Is ‘Naked and Afraid’ Real? What’s Authentic and What’s Fake on the Discovery Channel Survival Show

The reality show Naked And Afraid is like no other. The concept is simple: Drop a pair of contestants (typically one male and one female) in a remote location and challenge them to survive without providing them food, water, or clothing. The duo is left in the wilderness completely naked. Each person is given one survival tool (a machete, for example) and told to survive for 21 days.

The idea is absurd, but viewers flock to their televisions to watch the contestants’ journeys unfold. It makes one wonder… Is Naked and Afraid real? Let’s take a look. 

 Is ‘Naked and Afraid’ real?

The contestants must enter rugged and remote locations to survive for three weeks. This naturally creates unique and authentic challenges. 

As fans watch the show, the contestants become weaker by the day. The illness and starvation are genuine because food is not readily available. Finding food in the wild can be problematic even for the most survival-savvy contestants. Eating wild animals can come with risks, like food poisoning. Several contestants have experienced very real food poisoning. 

Wild animals are a threat as well. You can’t script wild animals. In fact, as Crumpe reports, a pit viper bit a producer who required airlifting to a local hospital.

The filming locations of Naked and Afraid may be in tropical and warm areas, but hypothermia is still a genuine concern. Being naked leaves the contestants without protection from the heavy rains in more humid locations. Many depictions of hypothermia are honest and dangerous. 

The fakest parts of ‘Naked and Afraid’ 

For a show to be a reality show, you’d expect it to depict reality. That couldn’t be further from the truth as, according to MSN, there are quite a few fake parts of Naked and Afraid. 

The official rule is that the survivors receive one survival item when they start the experience. The truth is that contestants have been known to bring upwards of four survival items from home. The contestants also receive an emergency radio and whistle to alert the production crew in an emergency. That isn’t quite an actual survival situation. 

On top of the official survival item and possible home items, female contestants receive sanitary items when needed. Contestants can also ask for food items when feeling desperate. Some contestants have even stolen food from the crew. Items like Vitamin C packets, salt, chocolate, and alcohol have gone missing. 

Viewers have noted continuity issues. Editing does happen when producing a reality show, but there can be some glaring continuity problems on Naked and Afraid.

One central premise is that the survivors are dropped off in a remote location to survive. The reality is that they are typically dropped off in a location close to emergency services. Yes, they are in a rugged area but are typically only a few miles from civilization. 

Finally, many of the fights between the contestants are scripted. Being in a high-stress situation can naturally lead to strained relationships. However, many disagreements on Naked and Afraid are edited to look worse than they are, or they’re entirely staged.

Has anyone died on ‘Naked and Afraid’? 

Many people on Naked and Afraid do not make it for three weeks due to medical crises, loneliness, and hunger. Thankfully, no one has died on the show. 

The contestants enter some potentially dangerous situations. Some survivors have dealt with tropical illnesses, infected wounds, and more. They fend for themselves but are never totally alone in the wild. There is always a production crew and a medic close at hand. When there is a major situation, the crew, and medic will assess how serious the problem is and decide to either continue shooting or pull the person from the show.

Animal attacks are a legitimate concern in remote locations. Thankfully, the medics are armed to fight off aggressive animals. The medics are also equipped to provide advanced life support in the unfortunate event it is needed.