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Archive/Truth Lab
PILLAR 03 · FACT VERIFICATION

History is full of convenient stories. We reopen each case.

Every case in Truth Lab is rebuilt from primary sources — federation documents, club annuals, newspaper logs — and published with a signed verdict: busted, confirmed, or still disputed. Folklore is allowed here, but only when it is labeled as folklore.

5 verdicts 2 busted 2 confirmed 1 disputed
1990

Cameroon were the “naive rookies” of Italia '90

The squad averaged 47 caps with 11 players from the 1982 World Cup group. The underdog script was written by broadcasters, not by data.

Myth Busted World Cup 1990 Sources: squad registers
1994

USA '94 still holds the World Cup attendance record

68,991 average across 52 matches — verified line-by-line against FIFA's official post-tournament report. Untouched for 30+ years.

Confirmed World Cup 1994 Sources: FIFA report
1996

Shearer's world-record move killed his form

He scored 47 goals in his first 85 league games after the record transfer. The “flop under pressure” narrative collapses on contact with the fixture list.

Myth Busted Newcastle 1996 Sources: fixture logs
1995

Higuita logged 300+ career saves before 1997

Reconstructed from club annuals and newspaper logs, the verified figure sits at 214. The rest belongs to folklore — we now track it separately.

Disputed Atlético Nacional Sources: club annuals

Full dossiers for Case 003 (Shearer 1996) and Case 004 (Zidane 2006) are live — click the titles to open the case files. Remaining per-case dossiers are being typeset; the homepage section 05 carries the current verdict summaries.

← Current verdicts
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