Polygraph

Erratic and Corrupt

Letters from an American, Checked

Polygraph score
86Holds up10 claims checked
Details
What it claims
2 mixed2 can’t tell22 true
How it argues
Claim stacking
How it persuades
Nothing found
What it’s built on
Nothing found
Sources
2 rated low
Letters from an AmericanOct 27, 2026
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Letters from an American cover art
Letters from an AmericanErratic and CorruptWhole episode, 13:32
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26 claims

What it claims

Claims

  1. 1TrueDonald Trump posted his longest-ever social media post on October 25, 2026.CNN, citing its own analysis and the third-party tracker Factbase, reported on October 25, 2026 that Trump's 1,323-word Truth Social post about Bill Maher was his longest post ever. Factbase's count covered about 97,455 posts since 2011, which also supports the broader 'social media' wording. The post's 'last night' resolves to October 25 from the October 26 passage, and the claim does not depart from it.6 sources →
  2. 2TrueA shareholder of a publicly traded US crypto company sued Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial.Multiple sources report that J. Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder of Circle Internet Group (a publicly traded US crypto company), sued President Trump and World Liberty Financial in federal court on October 22, 2026, alleging foreign emoluments violations. The claim matches the post's wording and is supported; a separate April 2026 suit by Justin Sun against World Liberty concerns a different matter.5 sources →

    ▶ 5:28

  3. 3TrueDemocrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a report alleging Donald Trump was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women.House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a 53-page report on October 26, 2026 that alleged Trump was an active participant in Epstein's sexual abuse of young women, so the claim accurately describes what the report did. The underlying allegations are disputed and the White House denies them, but the claim is only that the report made them.6 sources →

    ▶ 6:08

  4. 4TrueDonald Trump posted a 1323-word social media entry on October 25, 2026, attacking Bill Maher.Multiple news outlets report that Trump posted a 1,323-word Truth Social post on Sunday, October 25, 2026, attacking Bill Maher, and CNN reports it as his longest post ever. The claim matches the passage's 'last night' relative to its October 26 date, so the date and wording are supported.7 sources →

    ▶ 0:18

  5. 5TrueBarack Obama held rallies in Cleveland, Ohio, and Michigan on October 24, 2026.Multiple reliable sources, including AP, confirm Obama rallied in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The claim's Michigan reference is to the Detroit rally, and the date matches the Saturday referenced in the post.3 sources →

    ▶ 0:42

  6. 6MixedDonald Trump claimed in a social media post that a CNN poll showed him with 98% to 99% support within the Republican Party.The sources confirm Trump posted that a CNN poll showed him at 98 and 99% support within the Republican Party, so the act of claiming is supported. However, the poll content is contradicted: CNN's latest poll put his approval among Republicans at 74%, and the 98–99% figures appear to come from a different poll or clip about self-identified MAGA Republicans, not the Republican Party as a whole. The passage's wording matches the post, so the extraction does not add anything.6 sources →

    ▶ 2:52

  7. 7TrueThe Washington Sun reported on October 24, 2026, that the White House is evaluating whether to issue a blanket pardon for all junior staffers.The Washington Sun's October 24, 2026 report, reprinted or cited by Raw Story, Yahoo, Political Wire and HuffPost, says White House attorneys are evaluating mass or blanket pardons for junior staffers, so the claim's core holds. The sources also say a pardon covering all junior personnel is viewed as unlikely, with blanket pardons by policy area (deportations, war, trade) the more plausible option; the claim omits this but does not contradict the reported evaluation.5 sources →

    ▶ 3:55

  8. 8TrueDonald Trump's hotel in Washington, DC, opened on October 26, 2016.Multiple reliable sources, including NPR and CNN dated October 26, 2016, report the grand opening of Trump's Washington hotel on that date, so the claim holds as the official opening. The claim omits that the hotel began accepting guests in a soft opening on September 12, 2016, which the sources also report, but that does not contradict the grand-opening date. The extraction matches the passage: October 26, 2016 is ten years before the October 27, 2026 post.7 sources →

    ▶ 4:47

  9. 9TrueDonald Trump has made more than 1.4 billion dollars from crypto.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (Reuters, PolitiFact, Politico, NBC) report that Trump's 2025 financial disclosure, filed June 30, 2026, lists more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income, so the claim was supported as of 2026-10-27. The claim's $4.8 billion investor-loss figure is not part of the extracted claim and is not graded here; the extraction correctly reflects the passage's $1.4 billion figure, and the figure is income disclosed for 2025 rather than a cumulative total, which the sources treat as the same measure.6 sources →

    ▶ 5:18

  10. 10MixedInvestors have lost 4.8 billion dollars in crypto deals involving Donald Trump.Public Citizen's August 2026 analysis estimates investors lost at least $4.7 billion in Trump crypto ventures, close to the claimed $4.8 billion, but Reuters' June 2026 investigation found net investor losses of $2.3 billion across four businesses through April, roughly half the claimed figure. The claim's figure matches one estimate and conflicts with the other, which measures losses differently, so it is only partly supported as of 2026-10-27.6 sources →

    ▶ 5:18

  11. 11TrueA shareholder of a publicly traded U.S. crypto company sued Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial on October 22, 2026.Multiple outlets, including Politico, CNBC, the Spokesman-Review, and Bloomberg Government, report that a shareholder of Circle Internet Group, a publicly traded U.S. crypto company, sued Trump and World Liberty Financial in federal court in Washington on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The post's 'On Thursday' resolves to that date, and the claim matches the passage without adding anything.6 sources →

    ▶ 5:27

  12. 12Can’t tellThe lawsuit against Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial alleges they profited from 2 billion dollars in crypto deals that violate the Constitution's prohibition on accepting gifts from foreign countries.The lawsuit is real: a Circle Internet Group shareholder, J. Benjamin Greenberg, filed a complaint on 2026-10-22 alleging that two World Liberty transactions with UAE-linked entities, totaling over $2 billion, violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and the White House and World Liberty rejected the claims. However, the post says the lawsuit targets "more than 2 billion dollars in crypto deals, including a deal" that violates the clause, while the extracted claim widens this to all the deals, so the claim departs from the passage and is graded unverifiable.6 sources →

    ▶ 5:37

  13. 13TrueSheikh Tanoun bin Zayed Al Nayan invested 500 million dollars in a deal involving Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial.Multiple sources report that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (the claim's 'Tanoun' is the same UAE royal, spelled differently) backed a $500 million investment for a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, a deal signed by Eric Trump, the president's son, shortly before Trump's second inauguration. The sources describe the money as flowing through entities and co-investors tied to him rather than from him personally, and the claim's omission of the sovereign-fund detail is not a contradiction.4 sources →

    ▶ 5:53

  14. 14TrueThe House Judiciary Committee released a report alleging Donald Trump was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of young women during the mid to late 1990s.The report was released Monday, October 26, 2026, by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, and it does allege that Trump was an active participant in Epstein's sexual abuse of young women during the mid-to-late 1990s. Newsweek notes the report reflects minority committee staff conclusions rather than findings by the full committee, a label difference that does not change the core assertion. Trump and the White House deny the allegations.5 sources →

    ▶ 6:07

  15. 15TrueBeatrice Coole alleges Donald Trump raped her at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1993.The claim is about the act of alleging, and multiple sources confirm that Beatrice Keul, a former Miss Switzerland, alleged in a House Judiciary Democrats' report that Trump raped her at the Plaza Hotel in November 1993. The sources spell her name Keul (one says Coyle), but the post itself says Coole, and the details match. The allegation itself is unverified and denied by the White House, which does not change whether the allegation was made.8 sources →

    ▶ 6:35

  16. 16TrueElon Musk has contributed at least 445,000,000 dollars to the Republican effort to keep control of Congress.The claim that Elon Musk contributed at least $445 million to Republican efforts to keep control of Congress is supported by multiple sources, including a NYT donor list showing $445.6 million and Bloomberg-based reports from October 23 citing FEC filings. Sources published around the claim date (October 23 and 30) corroborate the $445 million figure, and later reporting (November 1–2) shows the total rising to $474 million, which does not make the October 27 claim false.11 sources →

    ▶ 7:12

  17. 17TrueThe Trump administration sued the state of Alaska and its election officials to stop the certification of the US Senate election if Democrat Mary Peltola wins.The Justice Department sued Alaska and its election officials on Thursday, October 22, 2026, to block certification of the Senate result if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses, which in a race against Democrat Mary Peltola amounts to a block if Peltola wins. The lawsuit was dismissed on November 1, but that later development does not change the claim as of October 27, when the suit was pending.6 sources →

    ▶ 7:41

  18. 18TrueThe Alaska Supreme Court rejected a Republican attempt to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot.The Alaska Supreme Court rejected the Republican-backed effort to remove Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot, affirming a lower court ruling that reversed the Division of Elections' removal. Multiple tier1 outlets (The Hill, AP, Snopes, FactCheck.org) report this, and the extracted claim matches the post's own wording without adding anything.6 sources →

    ▶ 8:19

  19. 19TrueThe Justice Department is attempting to force California election officials to set aside ballots it claims were sent to 20,000 non-citizens.The DOJ sued California on Oct 15 and demanded that counties set aside mail ballots from about 20,000 people it alleges are noncitizens, so the attempt to force set-asides existed as of Oct 27. The DOJ's own claim was that these ballots were sent to likely noncitizens, which matches the claim. Later rulings on Oct 29 and 30 rejected the request, but that does not make the claim false as of its posting date.8 sources →

    ▶ 9:35

  20. 20TrueIn July 2026, Department of Homeland Security officials informed Nevada officials that they had identified nearly 16,000 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls.Multiple sources confirm that DHS said in July that it had identified roughly 16,000 (15,903) noncitizens on Nevada's voter rolls and communicated this to state officials, which matches the claim's core assertion. The later drop to 185 confirmed cases and Nevada's finding that all 185 were citizens are developments after the July claim and do not make the July statement false; the claim also departs from the post only by omitting the post's point that DHS offered no evidence of even one noncitizen.7 sources →

    ▶ 10:05

  21. 21TrueICE agents are visiting residents in California, Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin to inquire about their immigration status and voting history.CBS News reported, and other outlets confirmed, that Homeland Security Investigations agents (an arm of ICE) were knocking on doors in several states asking residents about immigration status and voter registration or past voting, and a federal judge's order names all six claimed states (California, Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin) among nine investigated states. The judge's halt, delayed to Oct 23, may have ended the visits by Oct 27, but the claim describes activity that the sources show was occurring at the time.5 sources →

    ▶ 10:23

  22. 22TrueSince the second Trump administration began, the government has charged 156 people with illegal voting out of 227,000,000 registered voters.Two sources directly report the figure: Reuters (tier1) quotes acting Deputy AG Trent McCotter saying DOJ has charged 156 immigrants with voting or registering to vote unlawfully, and CBS (tier2) reports 156 charged with voting-fraud offenses since the start of the Trump administration against 227 million registered voters. The claim's wording ('charged,' not convicted) matches the sources, though the charges cover registration as well as voting.4 sources →

    ▶ 10:58

  23. 23Can’t tellThe Trump administration is supporting the sale of a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska to a sanctioned Russian company.The sources show the Polar LNG project, which involves Novatek, was discussed in US-Kremlin talks and that a sanctions waiver benefited Novatek, but none states that the Trump administration backed the sale. The claim departs from the passage's loose wording, and Polar LNG denies the financing allegations while the Treasury Department declined comment.7 sources →

    ▶ 11:52

  24. 24TrueDonald Trump promised to pay Americans 5,000 dollars if Republicans win the midterms.Multiple tier-1 outlets (AP, Reuters, PolitiFact, BBC) independently report that Trump publicly pledged $5,000 to American adults if Republicans win the midterms, so the claim is supported. The pledge was made at the GOP midterm convention in September 2026 and repeated later, and the sources note it has no implementation details and would need congressional approval.8 sources →

    ▶ 12:33

  25. 25TrueDonald Trump posted on social media that anyone reporting voter fraud in past or upcoming 2026 midterm elections will be paid one million dollars upon the arrest and conviction of those responsible.Multiple reliable outlets (NBC News, NYT, Reuters, Newsweek) confirm that Trump posted on Truth Social on Oct. 26, 2026 (a Monday) that anyone reporting voter fraud in past elections or the 2026 midterms would be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those responsible, matching the claim. The claim's date (Oct. 27) is a minor discrepancy, and the Snopes item concerns a different, fabricated 'counting ballots' screenshot, so it does not contradict this post. Sources note no funding source or administrator was specified.7 sources →

    ▶ 12:48

  26. 26TrueDonald Trump and his allies are suing the state of Alaska.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (Reuters, AP, PBS, CNN, Politico) confirm the Trump administration's Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state of Alaska in October 2026 seeking to block certification of the Senate race, and Trump said he ordered it. As of 2026-10-27 the lawsuit was pending (Alaska filed to dismiss on Oct 27 and Oct 31), and the judge dismissed it on Nov 1, which is a later development that does not make the claim false on the posting date.8 sources →

How it argues

  • Claim stackingA pile of claims too fast to check one by one

Sources

Fact-checkers 28Primary records 3Most reliable outlets 5Reliable outlets 30Less reliable outlets 1Unrated 78Rated low 2

How Polygraph reads a postHow often are we wrong?

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