The Truth About Most Popular's Lie Detector

The Awkward Truth — how does it work?

When our insightful audience of 100 has finally winnowed our group of seven original contestants down to the final two, it's time for The Awkward Truth. This is the one chance our contestants have to confront each other with the questions that are burning in their minds.

But to make sure that our two finalists aren't just saying what they think the audience wants to hear, we use a Polygraph Machine, a lie detector, to keep them honest. This all happens backstage during a break in filming.

Separately the two contestants come up with their questions. Those questions are given to our Polygraph Examiner. He is a Certified Polygraph Examiner with over a decade of experience in both criminal and civil environments.

The test is administered with only the contestant and the examiner present. Only yes or no questions can be asked. The overall accuracy of a Polygraph test is approximately 90 - 98%. The contestants are informed of this in advance. No one, including the contestant is told of the outcome of their test at the time it is given. That surprise will come later, on stage.

Back on stage as the cameras roll the two finalists each asks the other the same three questions that they were asked backstage by our professional examiner. While they may elaborate a bit, only the final "yes" or "no" is what counts. At this point even Graham does not know what the lie detector has uncovered. When the result is announced it's a surprise to everyone involved.

As you watch, you may notice that on occasion we get a "Truth / Lie / Truth / Lie” and that's because at times the Polygraph results were inconclusive. In life not everything can be summed up with a yes or no, but even uncovering conflicting emotions within our contestants says something about them and the situation. Which is simply fascinating!