The Rhetoric Desk
6093 turns · 16 annotated episodesMetrics say who won; this desk covers how they play — every turn of talk tagged for tactic and truth-commitment, AI-annotated from diarized transcripts. Turns with uncertain speaker attribution count for half. Facts and labels only; no transcript reprinted here.
The Tactic Ledger — the deception toolkit, ranked
Humor as shieldled by Big Jay Oakerson1384
Misdirectionled by Luis J. Gomez758
Counter-accusationled by Luis J. Gomez313
Flat denialled by Big Jay Oakerson269
Elaborate fabricationled by Big Jay Oakerson124
Overcommitmentled by Big Jay Oakerson119
Feigned ignoranceled by Big Jay Oakerson105
Undercommitmentled by Big Jay Oakerson104
Framing someone elseled by Luis J. Gomez96
Double bluffled by Luis J. Gomez66
Strategic silenceled by Big Jay Oakerson55
Counts are attribution-weighted, so a tactic shouted into crosstalk earns half credit. The double bluff — telling the truth to look like a liar — remains the rarest and most respected play on the board.
The Docket — who points at whom
Gomez v. Oakerson254.5
Oakerson v. Gomez205.5
Gomez v. Lynch26.5
Gomez v. McCann25.5
Oakerson v. Marcellino25.5
Marcellino v. Oakerson24
Gomez v. Shaffir22.5
Gomez v. Compton22
Gomez v. Marcellino21.5
Gomez v. Oberst20.5
Gomez v. McFarlane20.5
Gomez v. Roberts20.5
Suspicion cast, attribution-weighted — filed here as an index of who casts doubt on whom, not a verdict on either party.
The Veracity Ladder
1Truthful assertionSays it straight, even under fire
2Strategic omissionTrue, minus the incriminating part
3Misleading-but-trueEvery word checks out; the impression doesn’t
4Bald-faced lieKnows the truth, asserts the opposite
5BullshitTruth value not consulted at any point
Scored per turn while the speaker is the author under suspicion. Rung five, after Frankfurt: indifference to truth entirely.
Rap Sheets — how they lie
Each performer’s fingerprint on the veracity ladder, taken from turns spent defending their own story. Archetype assigned by dominant tactic.
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful31%
Omission24%
Bald lie22%
1539 turns · 16% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful35%
Omission21%
Bald lie15%
1433 turns · 22% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful45%
Omission28%
Bullshit15%
124 turns · 33% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful40%
Bald lie35%
Bullshit10%
100 turns · 26% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful50%
Misleading-true20%
Bald lie20%
90 turns · 13% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission37%
Bullshit26%
Truthful15%
89 turns · 17% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bald lie37%
Omission28%
Truthful17%
85 turns · 16% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful58%
Omission23%
Bullshit13%
77 turns · 12% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bald lie35%
Omission32%
Misleading-true21%
76 turns · 30% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bald lie37%
Truthful29%
Bullshit13%
72 turns · 22% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission33%
Truthful24%
Bullshit21%
72 turns · 26% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful53%
Bald lie23%
Omission14%
67 turns · 30% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful67%
Omission22%
Bald lie11%
63 turns · 16% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful78%
Omission19%
Misleading-true4%
62 turns · 21% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission83%
Bald lie8%
Truthful8%
61 turns · 41% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission38%
Bald lie23%
Truthful23%
60 turns · 25% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Bald lie37%
Truthful37%
Bullshit19%
60 turns · 20% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bullshit27%
Truthful23%
Bald lie20%
59 turns · 25% uncertain attribution
The Stonewall
Denies flat; elaborates never.
Misleading-true33%
Truthful33%
Bald lie22%
57 turns · 25% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful40%
Omission20%
Misleading-true20%
54 turns · 19% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful33%
Misleading-true30%
Omission24%
51 turns · 20% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission60%
Bald lie25%
Truthful10%
51 turns · 10% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful59%
Bullshit18%
Misleading-true12%
51 turns · 31% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bald lie40%
Truthful40%
Omission20%
49 turns · 27% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful38%
Bullshit31%
Omission25%
47 turns · 17% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful75%
Omission13%
Misleading-true13%
45 turns · 11% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful55%
Omission24%
Bald lie17%
44 turns · 16% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful47%
Misleading-true20%
Omission17%
44 turns · 23% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful22%
Misleading-true22%
Omission19%
42 turns · 14% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Truthful38%
Bald lie21%
Misleading-true17%
42 turns · 14% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission39%
Bald lie35%
Truthful17%
42 turns · 36% uncertain attribution
The Stonewall
Denies flat; elaborates never.
Truthful43%
Omission29%
Bald lie25%
39 turns · 13% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful56%
Bald lie17%
Bullshit17%
39 turns · 5% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Truthful41%
Bald lie26%
Bullshit23%
39 turns · 36% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful50%
Bald lie25%
Omission22%
38 turns · 24% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Omission33%
Truthful33%
Bald lie11%
36 turns · 14% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Bald lie41%
Truthful22%
Bullshit15%
34 turns · 18% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful56%
Omission19%
Bald lie19%
33 turns · 9% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bullshit43%
Misleading-true29%
Truthful14%
32 turns · 31% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Bullshit46%
Truthful31%
Omission23%
31 turns · 16% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful37%
Bullshit32%
Omission11%
30 turns · 20% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Omission29%
Truthful29%
Bald lie21%
29 turns · 14% uncertain attribution
The Frame Artist
Puts the crime on someone else’s sheet.
Truthful58%
Misleading-true17%
Bullshit17%
24 turns · 42% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Truthful40%
Bald lie20%
Bullshit20%
20 turns · 35% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful50%
Bald lie33%
Omission17%
20 turns · 10% uncertain attribution
The Clown Defense
Jokes his way out of scrutiny.
Truthful50%
Omission50%
10 turns · 70% uncertain attribution
The Houdini
Redirects scrutiny before it lands.
Bald lie43%
Truthful43%
Bullshit14%
9 turns · 22% uncertain attribution
Notice to readers
Every round of Story Warz reveals its author, so every one of these labels is checked against ground truth. This desk does not guess who lied; it studies how the confirmed liars did it. Corrections cheerfully printed.