Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
Polygraph countermeasures are techniques for passing or beating a polygraph “test.” Publicly, polygraph operators claim that polygraph countermeasures are ineffective and that they can easily detect them. But documents provided to AntiPolygraph.org reveal that behind closed doors, they admit that countermeasures can indeed be effective and that they are difficult to detect. The most informative …
On 4 April 2013, the Center for Investigative Reporting published two articles by Andrew Becker on U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s pre-employment polygraph screening program. The first, which has garnered considerable attention and was featured on Tina Brown’s The Daily Beast, is “During polygraphs, border agency applicants admit to rape, kidnapping.” ((The Daily Beast ran …
A document (5.4 mb PDF) released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveals the existence of a criminal investigation into polygraph countermeasure training received by ten CBP applicants for employment. The document, first obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting, is a summary of significant admissions obtained during polygraph examinations. The criminal investigation is …
“When the president travels overseas, the Secret Service will bring along a polygraph examiner in case they need to determine quickly whether someone acting suspiciously is intent on doing harm.” So note Marc Ambinder and D.B. Grady in a parenthetical remark at p. 164 of their new book, Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. …
The Arabic-language website Nashwan News reports that the U.S. embassy in Sana’a, Yemen is forcing all locally hired staff to undergo polygraph interrogations, and that any who fail to pass will be terminated. The policy has reportedly had a severely negative effect on employee morale, with some submitting their resignations in protest. AntiPolygraph.org has e-mailed …
On Monday, 25 March 2013, the School of Polygraph Science in Phoenix, Arizona filed suit in federal court against the American Polygraph Association (APA) and its officers. The complaint stems from the APA’s revocation of the school’s accreditation on 29 January 2013 following an unannounced inspection on 5-6 November 2012. The School alleges libel, slander, …
Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur of the on-line news show, The Young Turks, discuss Coopertown, Tennessee police chief Shane Sullivan’s plan to use lie detectors to keep racists off the police force: For relevant discussion of this story on AntiPolygraph.org, see “Can Polygraphs Really Keep Racists out of Law Enforcement?”
News organizations across America yesterday carried an Associated Press story about how the police chief of a small town in Tennessee was using polygraphs to “weed out racists” from the hiring process: Police Chief’s Polygraph Targets Racist Applicants By SHEILA BURKE Associated Press COOPERTOWN, Tenn. March 8, 2013 (AP) A police chief hired to rebuild …
Conor McKeever, writing for Imperial College, London’s science magazine, I, Science, asks the question and in a concise, well-researched article, answers it with a resounding “no,” concluding: “It’s time to expose the fact that lie detectors do not actually ‘tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’ but only someone’s interpretation of …
Historian Ken Alder gave an entertaining presentation at the 2011 Chicago Humanities Festival that has just now come to our attention. He discusses the origins and early history of polygraphy in the United States. Enjoy.