Podcast · iheart.com
Behind the Bastards
Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.
206 claims · Clear filters
True85% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026Campaign fundraising emails for John Fetterman were sent from the address info@gopsquad.com.The Intercept reports that an email sent by Fetterman's campaign came from info@gopsquad.com, and TIME independently reports fundraising appeals from that address. The claim matches the passage's wording and no source contradicts it, though neither outlet confirms the arrangement with the list owners, and Fetterman's campaign did not respond to comment requests.True85% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Senator Mike Lee sent a fundraising email stating that John Fetterman is basically a Republican and asking for help to draft him.The Atlantic obtained a solicitation from Sen. Mike Lee's fundraising list that reads "I just got an email from John. He's basically a Republican now. I need your help to draft him," and Time independently reports a Lee-sent fundraising email with the same text. The claim matches the passage and the sources, and no source contradicts it.True85% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Senator John Fetterman referred to himself as a Republican while speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival.Multiple outlets, including CNN, report that Fetterman called himself a "lifelong Republican" while answering an audience question at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, then was corrected to "Democrat" by moderator Major Garrett. The claim's core assertion is supported; the sources date the remark to Saturday, Sept. 26, not Sunday as the post says, but the claim does not state a date.True80% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026Palantir was named a top supporter of the Congressional Black Caucus at their annual charitable gala.Multiple outlets report that Palantir was listed as a 'top supporter' at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's (the CBC's charitable arm) annual event in Washington in September 2026, with its name and logo on signage and a banner. The sources date the event to September rather than the post's 'this month' (October), and HuffPost calls it both a gala and a legislative conference, but these are peripheral details that do not change the core claim.True85% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Congressional Hispanic Caucus returned donations from Palantir.Multiple sources report that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the caucus's affiliated charitable arm, publicly returned a Palantir donation in September 2026 after an outcry. The claim omits the Institute and refers to a single donation, but the core assertion that the Caucus returned Palantir money holds.True95% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress.Said by 9AMultiple primary and tier1 sources, including the U.S. House history office, AP, and the National Archives, state that Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American (Black) woman elected to Congress, winning in November 1968 and taking office in 1969. The claim's wording matches the passage, which refers to the same Shirley Chisholm, and no source contradicts it.True92% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026Jim Clyburn is 86 years old.Jim Clyburn (the 'Cliburn' in the post is a misspelling of the same person) was 86 on 2026-10-03. He was born July 21, 1940, and turned 86 that July, as reported by Vox, the Illinois public media transcript, and Dartmouth in September; he remains 86 as of the later Britannica and Referandom snapshots.True90% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026The federal government has begun airing pro-Trump television ads paid for by US taxpayers.As of 2026-10-03, the federal government had already begun airing taxpayer-funded television ads promoting President Trump, with DHS/CBP funds of about $20 million and at least $2.5 million spent by early October per AdImpact. Later developments, including Trump's Oct. 5 pledge that his super PAC would pay going forward and the Oct. 30 court order to pull three ads, do not change the status on the claim's date, and the White House's public-service-announcement framing is a characterization dispute rather than a contradiction.True85% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026The U.S. government is airing television ads that feature Donald Trump and text reading 'Largest tax cuts in history', 'Reigniting American manufacturing', and 'Defend law and order and police'.As of 2026-10-03, sources confirm the government-funded TV ads featuring Trump carried the on-screen text 'largest tax cuts in history,' 'reigniting American manufacturing,' and 'defend law and order and police.' The claim's wording is a faithful paraphrase of the post. A judge later ordered three other ads pulled (Oct. 11 restraining order, Oct. 30 ruling), but that change came after the claim date and does not affect the verdict.True90% confidence9 sourcesOct 3, 2026The California Supreme Court ruled that Sheriff Chad Bianco violated state election law by seizing 650,000 ballots for the Prop 50 special election on redistricting.Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources (AP, Governor's office, CBS LA, LA Times, SF Chronicle) report that on September 24, 2026 the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco violated state election law by seizing roughly 650,000 Proposition 50 ballots during his election fraud investigation. The claim's figure and core assertion match the sources, and the claim faithfully reflects the passage, which referred to the ruling as occurring 'last Thursday' relative to the October 3 post.True95% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen claimed they uncovered hundreds of thousands of non-citizens registered to vote.Multiple tier1 sources confirm that Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly claimed in July 2026 that DHS had identified roughly 250,000 to 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote, so the claim that they claimed to have uncovered hundreds of thousands is supported. The sources also find those figures unsupported by evidence and disputed, but the claim is about the act of claiming, not the claims' accuracy.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True80% confidence6 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Department of Homeland Security initially informed Nevada election officials that there were 15,903 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls.Multiple sources report that DHS told Nevada officials in July that as many as 15,903 noncitizens could be on its voter rolls, so the core claim about the initial notice holds. The sources also stress that the figure was described as preliminary or 'as many as' and was later cut to 185 and then disputed as zero, which the claim omits but does not contradict.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.