Fact Check

Is This a Real Guardian Story Titled ‘Fisting Is the New Oral Sex’?

Beware of edited images of headlines with graphic sexual language.

Published May 1, 2023

 (Screenshot via Twitter)
Image Via Screenshot via Twitter
Claim:
On April 30, 2023, The Guardian news outlet published a story by writer Barbara Speed with the headline, “Fisting is the new oral sex.”
Context

The article in question does not exist and the image had clearly been edited to look like it was published on The Guardian.

On April 30, 2023, a viral image claimed to show a Guardian news headline that argued "Fisting is the new oral sex." The "article" was allegedly written by Barbara Speed, a deputy opinion editor at The Guardian. 

A subheading read, "More and more couples and throuples are incorporating fisting into their love lives."

This post and headline, however, are fake. The image in question is clearly edited. We looked at Speed's Guardian profile and found no sign of such a story. The last story she wrote was in February 2023. 

Furthermore, a Twitter account that appears to belong to Speed states that the image and headline are fake. Her website also links to this Twitter account. 

We thus rate this claim as "False." 
 

Sources

"Barbara Speed." https://barbaraspeed.com/. Accessed 2 May 2023.

Speed, Barbara. "How Junior Bake Off Taught Me to Be a Better Adult (and Make Uglier Cakes)." The Guardian, 3 Feb. 2023. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/03/junior-bake-off-better-adult-uglier-cakes-children. Accessed 2 May 2023.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

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