The Secretary of Defense released classified war plans to Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, via the Signal messaging app.

Posted by Inside Trump's Head, Sep 6, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictMixed

Sources: 3 contradict4 support2 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 60%

Inside Trump's HeadSep 6, 2026

The sources support that Hegseth posted operational details of a planned Yemen strike in a Signal chat that included Goldberg, who was added by mistake.

A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.

A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.

What was said

… I took it as Heger's panicking. I mean, a former general told, I think it was the Times, they'd never seen anything like this on this scale, 50 people. And, of course, from the Secretary of Forever Wars, who put out classified war plans, um, one of the first things he ended up doing on Signal, leading to Signal Gate, with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, on the chain. I mean, the idea, the irony of it, the irony of it, Michael, this incompetence, it's just, you know, it's Olympian level incompetence. They should open a new sport specifically for Trumpian cabinet members, but it's so hard to express this. …

Inside Trump's Head · Sep 6, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Contradicts. The White House and Hegseth said nothing classified was shared, and DNI Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director Ratcliffe told Congress the Signal chat contained no classified information.[1][5][6]

Supports. Reuters and The Atlantic report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted operational details (targets, weapons, attack sequencing) about the planned Yemen strike in a Signal group that included Goldberg, who had been added by national security adviser Mike Waltz.[2][5][7]

Supports. PolitiFact found that the Signal messages included a detailed timeline and operational information about the bombing, which experts described as akin to a plan, even though they lacked the most extensive type of war plan.[3]

Supports. House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks stated that Hegseth shared classified U.S. war plans over Signal, but this is a partisan press release rather than an official classification finding.[4]

Context. Signal is not approved for classified communications, so the app itself does not settle whether the specific content was classified.[8][9]

Sources

9 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 tier 2, 3 not rated

1The White House says nothing classified was shared on ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
2White House mistakenly shares Yemen war plans with a ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
3Hegseth says leaked Signal group text didn't have 'war ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
4Meeks Calls for Hegseth to Resign After Revelation He Shared ...democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
5Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared ...theatlantic.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
6The White House says nothing classified was shared on Signal. ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
7The D Brief: SecDef's OPSEC fail; Natsec team's debate ...defenseone.com · not rated · cited for: supports
8Trump administration's use of disappearing Signal ...fortune.com · not rated · cited for: context
9What is Signal? 5 things to know about the app used in Trump administration war plans leakpalmbeachpost.com · not rated · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

Inside Trump's Head · Sep 6, 2026Post →

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