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TRUE, BUTSelf-Marked

The claim is the full hypothesis.

The checking so far is OpenAI's own.

“OpenAI says its system has proved the Exponential Time Hypothesis false, a result it says was subsequently verified in Lean.”

OpenAI, in a blog post and a GitHub preprint (26 October 2026)

Recorded 27 October 2026. Our ruling means: literally true, materially misleading.

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Receipts pack

The evidence file for this verdict

13 receipts: 4 support the claim, 1 contradict it, 8 add context. 4 figures on the record, 1 traced to a quoted receipt.

The receipts

Each source, the line we quote from it, its date and which way it cuts. Free to read and to cite.

  1. 1Supports the claimweb.archive.org ↗

    Surprisingly, our system has recently proved that the ETH is false, a result that was subsequently verified in Lean.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  2. 2Supports the claimraw.githubusercontent.com ↗

    We give a deterministic algorithm for exactly counting the satisfying assignments

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  3. 3Supports the claimraw.githubusercontent.com ↗

    Our algorithm refutes the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH), which

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  4. 4Contextweb.archive.org ↗

    Our AI found its natural language disproof for the ETH on October 16th, 2026

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  5. 5Supports the claimraw.githubusercontent.com ↗

    Lean proves that a deterministic machine exactly counts satisfying assignments of a canonically encoded

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  6. 6Contextraw.githubusercontent.com ↗

    For $m$ clauses, the October 25 manuscript gives the sharper time bound

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  7. 7Contextweb.archive.org ↗

    This work will be verified and shepherded by a group led by Russell Impagliazzo

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  8. 8Contextthenextweb.com ↗

    A group led by Russell Impagliazzo and Ramamohan Paturi of UC San Diego and Ryan Williams of MIT will check and explain the result.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  9. 9Contextthenextweb.com ↗

    has produced a claimed refutation of ETH

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  10. 10Contradicts the claimthenextweb.com ↗

    Our involvement should not be taken as certification of the claim.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  11. 11Contextthenextweb.com ↗

    A result of this significance requires careful, independent scrutiny

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  12. 12Contextthenextweb.com ↗

    Williams said on X that the group signed no non-disclosure agreements and will not be paid.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  13. 13Contextweb.archive.org ↗

    Finding such algorithms, and turning theoretical advances into practical improvements, will require significant further research.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

Members' extras

What each receipt proves, and what would change our mind.

  • What each receipt above proves, in our words
  • The figures table, each number traced to the receipt that states it
  • The trick behind the claim, explained, with the guide to spotting it
  • What would change our verdict
  • Our call on the record, with its due date

The verdict, the opening and every receipt above stay free. Membership adds our analysis to the evidence file for every checked story.

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