Polygraph

Diva Trump’s Hair Secrets Exposed: Wolff

The Daily Beast Podcast, Checked

Polygraph score
82Holds up36 claims checked
Details
What it claims
5 false7 mixed7 can’t tell31 true
How it argues
Nothing found
How it persuades
Nothing found
What it’s built on
Nothing found
Sources
1 rated low
The Daily Beast PodcastSep 8, 2026
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The Daily Beast PodcastDiva Trump’s Hair Secrets Exposed: WolffWhole episode, 1:05:52
50 claims

What it claims

Claims

  1. 1TrueJared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are traveling to Moscow.Multiple tier1 sources (Reuters, AP, BBC) report that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on September 5, 2026 and met Putin, consistent with the claim as of its September 8, 2026 posting date. The post itself says they 'head to Moscow,' so the claim is a faithful paraphrase; by the check date they had already visited and then moved on to Kyiv, but the claim was accurate when made.5 sources →
  2. 2TrueDozens of officials at the Pentagon are being subjected to lie-detector tests.Multiple outlets report, citing The New York Times and CBS News, that several dozen senior Pentagon officials (about 50 Joint Staff members) were given polygraph tests in August 2026 in a leak investigation, which matches the claim as of 2026-09-08. The tests were completed in August rather than ongoing on the posting date, a minor tense imprecision that does not change the verdict.5 sources →
  3. 3Can’t tellDonald Trump uses a patch kit consisting of small tufts of hair to maintain his hair.The only sources on this are coverage repeating biographer Michael Wolff's claim, which is circular and not independent evidence; the White House has not confirmed it, and outlets say it has not been independently verified. No source corroborates or contradicts the claim as of 2026-09-08, and the claim is presented as Wolff's allegation rather than established fact.9 sources →

    ▶ 0:03

  4. 4TrueSteve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (Reuters, AP, BBC, CBS, NPR) report that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday, September 5, 2026, and met Putin, which is consistent with the claim as of 2026-09-08. The post said 'Steve Wickoff' (a misspelling of the same name), and the extraction faithfully reflects the post's statement that they 'have just arrived in Moscow'; the envoys later left for Kyiv, which does not change the state on the posting date.7 sources →

    ▶ 1:09

  5. 5TrueMaria Bartiromo has been offered the position of White House press secretary in the past.Axios reported, citing two senior administration officials, that Trump approached Maria Bartiromo about the press secretary job before Katie Zacharia, and that she signaled she would not take it, so the claim that she was offered the position in the past is supported. The evidence traces back to a single anonymous-sourced Axios report, and no source contradicts the offer; the claim matches the passage's wording ('She's been offered that job before').11 sources →

    ▶ 4:26

  6. 6TrueCongressman Max Miller is accused of breaking his two-year-old's collarbone and threatening his wife with violence.The claim that Rep. Max Miller is accused of breaking his two-year-old's collarbone and threatening his wife with violence is supported by multiple tier-1 sources reporting Emily Moreno's allegations. Miller denies the accusations, no criminal charges were filed, and Cuyahoga County child services found insufficient evidence of child abuse, but the claim only asserts that he is accused, which the sources confirm.6 sources →

    ▶ 6:40

  7. 7TrueDonald Trump wore a MAGA hat during a speech he gave in support of Bernie Marino.Press photographs from the March 16, 2024 Dayton-area rally supporting Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno reportedly show Trump wearing a red MAGA baseball cap, which supports the claim. The sources spell the candidate's name 'Moreno' rather than 'Marino' as in the claim and post, which is most likely a transcription issue, and the only independent-style source is one article relying on photos, so confidence is moderate.4 sources →

    ▶ 7:13

  8. 8TrueJared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow recently to present a proposal regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.Multiple tier-1 sources (Reuters, AP, The Hill) report that Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow on September 5, 2026 for talks on ending the Ukraine war, and Trump said they were bringing a proposal to end the war. The claim's 'recently' and 'proposal' elements are supported; the post's 'a couple of hours ago' timing and the spelling variant 'Whitkoff' are peripheral and not contradicted.6 sources →

    ▶ 10:21

  9. 9TrueVladimir Putin publicly praised Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.The claim that Putin publicly praised Witkoff and Kushner is supported. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov's readout says Putin publicly praised the mediation channel and the American negotiators at the start of the Sept. 5 meeting, and the Washington Post reports Putin showered praise on the two envoys. The post's broader 'as though they were his friends' phrasing was dropped in the extraction, which does not change the verdict.3 sources →

    ▶ 11:17

  10. 10FalseRobert Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion was taken over by the Justice Department.The record shows Mueller was not displaced: he was appointed special counsel within the Justice Department in 2017, ran the probe himself for about 22 months, and delivered his final report to Attorney General Barr in March 2019, so the investigation was not taken over by DOJ after he stepped aside. The claim also departs from the passage, which says Mueller 'punted' and 'got too old,' a reason the sources do not support.8 sources →

    ▶ 12:15

  11. 11MixedCIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian officials approximately three to four weeks prior to.The core claim holds: multiple outlets (Reuters, BBC, CBS, CNN) report CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, to meet Russian intelligence officials, though the Kremlin says he did not meet Putin. The timing element does not hold: measured from the September 8 posting date, the trip was about two weeks earlier, not the three to four weeks the claim states.4 sources →

    ▶ 13:28

  12. 12TrueJared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are traveling to Ukraine.Multiple sources confirm that Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Ukraine, meeting Zelensky in Kyiv on September 6, 2026, two days before the claim was posted. The claim drops the podcast's 'supposed to be going tomorrow' framing and states the trip as present, but the core assertion of travel to Ukraine holds, so it is graded normally.9 sources →

    ▶ 17:33

  13. 13TrueDonald Trump is using a Qatari-owned aircraft for travel.As of 2026-09-08, Trump was using the Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar as Air Force One, and senior officials said he would fly it to Ireland the following week. The jet was a gift to the U.S. government rather than something Qatar still owns, so "Qatari-owned" is loose wording, but the core assertion holds. Later reporting (Oct. 2) says he stopped using it in mid-September, which does not change the September 8 assessment.6 sources →

    ▶ 18:07

  14. 14MixedGroundbreaking for the triumphal arch is scheduled to begin in two weeks.As of 2026-09-08, the administration had announced that excavation would start over the next two weeks (Burgum, Sept 3), so the scheduling part is supported. However, a government filing reported by CNN the next day said the planned work was archaeological survey, not construction or groundbreaking, to start no later than Sept 21, which contradicts treating it as groundbreaking. Later sources show construction was then pushed to a Nov. 5 target, which postdates the claim.7 sources →

    ▶ 23:57

  15. 15MixedThree veterans filed a lawsuit on Friday against the construction of a triumphal arch.Sources confirm that three Vietnam veterans sued to block the Trump triumphal arch, but they say the suit was filed in February, not on a Friday. The Friday in the sources (Oct. 30) was a court hearing, so the claim's timing is contradicted even though the lawsuit itself is supported.5 sources →

    ▶ 24:04

  16. 16TrueThe Supreme Court dismissed a recent lawsuit regarding the White House ballroom on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked standing.The Supreme Court's 5-4 unsigned order held that the National Trust for Historic Preservation likely lacks standing, so the claim's standing ground is supported. 'Dismissed' is loose wording: the Court granted a stay of the injunction rather than formally dismissing the suit, and the case returns to the lower courts.8 sources →

    ▶ 24:26

  17. 17TrueIt takes Boeing twelve years to develop a new Air Force One.The sources support roughly twelve years from the program's start to its 2028 delivery target: design contracts began in January 2016 (Defense One timeline) and Boeing says it remains on track for 2028 (Reuters, July 2026). No source states the twelve-year figure directly, the span is about 13 years if counted from the 2015 selection, and the program is running years late, so 'takes' describes this program's duration rather than a typical one; the GAO's 12-year figure [8] refers to Pentagon weapons programs generally.7 sources →

    ▶ 29:36

  18. 18TrueDonald Trump ordered two new Air Force One aircraft in 2017.Multiple sources state that Trump ordered two new Air Force One aircraft from Boeing during his first term, with the Air Force completing a contract for two 747-8s in August 2017. The Boeing contract was formally finalized in 2018, but the 2017 order is still supported.7 sources →

    ▶ 29:42

  19. 19MixedThe two new Air Force One aircraft ordered in 2017 will not be delivered before 2029.The claim is partly contradicted: the Air Force and Boeing projected in late 2025 through mid-2026 that the first new VC-25B would be delivered in mid-2028, before 2029, while the second is projected for mid-2029, consistent with the claim. Sources also date the Boeing contract to 2018, not 2017, though the post's own wording said 2017, and the claim is a forecast, so it is graded against the official projections as of 2026-09-08.8 sources →

    ▶ 29:42

  20. 20FalseBoeing stated that the new Air Force One planes will not be delivered before 2029.The sources do not show Boeing stating that the planes won't be delivered before 2029. Boeing's own 2026 statement says it anticipates first delivery in 2028, and Air Force projections put the first jet in mid-2028 and the second in mid-2029, so the claim is contradicted as of 2026-09-08.8 sources →

    ▶ 29:46

  21. 21TrueMaria Bartiromo was taken off the air at Fox News.Multiple sources report that Fox removed Maria Bartiromo from the air: she last aired on August 9, and CNN and a New York Times report say the network took her off the air, with the announced exit on September 3. The claim is supported as of September 8, 2026. Her lawyer disputes that she was fired, but the claim only concerns being taken off the air, so that dispute does not contradict it.7 sources →

    ▶ 31:58

  22. 22TrueMaria Bartiromo was the first correspondent to report from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Multiple independent sources, including a Fox Business/NYSE-related 25th anniversary article, Reuters, LA Times (1997), and Fox Business coverage, state that Bartiromo was the first television journalist or reporter to broadcast live from the NYSE floor, in 1995. The extraction faithfully reflects the passage's statement, and the claim's wording matches the record's 'first correspondent to report from the floor' framing.9 sources →

    ▶ 33:41

  23. 23TrueMaria Bartiromo won Emmy Awards.The claim that Maria Bartiromo won Emmy Awards is supported by multiple sources, including IMDb's awards listing (2008 and 2009 Emmys), Wikipedia, and her own agency and speaker bios describing two Emmys. The post itself says she won a couple of Emmys, so the extraction faithfully reflects the passage.6 sources →

    ▶ 33:46

  24. 24Can’t tellRoger Ailes hired Maria Bartiromo because he believed CEOs would be attracted to her.The sources confirm that Roger Ailes hired Maria Bartiromo at CNBC in 1993, but none of them addresses why he hired her. The claimed motive, that he believed CEOs would be attracted to her, comes only from Michael Wolff's podcast account of a private conversation, which the sources neither corroborate nor dispute.4 sources →

    ▶ 34:33

  25. 25TrueMaria Bartiromo transitioned from CNBC to Fox Business and Fox News.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources confirm Bartiromo left CNBC (after about 20 years) for Fox Business in 2014, and that she was also on Fox News, hosting Sunday Morning Futures there. The claim's core transition from CNBC to Fox Business and Fox News is supported; the 2013 Reuters and NYT reports and the 2014 LA Times piece document the move, and the 2026 NBC/AP reports confirm the Fox roles.5 sources →

    ▶ 38:01

  26. 26TrueMaria Bartiromo's ratings at CNBC were declining when she left the network.The sources show CNBC's overall audience declining before Bartiromo left in 2013, which supports the claim at the network level, but none directly measures her personal ratings at CNBC, so the claim is only indirectly supported. The claim's wording tracks the passage's 'ratings that she had at CBC' point, and the passage itself is not evidence.4 sources →

    ▶ 38:58

  27. 27TrueFox News paid almost a billion dollars in a lawsuit related to accusations about the 2020 election and voting machine makers.Multiple independent reliable outlets (AP, Reuters, NPR, Bloomberg) report that Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle its defamation lawsuit over 2020 election vote-rigging claims about voting machines. The post's 'almost a billion dollars' is loose rounding of that figure, and the claim is a fair paraphrase of the post's own words, so it is graded as true.6 sources →

    ▶ 40:11

  28. 28TrueMaria Bartiromo supplied an internal memo to the White House.Multiple outlets, including Status, Puck, and CNN citing sources, report that Bartiromo shared a Fox internal memo or guidance with the White House, and no source contradicts this. The reporting rests on anonymous sourcing that traces largely back to Status and Puck, and Fox has not publicly confirmed the reason for her exit, so confidence is moderate.7 sources →

    ▶ 40:34

  29. 29TrueRupert Murdoch is 95 years old.Rupert Murdoch was born March 11, 1931, so he was 95 on the claim's date of 2026-09-08. Business Insider (March 2026, reporting his 95th birthday), Forbes (updated September 15, 2026) and Britannica (September 2026) all give his age as 95, and the post's passage uses the same figure. Later coverage through November 2026 still describes him as 95, so the claim held on the date it was made.9 sources →

    ▶ 41:56

  30. 30FalseLeslie Stahl is 82 years old.The claim that Leslie Stahl is 82 is contradicted: she was born 16 December 1941, which makes her 84 on the 2026-09-08 posting date. The extraction faithfully reflects the passage's words, so this is a factual error rather than an addition.6 sources →

    ▶ 43:08

  31. 31TrueRoger Ailes started Fox News.Multiple reliable sources (AP obituary, NYT, Britannica, CNN, Wikipedia) state that Roger Ailes was hired by Rupert Murdoch to build and lead Fox News Channel, which launched October 7, 1996, so the claim that he started Fox News is supported. The claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage's statement that Ailes was 'chosen to start Fox News' and departs from it in no material way.5 sources →

    ▶ 43:56

  32. 32MixedShepard Smith left Fox News to create a new news program at CNBC.Sources confirm Shepard Smith left Fox News and then joined CNBC to host a new newscast, 'The News with Shepard Smith.' They contradict the implied motive that he left Fox in order to create that program: he left abruptly after tensions over coverage and a run-in with Tucker Carlson, and CNBC hired him afterward. The claim's sequence is supported, but its causal 'to create' framing is not.8 sources →

    ▶ 44:53

  33. 33TrueMelania Trump refused to speak at the 2024 RNC convention.Sources consistently report that Melania Trump did not give a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention, and the Independent reports she repeatedly declined invitations to speak, which supports 'refused'. The extracted claim matches the passage's wording, and the 2026 Daily Beast item is the claimant's own outlet's coverage rather than independent corroboration.6 sources →

    ▶ 46:48

  34. 34TrueMelania Trump did not sit next to Donald Trump in the VIP box at the 2024 RNC convention.The sources support the claim that Melania Trump did not sit next to Donald Trump in the VIP box: NPR reports she took her seat next to JD Vance because Trump had just left for his speech. The post's implied story that she 'refused' to sit by him is not supported, since the sources attribute the separation to his departure.7 sources →

    ▶ 47:14

  35. 35TrueThe Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, Reuters, Politico, The Washington Post's own About page, NPR) confirm that The Washington Post has been owned by Jeff Bezos since its 2013 sale, and the claim is still accurate as of 2026-09-08. The extraction faithfully reflects the passage's 'Washington Post owned by Jeff Bezos.'6 sources →

    ▶ 49:39

  36. 36FalseDonald Trump attended only one event at the Kennedy Center.The claim that Trump attended only one event at the Kennedy Center is contradicted by multiple reliable sources. They report at least three attendances: the June 2025 'Les Misérables' performance, the December 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, and the March 2026 opening night of 'Chicago'. The claim's source is a podcast speaker relaying a rumor, which cannot corroborate it.7 sources →

    ▶ 50:56

  37. 37Can’t tellFees paid to sit beside Donald Trump at a Kennedy Center event went directly to a Trump PAC instead of the Kennedy Center.No source reports that fees paid to sit beside Trump at a Kennedy Center event were routed to a Trump PAC. The sources describe donor packages and sponsorship levels that included a photo op or seating, but none say where that money went, so the claim is neither supported nor contradicted.7 sources →

    ▶ 51:08

  38. 38TrueDonald Trump has $400 million in PAC funds.MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC, started September with more than $415 million cash on hand (Politico), and reported about $424 million in the bank through August (Washington Sun), so roughly $400 million in PAC funds is supported as of 2026-09-08. The claim is loose: the money belongs to a super PAC allied with Trump rather than to Trump personally, and cash fell to $164 million by Oct. 14 after heavy spending, which postdates the claim.4 sources →

    ▶ 51:28

  39. 39TrueDonald Trump has solicited $800 million from corporate donors.Multiple outlets report, citing a Wall Street Journal investigation published July 31, 2026, that Trump raised more than $800 million from donors since returning to office, with a hands-on fundraiser soliciting large corporate contributions. The sources describe the total as coming from corporate donors and wealthy individuals, so the claim's narrower 'corporate donors' framing is a minor scope simplification rather than a contradiction, and the sources are downstream echoes of a single WSJ report.5 sources →

    ▶ 51:41

  40. 40MixedDonald Trump made $2.2 billion from crypto last year while in the White House.Trump's 2025 disclosure shows about $1.4 billion in crypto-related income, so the claim's crypto element and the 2025 timeframe are supported. The $2.2 billion figure is his total income from all sources, not his crypto income, so the claimed crypto amount is overstated by roughly 57%. The passage's own '2 billion from crypto' also conflates the two figures.8 sources →

    ▶ 52:32

  41. 41True50 people in the Pentagon have been required to take lie detector tests regarding information leaks.Multiple outlets report, citing The New York Times and CBS News, that about 50 Joint Staff personnel at the Pentagon were required to take polygraph tests in August 2026 as part of a leak investigation. The claim matches that reporting as of the 2026-09-08 post date, with the sources treating the Joint Staff as part of the Pentagon.8 sources →

    ▶ 53:37

  42. 42MixedThe Secretary of Defense put out classified war plans on Signal.Multiple reliable sources, including Reuters and The Atlantic, report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted operational details of a planned Yemen strike in a Signal chat, which supports the 'war plans' element. The 'classified' element is contested: DNI Tulsi Gabbard and the administration said no classified information was shared, while Rep. Meeks and a Defense One report describe the chat as unclassified, though Meeks calls the plans classified.7 sources →

    ▶ 54:30

  43. 43FalseThere is no Army Secretary currently serving.On 2026-09-08 the Army was not without a secretary: Trump designated Adam Telle as Acting Secretary of the Army on September 3, 2026, after Dan Driscoll's resignation, and official Army and Reuters sources confirm Telle was serving in that role. The claim that no Army Secretary was serving is therefore contradicted, though the post's own rhetoric about a 'vacuum' reflects the absence of a confirmed, permanent secretary.6 sources →

    ▶ 55:46

  44. 44Can’t tellThere is no Chief of Staff to the Army Secretary currently serving.The sources do not establish who, if anyone, was serving as Chief of Staff to the Army Secretary on 2026-09-08. The only roster showing that post (a September 21 Army Secretariat listing with Brandon Pugh as acting) is a later snapshot, and the sources about the Army's chief of staff (the uniformed post George vacated) concern a different office. The post's own wording ('There's no Army Secretary') also suggests the speaker may be conflating the two offices, and the Army Secretary post was held by acting secretary Adam Telle from September 3.6 sources →

    ▶ 55:48

  45. 45Can’t tellPete Hegseth's nickname within military circles is No Tab Pete.Several outlets report that military personnel or Pentagon insiders call Hegseth "No Tab Pete," but nearly all of these reports trace back to a single Daily Beast report, so they do not independently corroborate it. A Pentagon spokesperson's "fake news" response is ambiguous about whether it covers the nickname, and the claim's extraction faithfully matches the passage, which itself relies on the Daily Beast piece.10 sources →

    ▶ 56:11

  46. 46TruePete Hegseth is being blamed for leading the military into a war that they cannot figure out how to exit.As of early September 2026, sources show critics blaming Hegseth for an Iran war with no clear end or exit, including a former Air Force secretary citing 'no clear exit strategy' and senior officials warning the war cannot be extended indefinitely. The sources frame the blame mainly around managing the war and the Pentagon rather than as a direct charge that he led the country into it, and the post's 'they' is read as critics. The claim departs from the passage only in wording, not substance, and the later sources (October) describe the war as a stalemate with no exit, which is consistent with the claim.5 sources →

    ▶ 59:40

  47. 47TrueDonald Trump is traveling to his golf course in Dunbeg, Ireland.Multiple tier1 sources (AP, Reuters, BBC) and official Irish government and Garda releases confirm that Trump travelled to his Trump International Golf Links course in Doonbeg, County Clare, on September 12-13, 2026, which matches the post's reference to going there 'next weekend.' 'Dunbeg' is a spelling variant of Doonbeg, and the claim is graded as of the 2026-09-08 posting date.7 sources →

    ▶ 18:00

  48. 48TrueThe White House is undergoing a renovation that includes the installation of additional security features such as fences and a moat.The claim's core is supported: sources show the White House complex undergoing security upgrades that include fencing, such as the temporary perimeter additions and enhanced fencing approved in 2026, a front-door security upgrade, and a proposed permanent Lafayette Park fence. No source mentions a moat, but no source contradicts it either, and the post's moat remark is rhetorical, so the claim is graded as true with the moat unconfirmed. As of 2026-09-08, the Lafayette fence was still a proposal awaiting review, and the front-door work was under way.8 sources →

    ▶ 18:34

  49. 49FalseRoger Ailes started CNBC.The claim that Roger Ailes started CNBC is contradicted by the sources. CNBC launched in April 1989 as the Consumer News and Business Channel under NBC and Cablevision, and Ailes joined NBC in 1993 to run the existing network, where he is credited with boosting its ratings. The post's own words ('the guy who started up CNBC') do not change this, since the claim matches the passage's wording and the sources contradict its substance.6 sources →

    ▶ 33:19

  50. 50MixedDavid Rhodes moved from Fox News to become head of news at CBS.The sources confirm that David Rhodes left Fox News and later became president of CBS News, which is head of news there. However, they contradict the implied direct move: he left Fox for Bloomberg in 2008 and moved from Bloomberg to CBS in 2011. The extraction faithfully reflects the post's wording, and the claim's central move from Fox to CBS holds only with that intermediate Bloomberg step omitted.8 sources →

    ▶ 44:20

Sources

Fact-checkers 54Primary records 6Most reliable outlets 8Reliable outlets 51Less reliable outlets 6Unrated 181Rated low 1

  • en.kremlin.ruRated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited in checking claim 9

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