Polygraph

PM Show Hr 1 | American Christian Values Over Foreign Ones

The Michael Berry Show, Checked

Polygraph score
76Holds up17 claims checked
Details
What it claims
2 false2 mixed5 can’t tell16 true
How it argues
Nothing found
How it persuades
Nothing found
What it’s built on
Nothing found
Sources
1 rated low
The Michael Berry ShowAug 18, 2026
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The Michael Berry ShowPM Show Hr 1 | American Christian Values Over Foreign OnesWhole episode, 31:55
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25 claims

What it claims

Claims

  1. 1MixedInsurance companies will pay for testosterone therapy if a patient's testosterone level is below 350.The claim that insurers will pay for testosterone therapy when levels are below 350 ng/dL is partly supported: sources say insurance coverage for TRT depends on a low-level threshold that some plans set at 350 ng/dL (lowtcenter.com), but most insurers and the FDA/Endocrine Society framework use 300 ng/dL, and coverage also requires symptoms, two morning labs, and prior authorization, so a 350 cutoff guaranteeing coverage is not established. The claim also departs slightly from the passage, which said 'very good chance' rather than a guarantee.8 sources →

    ▶ 1:05

  2. 2False31% of Black children live in poverty.The 31% figure matches a 2021 national statement and a Pennsylvania state figure for 2023–2024, not the current national record. The 2025 Census data show a Black official poverty rate of 17.3% and a child poverty rate of 13.4% overall, so a national Black child rate of 31% is roughly double what the record supports. The sources do not give the 2025 Black child official rate directly, which limits confidence. The claim was made on 2026-08-18, and the 2025 data was released later, but the national figures it contradicts describe 2025 and earlier years.6 sources →

    ▶ 3:50

  3. 3Can’t tell11% of White children live in poverty.The claim's 11% figure for White children matches a 2008 NCCP statistic, and the only White-child figure for a recent year is an unrated site's 8.2% for 2024. Tier-1 sources (Census, CRS, AP, Snopes, FactCheck.org) report only overall and Black/Hispanic child poverty, so they neither confirm nor refute the 11% rate as of 2026-08-18. The extraction faithfully reproduces the post's figure, and the Census rates for 2025 (13.4% for all children) were published after the post date.6 sources →

    ▶ 3:50

  4. 4FalseThe national average for child poverty is 18%.The claim that the current national child poverty rate is 18% is contradicted by 2024–2025 Census data showing 14.4% (2024) and 13.4% (2025) on the official measure, and 15.5% and 14.8% in the ACS. The 18% figure matches the national child poverty rate for 2018 in an NCES report, so it was a real but outdated statistic when the claim was made on 2026-08-18.5 sources →

    ▶ 3:55

  5. 5TrueThe Declaration of Independence and The Wealth of Nations were both written in 1776.Multiple tier1 and primary sources confirm The Wealth of Nations was published March 9, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence was adopted July 4, 1776, so both were written/published in 1776 as claimed. The claim faithfully reflects the passage, and the only nuance is that the Declaration was adopted (and signed August 2) in 1776 while The Wealth of Nations was published that year, which does not change the core assertion.4 sources →

    ▶ 5:40

  6. 6TrueThe United States of America was established in 1776.The sources consistently date the founding of the United States to 1776, with the Declaration of Independence adopted on July 4 and the 1776 Report calling the nation's birthday July 4, 1776. The claim's year matches the extraction, which the passage itself states. One scholarly blog argues the nation was truly created in 1787 with the Constitution, but that is an interpretive dissent, not a contrary factual record.8 sources →

    ▶ 5:51

  7. 7TrueThe U.S. Constitution was created over a decade after 1776.The U.S. Constitution was drafted and signed on September 17, 1787, which is more than a decade after 1776, and it was ratified in 1788 and took effect in 1789. The claim faithfully paraphrases the passage's point that the governing constitution came 'over a decade later.'3 sources →

    ▶ 6:02

  8. 8TrueThe withdrawal from Afghanistan occurred five years prior to August 2026.The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed on August 30, 2021, which is five years before August 2026, so the claim's core timing holds. The post's reference to a weekend anniversary is a timing detail that does not affect the grade, and the extracted claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage.5 sources →

    ▶ 8:41

  9. 9FalseThe Biden administration left between fifty and eighty billion dollars in American assets in Afghanistan during the withdrawal.The claim's $50–80 billion figure is roughly seven to ten times the amount the Pentagon reported as US-provided equipment left in Afghanistan, which was about $7.12 billion according to the DoD report. PolitiFact rated the closely related '$80 billion-plus' claim False, and FactCheck.org called the $83 billion figure a debunked claim. The extracted claim matches the post's wording, so this is a grading of the post's own figure.7 sources →

    ▶ 9:34

  10. 10TrueThirteen U.S. service members were killed at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan.Multiple independent sources, including the Pentagon investigation reported by AP and CNN and official U.S. government statements, confirm that 13 U.S. service members were killed in the August 26, 2021 bombing at Abbey Gate in Kabul. The extracted claim matches the passage's core assertion without adding anything the post does not say.7 sources →

    ▶ 11:18

  11. 11FalseThe Biden administration left 85 billion dollars in American military equipment behind for the Taliban.The claim that the Biden administration left $85 billion in American military equipment for the Taliban is contradicted by multiple authoritative fact-checks and by the Pentagon's own report. The $85 billion figure traces to total Afghan security-force funding over two decades, most of which was salaries and training rather than equipment, and the Pentagon's congressionally reported figure for equipment left behind is about $7.12 billion, of which it said most was Afghan-government property rather than U.S. military gear.9 sources →

    ▶ 12:32

  12. 12TrueUNESCO reports that more than 2 million Afghan girls are currently blocked from attending school by the Taliban.UNESCO's August 2026 statement, reported by Reuters and AP (both tier1), says an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls are barred from secondary education under Taliban rule, which supports the claim's 'more than 2 million' figure. The claim's broader wording 'blocked from attending school' omits the secondary-level scope, and girls below secondary age are not described as barred, but that imprecision does not change the core assertion; the claim also says 'currently', and the sources describe the ban as ongoing as of August 2026.5 sources →

    ▶ 13:52

  13. 13TrueThe Trump administration halted the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans who worked with the U.S.Multiple tier1 and primary sources (Reuters, AP, Senate and House Democratic releases) report that the Trump administration halted or suspended the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program, with a State Department memo directing visa processing for Afghans to stop, including SIVs. The claim's core assertion is supported; the 'stranded abroad' point is supported by the Senate report's 155,000 applicants in the pipeline, and the 'halted' framing matches the sources, though some sources describe it as a suspension or indefinite pause rather than a formal program termination.7 sources →

    ▶ 14:08

  14. 14FalseJohn Bolton has pleaded guilty to taking guidance from foreign governments.Bolton pleaded guilty on June 26, 2026 to one count of retaining national defense information, and the plea resolved all 18 counts. No source says he pleaded guilty to taking guidance from foreign governments. The claim also departs from the passage, which was about officials beholden to financial interests, and the sources show the Iran link only as a hacker who obtained his classified material, not as guidance he took.7 sources →

    ▶ 16:46

  15. 15TruePresident Trump hinted that he was about to endorse John Cornyn in the primary race in Texas.Sources support the core of the claim: CNN reported in March 2026 that Trump was gravitating toward endorsing Cornyn before the plan stalled after leaks, and BBC reported it appeared he might endorse Cornyn after the March vote. The hint was mostly indirect, since Trump publicly praised Cornyn and said he had 'pretty much' decided without naming anyone, and the Cornyn-specific leaning comes from anonymous sources. No source contradicts the claim, and the endorsement never came.6 sources →

    ▶ 17:37

  16. 16TrueJames Tallarico stated that putting the Ten Commandments on school walls and teaching the Bible to young students is deeply immoral.Talarico's documented statements from 2023 and 2025 call the Ten Commandments classroom-display mandate 'deeply un-Christian,' 'un-American,' and 'idolatrous,' which supports the core of the claim that he strongly condemned it on moral and religious grounds. The sources never use the word 'immoral,' and none shows him calling Bible teaching to young students immoral, so the wording is a paraphrase. The claim's 'now he says' framing points to a 2026 statement that no source records, and the sources date his remarks to 2023 and 2025.8 sources →

    ▶ 21:15

  17. 17TrueA new state curriculum was proposed that would teach Christian Bible stories as historical fact to kindergarten and first-grade students.The sources show a state-written curriculum (Bluebonnet Learning) with Bible stories, including explicit biblical content for kindergartners, and a state reading list that begins with Bible stories in first grade, both proposed before and approved by August 2026. Whether the curriculum presents these stories 'as historical fact' is only indirectly supported by a scholar's critique that it offers a Christian interpretation of history, while state officials say the lessons are not explicit religious instruction. The claim's wording matches Talarico's 2025 characterization, and the post does not depart from it.9 sources →

    ▶ 21:30

  18. 18TrueJames Talarico does not have children or a wife.Most sources, including a 2026 profile and a 2026 Times article describing a girlfriend rather than a wife, indicate Talarico is unmarried with no children as of 2026-08-18. One low-credibility wiki page claims a marriage and two children, but it conflicts with nearly all other sources and no tier1 fact-checker addresses the question directly.12 sources →

    ▶ 25:02

  19. 19TrueJames Talarico is 37 years old.James Talarico, the Texas Democratic Senate candidate, was born May 17, 1989, so he was 37 on the posted date of 2026-08-18. The WSJ and NYT, both published in late October 2026, describe him as 37, and the birth date is consistent across Britannica and Wikipedia. The claim matches the passage's wording, and the post's 'Tallarico' spelling refers to the same person.5 sources →

    ▶ 27:15

  20. 20MixedJames Talarico claims his mother's home as his own for the purpose of running for office.ProPublica and Texas Tribune records show Talarico listed his parents' address on his voter registration from November 2021 and kept it until September 2024, after buying a home in June 2022, so the 'claims his mother's home as his own' element is supported. The 'for the purpose of running for office' motive and the voter-fraud characterization are disputed: his campaign says he lives in his north Austin home, and documents reviewed by the Current contradict the Federalist's fraud allegation. The extracted claim drops the post's 'which is voter fraud' qualifier, and the claim is graded without it.5 sources →

    ▶ 27:24

  21. 21TrueA ProPublica report stated that James Talarico voted in five elections using his parents' address.The ProPublica and Texas Tribune report, as republished by several outlets, states that Talarico voted in five elections using his parents' address after buying a home nearby. The report adds that this may have violated state voting laws, and Talarico disputes wrongdoing, but the claim as made matches what the report says.7 sources →

    ▶ 27:58

  22. 22TrueJames Talarico is a candidate for the Texas Senate in 2026.Multiple reliable sources (AP, NYT, NBC, FEC record, Texas Tribune, People) as of August-November 2026 confirm James Talarico was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, running in the 2026 race, including on 2026-08-18. The claim's extraction from a post naming 'James Hellerico' is a misspelling of the same person, and the claim itself is accurate.5 sources →

    ▶ 30:10

  23. 23Can’t tellJames Talarico removed references to trans kids, Republican extremism, and his progressive agenda from his website in early September 2025 when he announced his Senate run.The only source that describes the website change itself is a low-credibility compilation (credibility 0.40) saying archived copies show the phrases 'bold, progressive ideas' and 'bully trans kids' were removed during the September 2025 redesign, but it does not confirm the removal of 'Republican extremism' and no authoritative source checks the archives. The other coverage (BlazeTV, Lifezette, Battle Swarm) repeats the host's claim and cannot corroborate it, so the evidence gives no reliable directional signal either way.9 sources →

    ▶ 31:04

  24. 24TrueA Michigan political nominee stated that football is toxic masculinity.Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed wrote in a 2021 Substack post that the 'toxic masculinity at the heart of America's most popular sport' is deep, which multiple outlets quote, so the claim that he called football toxic masculinity is supported. The quote traces back to one resurfaced 2021 post rather than a primary copy in the sources, and he has since softened the stance.8 sources →

    ▶ 34:31

  25. 25TrueA political candidate wrote three bills to limit gun ownership in Texas.Two sources, both from gun-rights advocacy groups, report that Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico authored three Texas bills (all failed) restricting gun carry and licensing, which matches the claim. The post does not name him, so the referent is inferred from context, and the NSSF piece says he 'helped craft' the bills, a minor difference in role.6 sources →

    ▶ 35:02

Sources

Fact-checkers 30Primary records 29Most reliable outlets 3Reliable outlets 10Less reliable outlets 1Unrated 85Rated low 1

  • theblaze.comRated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited in checking claim 23

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