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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.
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True85% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026Defense Secretary Pete Hegazy announced Operation Southern Spear as the overarching DOD operation to disrupt the flow of narcotics in the Western Hemisphere.Said by AThe claim is supported: the Lead Inspector General report to Congress states that on November 13, 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear as the overarching DoW operation to disrupt Western Hemisphere narcotics flow from cartels designated as terrorist organizations. The post and claim spell the secretary's name 'Hegazy', but the sources identify the same official as Pete Hegseth, so this is treated as a misspelling rather than a different referent; the claim also omits the November 13 date, which is not a contradiction.True95% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Trump administration issued an executive order on January 20, 2025, that labels groups as foreign terrorist organizations or specially designated global terrorists.Executive Order 14157, 'Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists,' was signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025, per the Federal Register, White House, govinfo, and CRS sources. The claim faithfully reflects the passage and the order's text matches its description.True92% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Operation Southern Spear has evolved into Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere.Said by AMultiple independent reliable sources report that Joint Task Force Southern Spear was retired in early August 2026 and replaced by Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, and that SOUTHCOM described the change as an evolution of Southern Spear, so the claim held as of 2026-10-03. The post's 'Sphere' is a typo for 'Spear' and the extraction faithfully reflects the passage.True80% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026Airwars has identified 26 victims of US boat strikes by their full names.Said by AThe claim matches the post's passage: a list compiled by Airwars identifies 26 victims by full name. Airwars' own August 2026 report says 26 of those killed have been publicly named, and secondary coverage citing Airwars' analysis reports the same count. The sources credit journalists and researchers rather than the U.S. government for the identifications, which is context rather than a contradiction.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True92% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Ben Saul, the United Nations Special Rapporteur, stated that U.S. boat strikes are in violation of the right to life and international law.Said by AMultiple tier1 outlets (BBC, UPI, ABC, and others) report that Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur, issued a briefing note stating the US boat strikes violate the right to life and international law, quoting the same language the claim paraphrases. The extracted claim faithfully reflects the passage's quoted assertion and no source contradicts it.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to declare that Tren de Aragua was engaged in an invasion of the U.S. on behalf of the Venezuelan government.Said by AThe sources confirm that on March 14, 2025 the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act via Proclamation 10903, declaring that Tren de Aragua was perpetrating an invasion of the U.S. The proclamation also says TdA operates with the Maduro-regime-sponsored Cartel de los Soles, which supports the 'on behalf of the Venezuelan government' element as the administration's allegation. Courts later rejected the invasion finding, but that does not contradict the claim that the administration made the declaration.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True93% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026The U.S. government sent 137 Venezuelan men to El Salvador.Said by AMultiple reliable sources, including Reuters and CBS News, report that the U.S. deported 137 Venezuelan men to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025 under the Alien Enemies Act. The claim matches the passage's '137 Venezuelan men' and 'El Salvador' in March, and the 'no connection to the gang' qualifier in the post is dropped without changing the core assertion.True95% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026The United States government listed the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2025.Said by AThe sources confirm the US formally designated Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, announced by the State Department on November 16, 2025 and effective November 24, 2025, with the Federal Register notice published that day. The extracted claim faithfully matches the passage, which also reports the November 2025 listing.True80% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026The secret legal memo justifying boat strikes was signed on September 5, 2025.Said by AMultiple sources, including a federal court filing and a court-record-based report, state the Office of Legal Counsel memo was issued or signed on September 5, 2025, three days after the first boat strike on September 2. The claim matches the extracted passage, though most sources are unrated and several trace back to the same court record.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True70% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Drug Enforcement Administration assessed that boat strikes have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States.Said by AThe Washington Post reported, citing a DEA assessment it reviewed, that the boat strikes have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the U.S., and an NHPR interview with a Post reporter repeated this. Other outlets trace back to the same Post reporting, and no source contradicts it; the claim matches the passage's wording, and the reporting dates from July 2026, before the 2026-10-03 post.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True95% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026The former president of Honduras was sentenced to 45 years in prison in June 2024 for importing more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States between 2004 and 2022.Said by AMultiple tier-1 and primary sources confirm that Juan Orlando Hernández, former president of Honduras, was sentenced on June 26, 2024 to 45 years in prison for conspiring to import more than 400 tons of cocaine into the US. The DOJ and CRS sources also tie the trafficking to 2004–2022. The claim's 'importing' wording is slightly loose, since the conviction was for conspiracy to import plus firearms offenses, but this does not change the substance.True85% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026In mid-2025, Donald Trump signed a classified directive authorizing the military to use force against a list of 24 drug trafficking organizations.Said by AMultiple independent sources report that Trump signed a classified directive in July 2025 authorizing military force against a secret list of 24 designated terrorist organizations. The NYT reported the directive in August 2025, The Intercept confirmed the 24-group list from government sources, and a later court filing citing the Washington Post describes a July 25, 2025 directive with a 24-entity annex. The claim's 'mid-2025' timing and the 'classified' and '24' details match the sources, and the extraction faithfully reflects the post.