Catfish film and Manti Te'o Fake Girlfriend Hoax.

The movie and TV show Catfish may have been a model for Manti Te’o's fake girlfriend Lennay Kekua and the elaborate hoax surrounding the fake online relationship.

What is Catfish and what exactly is 'cat fishing?'

Wikipedia explains, "A 'catfish' is a person who creates fake profiles online and pretends to be someone they are not by using someone else's pictures and information. These "catfish" use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, usually with the intention of getting other people or a person to fall in love with them."

MTV has built a little show around people who go online and lie to others and it is called Catfish: The TV Show.

It is based on a 2010 movie called Catfish.

The 'catfish' term for lying to people comes from a story in the movie.

"…when live cod were shipped to Asia from North America, the fish's inactivity in their tanks resulted in mushy flesh, but fishermen found that putting catfish in the tanks with the cod kept them active."

The idea is that the person who is creating the hoax persona and lying is merely keeping the person being fooled active, teaching them never to trust and to always be on their toes.

Was the scam to fool Manti Te'o a catfish scam?

TMZ reports Ronaiah Tuiasosopo is the name of a man who may be behind the entire scam.

Is he a fan of the show?