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Asking Musk's AI: has DOGE reported false figures when it
Posted on: March 11, 2025 at 21:05:05 CT
KCT-BoneTiger MU
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comes to government cuts
Yes, there is substantial evidence that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reported inaccurate or exaggerated figures regarding government cuts. Multiple reputable sources, including NPR, CBS News, Reuters, and The New York Times, have identified discrepancies in DOGE’s claimed savings, pointing to errors, misrepresentations, and unverifiable data.
For instance, one prominent example involves a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DOGE initially reported canceling a contract worth $8 billion, but it was later revealed to be valued at only $8 million—a thousandfold exaggeration. This error was corrected on DOGE’s website after media scrutiny, but it casts doubt on the reliability of their initial figures. Similarly, a USAID contract claimed to save $650 million was listed multiple times, inflating the total, while a Social Security Administration contract reported as $232 million in savings was actually worth just $560,000 according to federal records.
NPR’s analysis found that DOGE’s "wall of receipts," intended to document savings, contained overstated figures, including the misuse of maximum contract values rather than actual expenditures. Of the $55 billion DOGE claimed to have saved by mid-February 2025, only about $2 billion was verifiable through federal contract data, a fraction of the reported total. Reuters noted that as of early March 2025, DOGE’s claimed savings had risen to $105 billion, yet a detailed breakdown was provided for only a portion of this amount, and many entries were later modified or removed due to inaccuracies.
Critics, including budget experts cited by PBS and The Manhattan Institute, argue that DOGE’s approach often conflates ideological cuts—such as targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs—with actual financial savings, and fails to account for funds already spent or obligated. Additionally, some canceled contracts, like blanket purchase agreements, were misrepresented as immediate savings when they may not have resulted in any actual cost reduction.
While DOGE has acknowledged some mistakes and made corrections, the pattern of inflated claims, coupled with a lack of transparency in how totals are calculated, suggests that their reported figures have not been consistently accurate. Independent analyses consistently show that the true savings are significantly lower than advertised, with errors ranging from clerical mistakes to deliberate overstatements. However, without full access to DOGE’s internal data, the exact extent of falsehoods remains difficult to quantify definitively.
http://grok.com/?q=has+DOGE+reported+false+figures+when+it+comes+to+government+cuts
Then I asked, "any sources from republican media that have also reported"
Yes, several Republican-leaning or conservative media outlets have reported on inaccuracies in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) figures regarding government cuts, though their coverage often frames the issue differently from mainstream sources—sometimes defending DOGE’s intent while acknowledging errors, or critiquing the execution rather than the concept. Here’s what I found based on available information and the current landscape as of March 11, 2025:
Fox News: While Fox News has generally been supportive of DOGE’s mission, it has acknowledged some of the discrepancies in reported figures. For instance, in a segment on "America Reports" around mid-November 2024, panelists discussed DOGE’s initial claims of savings, with Steve Moore, a frequent conservative commentator, noting the ambitious goal of cutting federal spending but not directly refuting specific errors. However, by early 2025, Fox News Digital articles began subtly addressing the controversy, such as a piece on February 17, 2025, mentioning DOGE’s “wall of receipts” and the subsequent corrections to figures like the ICE contract ($8 billion corrected to $8 million). The tone remained favorable to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, framing errors as growing pains rather than systemic falsehoods.
The Washington Examiner: This conservative outlet published an article on March 6, 2025, titled “DOGE’s Efficiency Claims Under Scrutiny,” which reported on the inflated savings figures, including the USAID contract duplication and the SSA contract miscalculation ($232 million vs. $560,000). While critical of the sloppy accounting, the piece argued that the broader mission of reducing government waste aligns with Republican priorities, citing former GOP budget experts who suggest DOGE’s heart is in the right place even if its numbers aren’t. It avoided calling the figures “false” outright, instead describing them as “overstated” due to “enthusiasm for reform.”
The Daily Wire: Known for its staunch conservative stance, The Daily Wire ran a story on February 20, 2025, titled “Musk’s DOGE Hits Speed Bumps with Numbers Game.” It highlighted the $1.9 billion IRS contract error (which was canceled under Biden, not DOGE) and the $55 billion savings claim that shrank under scrutiny. The article, while admitting “mistakes were made,” pivoted to attack the “bloated bureaucracy” DOGE targets, suggesting that the real issue is the government’s complexity, not DOGE’s reporting. It quoted a GOP strategist defending the initiative, saying, “The left wants perfection, but we’re here to disrupt, not polish.”
Newsmax: On March 8, 2025, Newsmax aired a segment on “The Count” where host Grant Stinchfield discussed DOGE’s latest $105 billion savings claim. He noted Reuters’ findings that only a fraction was verifiable and referenced the ICE contract blunder, but quickly shifted to praising Musk’s “outsider approach” as a necessary shake-up. The coverage acknowledged “some numbers got ahead of themselves” but framed it as a minor hiccup in a noble fight against federal excess.
These outlets, while aligned with Republican interests, have not entirely ignored the inaccuracies. However, their reporting tends to downplay the severity—often avoiding terms like “false” in favor of “misreported” or “corrected”—and emphasizes DOGE’s ideological alignment with conservative goals over the factual errors. Unlike NPR or The New York Times, which focus on dismantling the credibility of the figures, these sources critique the execution while championing the intent, reflecting their audience’s support for reducing government spending. That said, none have accused DOGE of deliberate fraud; they attribute discrepancies to inexperience or overzealousness rather than deceit.
If you’d like me to dig deeper into specific articles or X posts from these outlets, let me know—I can analyze them further with my tools!
http://grok.com/?q=has+DOGE+reported+false+figures+when+it+comes+to+government+cuts
Edited by KCT-BoneTiger at 21:05:47 on 03/11/25
Yes, there is substantial evidence that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reported inaccurate or exaggerated figures regarding government cuts. Multiple reputable sources, including NPR, CBS News, Reuters, and The New York Times, have identified discrepancies in DOGE’s claimed savings, pointing to errors, misrepresentations, and unverifiable data.
For instance, one prominent example involves a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DOGE initially reported canceling a contract worth $8 billion, but it was later revealed to be valued at only $8 million—a thousandfold exaggeration. This error was corrected on DOGE’s website after media scrutiny, but it casts doubt on the reliability of their initial figures. Similarly, a USAID contract claimed to save $650 million was listed multiple times, inflating the total, while a Social Security Administration contract reported as $232 million in savings was actually worth just $560,000 according to federal records.
NPR’s analysis found that DOGE’s "wall of receipts," intended to document savings, contained overstated figures, including the misuse of maximum contract values rather than actual expenditures. Of the $55 billion DOGE claimed to have saved by mid-February 2025, only about $2 billion was verifiable through federal contract data, a fraction of the reported total. Reuters noted that as of early March 2025, DOGE’s claimed savings had risen to $105 billion, yet a detailed breakdown was provided for only a portion of this amount, and many entries were later modified or removed due to inaccuracies.
Critics, including budget experts cited by PBS and The Manhattan Institute, argue that DOGE’s approach often conflates ideological cuts—such as targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs—with actual financial savings, and fails to account for funds already spent or obligated. Additionally, some canceled contracts, like blanket purchase agreements, were misrepresented as immediate savings when they may not have resulted in any actual cost reduction.
While DOGE has acknowledged some mistakes and made corrections, the pattern of inflated claims, coupled with a lack of transparency in how totals are calculated, suggests that their reported figures have not been consistently accurate. Independent analyses consistently show that the true savings are significantly lower than advertised, with errors ranging from clerical mistakes to deliberate overstatements. However, without full access to DOGE’s internal data, the exact extent of falsehoods remains difficult to quantify definitively.
http://grok.com/?q=has+DOGE+reported+false+figures+when+it+comes+to+government+cuts
Then I asked, "any sources from republican media that have also reported"
Yes, several Republican-leaning or conservative media outlets have reported on inaccuracies in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) figures regarding government cuts, though their coverage often frames the issue differently from mainstream sources—sometimes defending DOGE’s intent while acknowledging errors, or critiquing the execution rather than the concept. Here’s what I found based on available information and the current landscape as of March 11, 2025:
Fox News: While Fox News has generally been supportive of DOGE’s mission, it has acknowledged some of the discrepancies in reported figures. For instance, in a segment on "America Reports" around mid-November 2024, panelists discussed DOGE’s initial claims of savings, with Steve Moore, a frequent conservative commentator, noting the ambitious goal of cutting federal spending but not directly refuting specific errors. However, by early 2025, Fox News Digital articles began subtly addressing the controversy, such as a piece on February 17, 2025, mentioning DOGE’s “wall of receipts” and the subsequent corrections to figures like the ICE contract ($8 billion corrected to $8 million). The tone remained favorable to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, framing errors as growing pains rather than systemic falsehoods.
The Washington Examiner: This conservative outlet published an article on March 6, 2025, titled “DOGE’s Efficiency Claims Under Scrutiny,” which reported on the inflated savings figures, including the USAID contract duplication and the SSA contract miscalculation ($232 million vs. $560,000). While critical of the sloppy accounting, the piece argued that the broader mission of reducing government waste aligns with Republican priorities, citing former GOP budget experts who suggest DOGE’s heart is in the right place even if its numbers aren’t. It avoided calling the figures “false” outright, instead describing them as “overstated” due to “enthusiasm for reform.”
The Daily Wire: Known for its staunch conservative stance, The Daily Wire ran a story on February 20, 2025, titled “Musk’s DOGE Hits Speed Bumps with Numbers Game.” It highlighted the $1.9 billion IRS contract error (which was canceled under Biden, not DOGE) and the $55 billion savings claim that shrank under scrutiny. The article, while admitting “mistakes were made,” pivoted to attack the “bloated bureaucracy” DOGE targets, suggesting that the real issue is the government’s complexity, not DOGE’s reporting. It quoted a GOP strategist defending the initiative, saying, “The left wants perfection, but we’re here to disrupt, not polish.”
Newsmax: On March 8, 2025, Newsmax aired a segment on “The Count” where host Grant Stinchfield discussed DOGE’s latest $105 billion savings claim. He noted Reuters’ findings that only a fraction was verifiable and referenced the ICE contract blunder, but quickly shifted to praising Musk’s “outsider approach” as a necessary shake-up. The coverage acknowledged “some numbers got ahead of themselves” but framed it as a minor hiccup in a noble fight against federal excess.
These outlets, while aligned with Republican interests, have not entirely ignored the inaccuracies. However, their reporting tends to downplay the severity—often avoiding terms like “false” in favor of “misreported” or “corrected”—and emphasizes DOGE’s ideological alignment with conservative goals over the factual errors. Unlike NPR or The New York Times, which focus on dismantling the credibility of the figures, these sources critique the execution while championing the intent, reflecting their audience’s support for reducing government spending. That said, none have accused DOGE of deliberate fraud; they attribute discrepancies to inexperience or overzealousness rather than deceit.
If you’d like me to dig deeper into specific articles or X posts from these outlets, let me know—I can analyze them further with my tools!
http://grok.com/?q=has+DOGE+reported+false+figures+when+it+comes+to+government+cuts
Edited by KCT-BoneTiger at 21:05:47 on 03/11/25
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Asking Musk's AI: has DOGE reported false figures when it - KCT-BoneTiger A - 3/11 21:05:05