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Insight and Technology

The truth about lie detectors: They don't work and never have

Polygraph machines remain in use despite being widely discredited, and there are much better alternatives for seeking the truth

By Joshua Howgego

22 May 2019

lie detector

Lie detectors, which track pulse, blood pressure and breathing, were often used on The Jeremy Kyle Show

Alamy

THE Jeremy Kyle Show, which has been broadcast in the UK since 2005, was axed by ITV last week. It featured people with troubled relationships arguing in front of a live audience, often spiced up with the addition of a lie detector test. In an episode filmed recently, but never broadcast, a guest failed such a test designed to find out if he had cheated on his fiancée. He was later found dead.

Lie detector tests aren’t exactly rare on TV.…

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