resulted in four out of six accurate searches; seems like good odds, but then consider that each have confessed to their indiscretions publicly. So perhaps you can’t rely on the internet to tell you whether or not your partner’s the faithful sort. Then again, there’s always the mean-spirited entertainment factor of the site so we guess not all is lost. (via Marie Claire)
Addendum: Site founder James McGibney has reached out to NewsFeed to let us know that Anthony Weiner and Arnold Schwarzenegger do have their own profiles in the site’s Celebs section. Our faith in the Internet has been restored. Our faith in relationships, however… not so much.
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Megan Gibson is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @MeganJGibson. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.