Scores by kind of claim
Each kind of claim is scored on its own, out of 100: the share that held up, with the range it likely falls in. Fewer resolved claims give a wider range.
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Factual claims
Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?
75 61 88 -
Predictions
Statements about events outside the person's control, checked once they fell due: did they come true?
Insufficient record: 2 predictions resolved, 5 needed for a score.
All types combined: 75 (likely 61 to 88, low confidence), from 12 claims: 12 factual claims. It mixes kinds of claim in different proportions for different people, so compare people kind by kind.
Jim Cramer's claims
30 claims
“We got a handwritten letter from President Bok apologizing on behalf of the University for the travesty that was my graduation.”
Jim Cramer, interviewed 16 December 2005 Cramer's About More Than 'Money' (Harvard Crimson)
Cramer said he received a handwritten letter from President Bok apologizing on behalf of the University for the travesty that was his graduation.
Unresolvable The public record could not settle it.
What would count as true or false
True: independent evidence (the letter itself, Harvard archives or Derek Bok's papers, contemporaneous reporting, or confirmation from Bok or Harvard) shows that Harvard President Derek Bok sent Cramer, or his class, a handwritten letter apologizing on the University's behalf for the 1977 commencement, and that it arrived within a few weeks of the ceremony. Mostly true: such a letter is confirmed, but a detail is off, for example it was typed rather than handwritten, it was addressed to the class rather than to Cramer personally, or it came somewhat later. Mostly false: there was an official apology or comment about the commencement, but not a personal letter from Bok, or it was framed in a materially different way. False: Harvard or Bok records, or Cramer's own other accounts, show that no such letter was sent or that the event happened differently. Cramer's own retelling on its own is not enough to support true.
Evidence
- 1432 to Graduate Under Sunny Skies | The Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson · 27 September 2009
“Members of the Class of '77--1007 men and 425 women--will join in the afternoon alumni procession back into the Yard after receiving their diplomas, to hear Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.) and President Bok address the Associated Harvard Alumni.”
- In Cramer We Trust | The Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson · 25 March 2021
“In retaliation, Heimert prevented Cramer from receiving his diploma during his graduation ceremony.”
- Jim Cramer Never Quit Saving, Even When He Was Homeless Market Realist · 2 July 2021
“However, the school’s administration temporarily withheld his diploma after he reported on alleged elitism in the history department.”
- The Untold Truth Of Jim Cramer - Nicki Swift Nicki Swift · 10 January 2019
“"My parents were in tears," Cramer later told the Crimson, adding that he eventually received apologies from the school, as well as Heimert.”
- The Untold Truth Of Jim Cramer - Nicki Swift Nicki Swift · 10 January 2019
“As Heimert was head of the department in which Cramer would graduate, he could prevent Cramer from walking, and so he did.”
- Commencement Address by Jim Cramer P'18, Commencement 2018 Bucknell University · 20 May 2018 Own record
“I came home to Philadelphia, tail between my legs and, while I waited for an investigation to conclude that I actually did deserve a diploma, I began the arduous process of trying to get a newspaper job”
- Commencement Address by Jim Cramer P'18, Commencement 2018 Bucknell University · 20 May 2018 Own record
“he said there would be no diploma for me and he waved me off the stage.”
Reasoning
Independent sources confirm the commencement incident: Heimert prevented Cramer from receiving his diploma at the ceremony (E2, E5), and the diploma was temporarily withheld (E3). The only mention of an apology is E4, which passes on Cramer's own later remarks that he received apologies from the school and from Heimert. It does not name Bok, a handwritten letter, or when the apology came. No Harvard record, Bok confirmation or contemporaneous report shows a handwritten apology letter from Bok, so the claim cannot be settled beyond Cramer's own account.
Cite this claim
Jim Cramer, “Cramer said he received a handwritten letter from President Bok apologizing on behalf of the University for the travesty that was his graduation.” (said 16 December 2005). Verdict: unresolvable. Reliability API, claim c_03fee8feac28, method 0.1.0+c876030c. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_03fee8feac28
Claims without a verdict
Is a verdict here wrong, or do you speak for Jim Cramer? Reply on the claim's own page, with the form at its foot (how replies work). Verdicts are made automatically; how verdicts and scores are made.