In the roughly 80 years the speaker refers to, the event he calls "it" has not happened, although atomic weapons are held by people he describes as "not the nicest people in the world".

Judge as of 2024-03-29. Read 'it', in the context of atomic weapons held by dangerous actors, as the use of nuclear weapons in war or attack, or catastrophic nuclear use, since the first atomic weapons about 80 years earlier (1945). If the source context shows that 'it' means something else (e.g. nuclear terrorism), apply the same test to that event. True: there has been no hostile use or detonation of a nuclear weapon in war or attack since August 1945 (tests do not count), and nuclear weapons are held by states credibly described as hostile or authoritarian. Mostly true: the core point holds, but the time span is slightly off (e.g. 79 years) or the characterisation is a minor stretch. Mostly false: there were incidents close to the event (e.g. near-uses) and the claim's framing hides a meaningful partial occurrence. False: the event did occur in the period, e.g. a hostile nuclear detonation after 1945.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 SIPRI Yearbook 2024, Summary SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) · 2024

   “with an overview of each of the nine nuclear-armed states and”

2. E2 SIPRI Yearbook 2024, Summary SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) · 2024

   “Global security continued to deteriorate throughout 2023, as it has for the past decade.”

3. E3 SIPRI Yearbook 2024: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (Summary) Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) · 2024

   “World nuclear forces, with an overview of each of the nine nuclear-armed states and their nuclear modernization programmes”

4. E4 SIPRI Yearbook 2024: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (Summary) Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) · 2024

   “Notably, in 2023 Russia claimed that it had deployed nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.”

5. E5 SIPRI Yearbook 2024: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (Summary) Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) · 2024

   “Russia suspends its participation in New START.”

6. E6 SIPRI Yearbook 2024: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (Summary) Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) · 2024

   “Global security continued to deteriorate throughout 2023, as it has for the past decade.”

7. E7 The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki U.S. National Archives (visit.archives.gov) · 23 July 2020

   “World War II marked the first—and only—wartime use of atomic weapons.”

8. E8 The Return of Tactical Nuclear Weapons? Institut de recherche stratégique de l'École militaire (IRSEM) · 1 January 2026

   “Over the past decade, strategic experts have noted that nuclear weapons have become more prominent on the international stage, despite them not having been used since 1945.”

9. E9 The Return of Tactical Nuclear Weapons? Institut de recherche stratégique de l'École militaire (IRSEM) · 1 January 2026

   “A recent and significant milestone in this regard is the way Russia used nuclear signaling during the invasion of Ukraine.”

10. E10 Nuclear deterrence still at heart of great power strategy: experts The Daily Star (AFP-style wire report) · 29 October 2026

    “While none of the countries possessing nuclear weapons have used them in war since 1945, the implicit or even explicit threat to do so is part of their arsenal.”

The U.S. National Archives calls World War II the first and only wartime use of atomic weapons (E7). IRSEM and a wire report both say nuclear weapons have not been used in war since 1945 (E8, E10), and 1945 to 2024 fits the claim's "roughly 80 years". SIPRI covers nine nuclear-armed states and reports that Russia claimed in 2023 to have deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus and suspended its participation in New START (E3, E4, E5). IRSEM describes Russia's nuclear signalling during the invasion of Ukraine (E9), which supports calling some holders hostile, and none of the evidence records a hostile nuclear detonation after 1945.