Credibility score: 44/100 — Mixed Credibility. Several questionable claims detected. Watch with healthy skepticism.
BSmeter analyzed "They told us it was safe…" and rated it 44/100 for credibility (a BS score of 56/100 — mixed credibility), on 2026-10-12. Its weakest claim — "Decades of 'no evidence' claims while lead was everywhere" — scored 20/100 and was flagged as cherry-picked. 8 claims were checked against the video transcript. Scores are produced by BSmeter's AI analysis of the transcript, not independent human verification.
Of 8 claims analyzed: 2 scored under 40, 5 between 40 and 69, and 1 at 70 or above.
At 0:03
Using 'whoever's paying them' to turn scientific funding into a motive of greed 💀
Why this score: He's using loaded, cynical language to frame the entire scientific community as being beholden to corporate or political interests rather than truth.
Original quote: “Most of them work for the good of whoever's paying them.”
At 0:48
Focuses on the corporate trap without mentioning the legal/regulatory landscape of 1920s industrialism 🚩
Why this score: It highlights the power play of a company-controlled study but omits whether there were any independent oversight mechanisms or if this was standard practice for the era.
Original quote: “The government asks for a safety study, but General Motors foots the Bill, complete with a contractual clause. The results must be approved by the company before being released.”
At 1:18
Uses the 'working too hard' line to highlight how they manipulated public perception 💀
Why this score: The speaker is using the company's own PR-friendly phrasing to expose the absurdity of their narrative compared to the physical reality of poisoning.
Original quote: “The company tells reporters that The men had simply been working too hard. ... the scientist calls a press conference to kill the scandal. He pours the liquid over his bare hands”
At 1:54
Uses a massive time span to make a single conclusion feel like an absolute truth 🍒
Why this score: Aggregates decades of corporate 'no evidence' findings into a single sweeping narrative to maximize the sense of tragedy and deception.
Original quote: “The conclusion? Every single time, no evidence of harm. For 70 years, every car on the planet spewed lead into the streets.”
Sources: How the lead industry misled the public about its toxic problem for decades, The Rise and Fall of Leaded Gasoline: An Absurd and True Timeline, How a Doctor Discovered U.S. Walls Were Poisonous
At 2:01
Drops a heavy-hitting statistic that is historically consistent with lead exposure data 💀
Why this score: Provides a specific, high-impact statistic that serves as the empirical punchline to the preceding historical narrative.
Original quote: “By the 1970s, nearly nine out of 10 American children had blood levels high enough to cause permanent poisoning.”
At 2:12
Links a single performance directly to a career promotion as if it were the only factor 🎭
Why this score: It frames a single moment of theatricality as the catalyst for professional advancement, potentially oversimplifying complex corporate politics.
Original quote: “Another press conference, another stunt. He steps on stage, inhales a lungful and blows out a candle. Thunderous applause. The next day, they named him vice president of the new corporation.”
At 2:30
Using 'poison' to describe decades of history is a heavy-handed emotional trap 💀
Why this score: The speaker uses highly evocative, non-scientific terms like 'poison' to create an immediate sense of outrage and moral weight without defining what that poison actually is.
Original quote: “The whole world breathed poison for 70 years, all because of money.”
At 2:37
Selling a 'key to the universe' is the oldest trick in the book 😈
Why this score: The segment shifts from a grand historical claim to a direct pitch for a specific product, promising that one book holds the secret to understanding global mechanics.
Original quote: “Read this book and you will understand. How the world works”