Fact-check: “The US national debt has doubled in the last 10 years”
Verdict: Mostly True (88% confidence)
The US national debt has more than doubled over any 10-year window ending in 2024–2026, depending on the exact start date chosen. The Fortune article from October 2024 directly reported total federal debt had doubled to $35.4 trillion, the U.S. Bank cited federal debt having 'roughly doubled over the past decade,' and the Joint Economic Committee confirmed gross national debt hit $38.40 trillion in December 2025. The slight qualification is that 'doubled' (exactly 100% growth) depends on the st…
This fact-check was conducted by SpinkillerAI, a non-partisan AI-powered accountability platform.
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