Fifty public statements, predictions, and disputed claims checked against the record. A lighthearted, source-first look at what happens when certainty gets ahead of the evidence.
The Confidence of Being Wrong is a compact work of literary satire about public remarks that were unsupported, contradicted, misleading, or repeated without their full context.
Each entry separates the documented wording from paraphrase, gives the date and context, explains what the evidence does—and does not—show, and points readers to source material. The aim is to question overconfidence, not to confuse a mistake with deliberate deception.
01
Quote disciplineExact wording, reported quotation, and paraphrase are clearly distinguished.
02
Evidence over outrageContext and corrections matter more than a viral headline.
03
Sources you can followEvery case points to supporting reporting or a fact-check.
One entry from the book27 Nov 2016
Donald Trump
“I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
What the record says Trump offered no auditable list establishing millions of illegal ballots. FactCheck.org found no evidence for that number and noted that the research cited did not support his conclusion. Voter-registration errors are not proof of illegal votes cast.
