Every factual sentence carries assertions checked against the recorded evidence: references must resolve, figures and quotations must be in the cited passage, arithmetic must reproduce, and an independent reviewer must approve the wording. Automated validation says whether the narration is ready for human editorial review; it does not establish truth.
Open a sentence to see its assertions, their status and the passages behind them. Sentences without a marker make no factual claim.
verified s01.a Real GDP increased in the first and second quarters of 2026.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BEA GDP, Q2 2026: Real GDP grew at 2.5% and 2.2% annual rates in Q1 and Q2 2026, roughly trend growth, while payrolls averaged +45,000 a month and real hourly earnings fell 0.7% over the year; the economy is growing, but the data describe a solid expansion rather than a boom. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s01.b Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased from September 2025 to September 2026.
supported (approved): 1 supporting (1 independent, strongest 0.95).
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s04.a Trump said the economy is the greatest economy the US has ever had.
supported (approved): no direct support, 2 qualifying, 1 source statement.
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s05.a A CBS News report said inflation is eating up all of the wage growth and then some.
supported (approved): no direct support, 1 source statement.
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s07.a BEA's third estimate: real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.5% in the first quarter of 2026 (revised) and 2.2% in the second quarter.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BEA GDP, Q2 2026: Real GDP grew at 2.5% and 2.2% annual rates in Q1 and Q2 2026, roughly trend growth, while payrolls averaged +45,000 a month and real hourly earnings fell 0.7% over the year; the economy is growing, but the data describe a solid expansion rather than a boom. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s08.a In the September 2026 Summary of Economic Projections, the median FOMC participant put longer-run real GDP growth at 2.0%.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: fomc-sep-2026-09-16.txt: FOMC participants put longer-run real GDP growth at a 2.0% median (central tendency 2.0-2.2%) and project 2.3% for 2026, so 2026 growth runs only slightly above the economy's trend pace, an expansion rather than a boom. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s08.b Real GDP growth of 2.5% and 2.2% in the first half of 2026 ran only slightly above the economy's longer-run trend pace: an expansion rather than a boom.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BEA GDP, Q2 2026: Real GDP grew at 2.5% and 2.2% annual rates in Q1 and Q2 2026, roughly trend growth, while payrolls averaged +45,000 a month and real hourly earnings fell 0.7% over the year; the economy is growing, but the data describe a solid expansion rather than a boom. fomc-sep-2026-09-16.txt: FOMC participants put longer-run real GDP growth at a 2.0% median (central tendency 2.0-2.2%) and …
verified s10.a The unemployment rate was 4.2% in September 2026 and has remained between 4.1% and 4.3% since March.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Employment Situation, September 2026: Unemployment was 4.2% in September 2026 and has stayed in a 4.1-4.3% range since March, near common estimates of the natural rate, but payroll growth was weak (+29,000, 45,000/month average) and the release does not define full employment. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s11.a The Federal Reserve chair said the unemployment rate is running consistent with full employment.
supported (approved): no direct support, 2 qualifying, 1 source statement.
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s12.a Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in September 2026 (+29,000).
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Employment Situation, September 2026: Unemployment was 4.2% in September 2026 and has stayed in a 4.1-4.3% range since March, near common estimates of the natural rate, but payroll growth was weak (+29,000, 45,000/month average) and the release does not define full employment. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s13.a The September 2026 Employment Situation release does not define full employment.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Employment Situation, September 2026: Unemployment was 4.2% in September 2026 and has stayed in a 4.1-4.3% range since March, near common estimates of the natural rate, but payroll growth was weak (+29,000, 45,000/month average) and the release does not define full employment. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s15.a Real average hourly earnings (AHE deflated by CPI-U) rose 1.2% over the year to January 2026, as nominal pay outpaced CPI.
supported (approved): 1 supporting (1 independent, strongest 0.95).
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s16.a Real average hourly earnings were below their year-earlier level in every month from April to September 2026, while CPI ran 3.3% to 4.2%.
supported (approved): 1 supporting (1 independent, strongest 0.9).
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s17.a Over the year to September 2026, nominal average hourly earnings rose 3.0% and CPI rose 3.7%.
supported (approved): 1 supporting (1 independent, strongest 0.9).
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s17.b From September 2025 to September 2026, real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.7%, seasonally adjusted.
supported (approved): 1 supporting (1 independent, strongest 0.95).
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s18.a Trump said that wages are rising much faster than inflation.
supported (approved): no direct support, 1 qualifying, 1 source statement.
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s18.b Real average hourly earnings rose over the year to January 2026, as nominal pay outpaced CPI.
supported (approved): 1 supporting (1 independent, strongest 0.95).
info wording: Wording differs from the canonical claim; the reviewer confirms the passages entail it.
verified s18.c Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell over the year to September 2026.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 1 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Real Earnings, September 2026: Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.7% from September 2025 to September 2026 (nominal pay +3.0% vs CPI +3.7%), so the typical worker's purchasing power declined over the past year rather than rose. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s19.a The BLS real earnings figures are average hourly earnings for all employees, not a median.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 1 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Real Earnings, September 2026: Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.7% from September 2025 to September 2026 (nominal pay +3.0% vs CPI +3.7%), so the typical worker's purchasing power declined over the past year rather than rose. Add the qualification: the evidence supports a narrower or weaker statement.
verified s20.a Real GDP growth in the first half of 2026 ran only slightly above the FOMC's longer-run growth median: an expansion rather than a boom.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BEA GDP, Q2 2026: Real GDP grew at 2.5% and 2.2% annual rates in Q1 and Q2 2026, roughly trend growth, while payrolls averaged +45,000 a month and real hourly earnings fell 0.7% over the year; the economy is growing, but the data describe a solid expansion rather than a boom. fomc-sep-2026-09-16.txt: FOMC participants put longer-run real GDP growth at a 2.0% median (central tendency 2.0-2.2%) and …
verified s20.b The September 2026 unemployment rate was at the FOMC participants' median longer-run unemployment rate, while payroll growth was weak.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 2 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Employment Situation, September 2026: Unemployment was 4.2% in September 2026 and has stayed in a 4.1-4.3% range since March, near common estimates of the natural rate, but payroll growth was weak (+29,000, 45,000/month average) and the release does not define full employment. fomc-sep-2026-09-16.txt: FOMC participants put the longer-run unemployment rate at a 4.2% median (central tendency 4.0…
verified s22.a In 2026 real GDP grew and unemployment stayed low while real hourly earnings fell, so growth and falling purchasing power coexisted; the employment side was steady rather than strong.
qualified (qualify): no direct support, 1 qualifying.
warning needs-qualification: BLS Real Earnings, September 2026: In 2026 real hourly earnings fell 0.7% over the year while real GDP grew 2.5% and 2.2% annualized in Q1 and Q2 and unemployment held at 4.1-4.3%, showing growth and falling purchasing power coexisting; but job gains were weak (+29,000 in September, 45,000/month average), so the employment side was steady rather than strong. Add the qualification: the evidence sup…
18 scenes, 3:18 at 150 words per minute including pauses. Narration is copied from the script; every chart value and on-screen citation is checked against a passage.
1. sc01 · 0:00 to 0:12 typography
The American economy grew in both quarters of 2026 we have numbers for, and yet by September the average hourly paycheck bought less than it had a year before.
Visual. Split field: "The economy grew" lands on the left in green as the first clause is spoken; "The paycheck bought less" lands on the right in red on "bought less".
On screen. The economy grew / The paycheck bought less
Cite. BEA, GDP second quarter 2026BLS, Real Earnings, September 2026
2. sc02 · 0:12 to 0:22 typography
So is this a boom, or are workers going backwards? Which side is right depends on which number you look at.
Visual. The question types on word by word, large and centred; "boom" and "backwards" take the two colours from the previous scene.
On screen. A boom, or going backwards?
3. sc03 · 0:22 to 0:29 typography
Donald Trump has put one side plainly: "The economy is the greatest economy we've ever had by far."
Visual. Quote card, text only: the line sets in large serif; "by far" holds and turns amber.
On screen. "The economy is the greatest economy we've ever had by far."
Cite. Donald Trump, via CNN
4. sc04 · 0:29 to 0:42 typography
The other side points at the paycheck, and CBS News put it bluntly: inflation "is really just eating up all of the wage growth that Trump has talked about and then some".
Visual. Quote card, text only, mirrored from the previous one; "eating up" turns red as it is spoken.
On screen. "is really just eating up all of the wage growth"
Cite. CBS News
5. sc05 · 0:42 to 1:02 data-chart
Start with the boom: how fast is the economy actually growing? Real GDP, the value of everything the country produces after stripping out price rises, grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and 2.2 percent in the second.
Visual. Two horizontal bars, Q1 then Q2 2026, growing in as each figure is spoken; values printed at the bar ends.
| First quarter 2026 | 2.5 percent | 2.5 | percent | BEA GDP, Q2 2026, lines 12-L12 |
| Second quarter 2026 | 2.2 percent | 2.2 | percent | BEA GDP, Q2 2026, lines 12-L12 |
6. sc06 · 1:02 to 1:17 data-chart
That is solid growth, but Federal Reserve officials put the economy's long-run pace at 2.0 percent a year, so this runs only a little above normal, not the surge the word boom suggests.
Visual. The two quarter bars stay; a third bar for the Fed's long-run pace grows in below them, nearly as long. The small gap between them is the point.
| First quarter 2026 | 2.5 percent | 2.5 | percent | BEA GDP, Q2 2026, lines 12-L12 |
| Second quarter 2026 | 2.2 percent | 2.2 | percent | BEA GDP, Q2 2026, lines 12-L12 |
| Fed long-run pace | 2.0 | 2 | percent | fomc-sep-2026-09-16.txt, lines 13-L17 |
Cite. BEA, GDP second quarter 2026FOMC projections, September 2026
7. sc07 · 1:17 to 1:27 data-chart
What about jobs? The unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in September, and it has stayed between 4.1 and 4.3 percent since March.
Visual. Three tiles: September's rate large in the centre, the low and high since March smaller either side.
| September | 4.2 percent | 4.2 | percent | BLS Employment Situation, September 2026, lines 14-L27 |
| Low since March | 4.1 percent | 4.1 | percent | BLS Employment Situation, September 2026, lines 14-L27 |
| High since March | 4.3 percent | 4.3 | percent | BLS Employment Situation, September 2026, lines 14-L27 |
8. sc08 · 1:27 to 1:35 typography
At its September press conference, the Federal Reserve's chair said "the unemployment rate is basically running consistent with full employment".
Visual. Quote card, text only; "full employment" turns amber as it is spoken.
On screen. "the unemployment rate is basically running consistent with full employment"
Cite. Federal Reserve chair, press conference, 16 September 2026
9. sc09 · 1:35 to 1:40 data-chart
But payrolls barely moved: employers added just 29,000 jobs in September.
Visual. One tile, small for a jobs number: +29,000 counts up and stops short.
| Nonfarm payrolls | +29,000 | 29000 | count | BLS Employment Situation, September 2026, lines 14-L27 |
10. sc10 · 1:40 to 1:49 typography
And the jobs report itself never defines full employment, so calling this full employment is a judgement, not a measurement.
Visual. Large title, "judgement" in amber; "measurement" struck through lightly.
On screen. A judgement, not a measurement
11. sc11 · 1:49 to 2:02 data-chart
Now the paycheck, the number most people actually feel. In the year to January 2026, pay beat prices, and average hourly earnings after inflation were up 1.2 percent.
Visual. One green tile: real hourly earnings up 1.2 percent in the year to January 2026.
| Year to January 2026 | 1.2 | 1.2 | percent | BLS CPI, earnings and jobs series 2019-2026, lines 1434-L1434 |
12. sc12 · 2:02 to 2:10 diagram
Then prices jumped in the spring, and from April on, real hourly pay was lower than a year earlier in every month.
Visual. Monthly column chart drawn as a diagram, March to September 2026, year-on-year change in real average hourly earnings, a zero line across the middle. Columns in order with labels: Mar +0.1, Apr -0.2, May -0.8, Jun -0.1, Jul -0.1, Aug -0.2, Sep -0.7. March is a thin green column just above zero; from April each column drops below the line in red, one by one, as "from April on" is spoken. Axis label: "Real hourly pay vs a year earlier, %". No other text.
On screen. Real hourly pay vs a year earlier
Cite. BLS, real average hourly earnings, March to September 2026
13. sc13 · 2:10 to 2:21 data-chart
By September, pay was up 3.0 percent on the year and prices 3.7 percent, leaving real hourly earnings 0.7 percent lower.
Visual. Three tiles in a row: pay 3.0 percent, prices 3.7 percent, then real hourly earnings 0.7 percent lower in red, each landing as it is spoken.
| Pay | 3.0 | 3 | percent | BLS CPI, earnings and jobs series 2019-2026, lines 1436-L1442 |
| Prices | 3.7 | 3.7 | percent | BLS CPI, earnings and jobs series 2019-2026, lines 1436-L1442 |
| Real hourly earnings, decrease | 0.7 percent | 0.7 | percent | BLS Real Earnings, September 2026, lines 11-L14 |
Cite. BLS, earnings and CPI, September 2026BLS, Real Earnings, September 2026
14. sc14 · 2:21 to 2:30 typography
Trump's boast that wages are "rising much faster than inflation" matched the year to January; it does not match the year to September.
Visual. Quote card, text only: the quoted words set large; it holds through the sentence.
On screen. "rising much faster than inflation"
Cite. Donald Trump, via KOMO NewsBLS, real average hourly earnings, January 2026BLS, Real Earnings, September 2026
15. sc15 · 2:30 to 2:41 typography
One limit: these are averages across all employees, so they cannot tell you how the worker in the middle of the pay scale did.
Visual. Small title on a quiet field: "Averages across all employees".
On screen. Averages across all employees
16. sc16 · 2:41 to 2:56 data-chart
So is the economy booming? By these measures, no: it is growing a little faster than the Fed's long-run pace, with unemployment right at the level Fed officials expect it to settle at, but slow hiring.
Visual. Four tiles land in order as the answer names each measure: growth, the long-run pace, unemployment, jobs added.
| GDP growth, second quarter | 2.2 percent | 2.2 | percent | BEA GDP, Q2 2026, lines 12-L12 |
| Fed long-run pace | 2.0 | 2 | percent | fomc-sep-2026-09-16.txt, lines 13-L17 |
| Unemployment | 4.2 percent | 4.2 | percent | BLS Employment Situation, September 2026, lines 14-L27 |
| Jobs added, September | +29,000 | 29000 | count | BLS Employment Situation, September 2026, lines 14-L27 |
Cite. BEA, GDP second quarter 2026FOMC projections, September 2026BLS, Employment Situation, September 2026
17. sc17 · 2:56 to 3:08 typography
Growth and shrinking real pay are not a contradiction: in 2026 they ran side by side, because output, jobs and what a paycheck buys are different measurements.
Visual. Three short lines build one after another as each measure is named.
On screen. Output / Jobs / What a paycheck buys
18. sc18 · 3:08 to 3:18 typography
So the next time someone tells you the economy is booming, or that it is broken, ask one question: which number?
Visual. The question types on large and centred, then holds.
On screen. Which number?