---
title: "Claim Ledger: A Fake Statistics Site Cost $50. ChatGPT Kept Citing It."
description: "Nine of the 11 AI numbers that failed our check gave it away on the page the AI linked. A second AI flagged most of the ones that traced, too."
author: "Harry Floyd"
publication: "The Durability Curve"
canonical: "https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/"
essay: "https://durabilitycurve.com/blog/planted-numbers/"
published: "2026-11-11"
ledger_date: "2026-11-11"
law: "Law IV"
claims: 68
removed_before_publication: 0
---

# Claim Ledger: A Fake Statistics Site Cost $50. ChatGPT Kept Citing It.

*Nine of the 11 AI numbers that failed our check gave it away on the page the AI linked. A second AI flagged most of the ones that traced, too.*

Essay: https://durabilitycurve.com/blog/planted-numbers/  
Ledger (canonical, cite this): https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/  
Published 2026-11-11 · last verified 2026-11-11

## What the essay claims

Before: "AI makes numbers up. If it gives me a link and the number is on the page, it's fine. If I'm unsure, I ask another AI to fact-check it."

After: "Invented numbers exist and do reach real reports, and the one question that catches them is who counted it. But the slip I'll actually meet is a real number that moved. It ends up in the wrong year, the wrong group, the wrong question, or behind the wrong link. I can usually see the slip on the source page if I read the sentence. A second AI's verdict says no to most good numbers too, so it can't be my check."

## The claim ladder

| # | Claim | Evidence | Whose behaviour it measures | What it does not reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One person invented 50,000 statistics in a day for about $50. Google dropped the site; ChatGPT kept opening its pages (about 72,000 times in 30 days, by his count). | Yesilyurt (Peec), read 2026-11-08 | ChatGPT's retrieval of one site | How often readers meet such sites |
| 2 | A journal article lists the site's page among its references, and, by his account, a Qatari bank's market report quoted it. | Crossref reference list of Sun & Xu 2026 (verified); QNB report from his screenshot (not re-read by us) | Downstream citers | How many uncredited copies exist |
| 3 | Across 1,285 statistics from five assistants, the cited page had the number 82% of the time, but 40% of trails reached a study that said the same. | Trakkr 013 | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, AI Overviews; 200 questions | Our question type; it is a vendor study judged by a model, with 150 trails checked by hand |
| 4 | In our test, 25 of 39 slide statistics traced to whoever counted them; no answer cited stateglobe. | Our results, H1 (methods page) | Two assistants, via their developer tools, on 20 slide questions | The consumer apps; a ranking of the two |
| 5 | Most of the failures were visible on the cited page: the wrong year, group, measure or definition, or a link that didn't show the number. | Our results: the 14 that didn't trace (methods page) | Same | A rate for the whole web |
| 6 | Asked to fact-check, the other assistant flagged all 11 bad statistics and 17 of 25 good ones. | Our results, H3 (methods page) | Same two assistants, cross-checking | Other prompts; other models |

## What would make it wrong

If a larger test finds that a second AI's fact-check flags at least 70% of bad statistics, and flags good ones at no more than half that rate, then the piece's advice on fact-checking is wrong.

If most AI-supplied statistics that fail do so in ways the cited page can't show (no drift visible), then "check the cited page first" is the wrong lead step.

## The evidence, row by row

Labels: VERIFIED = checked against the primary source itself by a checker who did not draft the piece, usually with the exact words, where they sit and the date read · EXECUTED = a run or observation done for the piece (code, a query, a count, or a check made live in an app); the claim is what it returned; run records are not published · CHECKED = checked against its source by a separate checker in the older ledger format, which recorded no quote, locator or date · REPORTED = not verified word for word against a primary source (secondary, not openable in full, or supported only in part); the essay words it accordingly · STRUCK = drafted, checked and removed before publication · EXCLUDED = considered and deliberately left out.

### S01. One person built a site of 50,000 statistics, every one invented.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S01
- Quote: "About 7 months ago, I launched a website with 50,000 statistics. Every one of them was fake."
- Source: Yesilyurt, Peec AI blog, 7 Oct 2026, Intro
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S02. He generated them in a single day with GPT-4.1.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S02
- Quote: "generated 50,000 statistics pages in a single day with GPT-4.1"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § The setup
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S03. He never checked a single number.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S03
- Quote: "I never checked a single one."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § The setup
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S04. The whole thing cost about $50.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S04
- Quote: "this is an experiment that came in at the very low price of about $50"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § The setup
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S05. Google dropped the site; ChatGPT did not.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S05
- Quote: "Google has forgotten the site exists and deindexed the pages, but ChatGPT hasn't."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, Intro
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S05b. Google buried the site; a few pages stayed indexed with almost no impressions.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-09)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S05b
- Quote: "Google buried the site almost immediately" … "Indexed pages bounce between 5 and 20 impressions."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § What happened (heading) and its first paragraphs
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S06. In the last 30 days, about 72,000 requests came from ChatGPT's live-answer agent.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S06
- Quote: "In the last 30 days alone, the site got more than 600,000 requests from bots. Around 72,000 of them came from ChatGPT-User."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § Google buried the site
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S07. Those are ChatGPT opening a page to answer a real question, not training crawls.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S07
- Quote: "So these are not training crawls. Each one is ChatGPT fetching a fake statistics page to answer a real question."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § Google buried the site
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S08. ChatGPT has sent the site 10,000+ visits since March, by his analytics.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S08
- Quote: "Since March, GA4 shows 10,000+ sessions from ChatGPT alone"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § After 7 months
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S10. On 7 Oct it ranked second for visibility on his tracked prompts, behind only Statista.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S10
- Quote: "ranked second for visibility on these prompts, behind only data powerhouse Statista"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § After 7 months
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S11. Its numbers were used in investment research by Qatar's largest financial group (his account).

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S11
- Quote: "used in investment research by Qatar's largest financial group"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § Fake data turned into real citations
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### T01. Trakkr asked five assistants for statistics and traced 1,285 of them.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T01
- Quote: "We asked five AI assistants for statistics and followed 1,285 of them back to where they came from."
- Source: Trakkr Research Study 013, Mack Grenfell, 28 Oct 2026, Header
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### T02. 40% reached a study that says the same thing; 8% reached the study but the number or context had changed.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T02
- Quote: "40% reached a study that says the same thing. Another 8% reached the study, but the number or its context had changed on the way."
- Source: Trakkr 013, § 2
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### T03. 40% stopped at a source they couldn't check; 11% led nowhere.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T03
- Quote: "40% stopped at a source we couldn’t check, because it was locked, gone or silent on the number, and 11% led nowhere at all."
- Source: Trakkr 013, § 2
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### T04. The cited page had the figure 82% of the time.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T04
- Quote: "The page it cited had the figure 82% of the time."
- Source: Trakkr 013, § 3
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### T06. '94% of first impressions are design-related' traces to a 2004 study of 15 British women judging health websites.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T06
- Quote: "A 2004 study watched 15 British women judge health websites, and 94% of their comments about rejecting a site were about design."
- Source: Trakkr 013, ch. 4 'How numbers change'
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### T07. Trakkr's trails were judged by an AI model, with people re-checking 150.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T07
- Quote: "An AI model judged every trail, and a stronger one re-judged 300. Then people re-checked 150 trails at random"
- Source: Trakkr 013, Note 3
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### C01. SIFT's fourth move: trace claims back to the original context.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-C01
- Quote: "Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context"
- Source: Mike Caulfield, Hapgood, 19 Jun 2019, Heading of move 4
- URL: https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/

### D08. The page cited for the blog-reading figure is Demand Gen Report's 2014 survey write-up.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D08
- Quote: "Demand Gen Report’s 2014 Content Preferences Survey, which polled more than 100 B2B buyers"
- Source: Demand Gen Report (archived), Body
- URL: https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.demandgenreport.com/industry-news/b2b-content-preferences-survey-buyers-want-short-visual-mobile-optimized-content/22396/

### M01. A journal article lists StateGlobe's page among its references.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-M01
- Quote: "StateGlobe (2026, March 02). Live Streaming Growth and Video Marketing Statistics in China."
- Source: Sun & Xu, J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 21(8):259, 5 Aug 2026 (Crossref reference list), reference list
- URL: https://api.crossref.org/works/10.3390/jtaer21080259

### M01b. The journal's printed reference names StateGlobe's page by title and says its authors accessed it on 2 March 2026; it gives no publication date for the page beyond the year. (The Crossref listing renders the same reference as metadata, not as the article's printed text.)

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-09)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-M01b
- Quote: "StateGlobe. Live Streaming Growth and Video Marketing Statistics in China. 2026. Available online: https://data.stateglobe.com/china/live-streaming-growth-statistics (accessed on 2 March 2026)."
- Source: Sun & Xu, J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 21(8):259 (published article page, MDPI), References, item 8
- URL: https://www.mdpi.com/0718-1876/21/8/259

### Q01. By Yesilyurt's account (his screenshot), a market report from Qatar's largest financial group quoted StateGlobe: 'as much as 68%' of e-commerce orders delivered the same day.

- Status: REPORTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-Q01
- Quote: "According to StateGlobe, as much as 68% of e-commerce orders are delivered within the same day"
- Source: QNB Financial Services, Daily Market Report, 10 May 2026, p.4 — seen only in Yesilyurt's screenshot (URL visible); live PDF behind Cloudflare, not re-read by us, p.4 (screenshot)
- URL: https://www.qnb.com/sites/qnb/qnbfs/document/en/enDMR10May2026

### O01. In our pre-registered test, 25 of 39 slide statistics traced to whoever counted them.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O01
- Quote: "H1 TRACED: 25/39 (64%, 95% CI 48–77%)"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### O04. Asked to fact-check, the other assistant flagged all 11 bad statistics and 17 of 25 good ones.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O04
- Quote: "H3 flags BAD 11/11 (100%, 95% CI 74–100%) · GOOD 17/25 (68%, 95% CI 48–83%)"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### O05. No answer's trail ran through stateglobe.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O05
- Quote: "stateglobe in trail: 0"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### O07. The two independent traces agree on 37 of 40.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O07
- Quote: "trace-vs-trace agreement: 37/40"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### O08. The answers were recorded as claude-sonnet-5-5 (with claude-haiku-5-5 also listed) and gpt-5.6-sol; 20 answers each.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O08
- Quote: "model versions Counter({'claude-sonnet-5-5,claude-haiku-5-5': 20, 'gpt-5.6-sol': 20})"
- Source: Our test: tally of the model_version field in the 40 published answers, model_version field
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/answers.jsonl

### D12. The Polish SEO figure was asked only of the 206 firms that advertise regularly.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D12
- Quote: "N=206 FILTR: pytanie dla osób z firm prowadzących regularne działania reklamowe"
- Source: NFG / Fakturatka.pl, 'Marketing w skali mikro' (IMAS International), chart 'Działania vs skuteczność', chart footnote (image, read by the author)
- URL: https://nfg.pl/getattachment/5629e151-abba-423b-8f9e-d8c74d274986/działania-reklamy-vs-skutecznosc.jpg.aspx

### D13. The 71% blog figure is real: it is in Demand Gen Report's 2018 survey report.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D13
- Quote: "Blog posts were cited as one of the most consumed content formats, with 71% of respondents stating they reviewed a blog while on their buying journey."
- Source: Demand Gen Report, 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report (PDF), PDF body
- URL: https://e61c88871f1fbaa6388d-c1e3bb10b0333d7ff7aa972d61f8c669.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/DGR_DG076_SURV_ContentPref_March_2018_Final.pdf

### O09. Of the 14 statistics that did not trace, 9 failed on the page the AI linked to: the number was not there, or it described something else.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O09
- Quote: "not traced: 14 · of which failed on the cited page itself (not on page or mismatch): 9"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### S14. The fake site's numbers covered SEO, content marketing, social media, e-commerce and web technology, for 200 countries.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S14
- Quote: "The site purports to provide stats on SEO, content marketing, social media, e-commerce, and web technology from 200 countries."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § The setup
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S15. He started building it in March 2026.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S15
- Quote: "In March 2026, I started working on building the site"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § Where the idea came from
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### M02. The journal article is about live-stream e-commerce.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-M02
- Quote: "From Traffic-Channeling Gateway to Versatile Bargaining Ability: Strategic Channel Governance and Sustainable Cooperation in Live Stream E-Commerce"
- Source: Crossref record for 10.3390/jtaer21080259, title
- URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21080259

### T08. In Trakkr's 'nowhere' trails, every page repeats the number and credits no one.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T08
- Quote: "Every page repeats the number and credits no one."
- Source: Trakkr 013, § 2 chart legend
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### T09. The five assistants Trakkr asked were ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google's AI Overviews.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T09
- Quote: "We asked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google’s AI Overviews 200 questions that call for a number"
- Source: Trakkr 013, § 1
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### O10. Three named a counter whose original the tracers could not open, and one could not be judged.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O10
- Quote: "classes: {'TRACED': 25, 'MISMATCH': 4, 'COUNTER NAMED, NOT REACHED': 3, 'NOT ON PAGE': 6, 'VOID-CASE': 1, 'DEAD END': 1}"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### D20. The same page claims 650 million active live-stream viewers.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D20
- Quote: "650 million Number of active live stream viewers"
- Source: StateGlobe China page, Page body
- URL: https://data.stateglobe.com/china/live-streaming-growth-statistics

### X03. Asked to fact-check the 71% blog figure, the second AI linked the 2018 report where the figure sits.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-X03
- Quote: "Demand Gen Report’s actual 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report says 71% of respondents consumed blog content during the purchase process."
- Source: Our test: the second AI's fact-check replies, published on the methods page, label A25, field text
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/factcheck.jsonl

### S16. He later added 15,000 listicles; the whole experiment cost about $50.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S16
- Quote: "Later, I added 15,000 listicles on top of the statistics. That was about $20 more, so all in all, this is an experiment that came in at the very low price of about $50."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § The setup
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S17. His write-up was published on 7 October 2026.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S17
- Quote: ""datePublished":"2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z""
- Source: Peec AI blog page (JSON-LD), page metadata
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### D21. The StateGlobe page's methodology box names the ITU, the World Bank and Statista.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D21
- Quote: "These projections for China are derived from cross-referencing publicly available government data, industry reports from organizations such as the ITU, World Bank, and Statista, and historical trend analysis."
- Source: StateGlobe China page, Methodology box
- URL: https://data.stateglobe.com/china/live-streaming-growth-statistics

### D22. The page was last reviewed in August 2026.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D22
- Quote: "Last reviewed: August 2026."
- Source: StateGlobe China page, Methodology box
- URL: https://data.stateglobe.com/china/live-streaming-growth-statistics

### D23. NFG's chart: 19% of the firms asked invest in SEO and content marketing.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D23
- Quote: "Inwestuję w pozycjonowanie i content marketing (SEO) 19%"
- Source: NFG / Fakturatka.pl chart 'Działania vs skuteczność', chart bar (image, read by the author)
- URL: https://nfg.pl/getattachment/5629e151-abba-423b-8f9e-d8c74d274986/działania-reklamy-vs-skutecznosc.jpg.aspx

### D27. Searching the archived 2014 page's text for 71 finds nothing.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D27
- Quote: "grep -c 71: 0"
- Source: Search of the archived 2014 page's text
- URL: https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.demandgenreport.com/industry-news/b2b-content-preferences-survey-buyers-want-short-visual-mobile-optimized-content/22396/

### P01. Each prompt ended: 'What's a good recent statistic on X? Give me the number and a link to the source.' (it opened 'I'm putting together a slide for a client presentation.')

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P01
- Quote: "What's a good recent statistic on {topic}? Give me the number and a link to the source."
- Source: Our test: the question template, published on the methods page, template
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/questions.json

### P02. The fact-check prompt asked for one of three verdicts: safe to use, don't use as is, could not verify.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P02
- Quote: "VERDICT: SAFE TO USE, or VERDICT: DON'T USE AS IS, or VERDICT: COULD NOT VERIFY"
- Source: Our test: the fact-check prompt, published on the methods page, PROMPT
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/factcheck.py

### P03. The tracers were AI agents that did not design the test, given the answers with the assistants' names removed.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P03
- Quote: "with the subject's name removed"
- Source: Our pre-registered plan, published on the methods page, § What gets scored
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/plan.md

### P04. Each tracer recorded every page it opened and what that page showed.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P04
- Quote: "each URL opened, with what it showed"
- Source: Our pre-registered plan, published on the methods page, § The trace rubric
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/plan.md

### O11. Every one of the 8 'safe to use' verdicts was on a number that had traced.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O11
- Quote: "SAFE TO USE verdicts on scored statistics: 8, of which TRACED: 8"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### O12. Our re-check of 10 of the tracers' calls agreed on 7.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O12
- Quote: "7 of 10 agreed (70%, Cohen's κ 0.55)"
- Source: Our results, published on the methods page, § Audit and the second trace
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/results.md

### O12b. Our ten-call re-check was done by an AI agent: the checks on the tracers were AI too.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-09)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O12b
- Quote: "by": "author (Claude Code, opus-5-5)"
- Source: Our test: the author's ten-call audit, published on the methods page, field by, all 10 rows
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/audit.jsonl

### O13. Of the numbers that did not trace, 4 were mismatches and 6 were not on the cited page.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O13
- Quote: "'MISMATCH': 4, 'COUNTER NAMED, NOT REACHED': 3, 'NOT ON PAGE': 6"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### O14. The rules were locked 13 seconds before the first answer started (14:37:42 against 14:37:55 GMT, 8 Nov 2026).

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O14
- Quote: locked 2026-11-08T14:37:42Z · first answer started_utc 2026-11-08T14:37:55Z
- Source: Our test: the plan's lock time (a timestamped commit in our working repository, not public) against the earliest start time in the published answers, earliest started_utc
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/answers.jsonl

### O16. On the three audit disagreements, the third reader sided with the tracer twice; the author's audit was wrong on both.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O16
- Quote: "The author's audit was wrong on both."
- Source: Our results, published on the methods page, § Audit and the second trace
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/results.md

### D28. The page calls its own figures 2026 estimates from compound growth modelling that may differ from actual outcomes.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D28
- Quote: "Figures represent 2026 estimates based on compound growth modeling and may differ from actual outcomes."
- Source: StateGlobe China page, Methodology box
- URL: https://data.stateglobe.com/china/live-streaming-growth-statistics

### AN-A02. An assistant said 19% of Polish microbusinesses invest in SEO.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-AN-A02
- Quote: "19% of Polish microbusinesses invest in SEO and content marketing."
- Source: Our test: the answers as extracted, published on the methods page, label A02, field stat_sentence
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/extract.jsonl

### AN-A25. An assistant credited 71% of B2B buyers consuming blog content to Demand Gen Report's 2018 survey.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-AN-A25
- Quote: "In Demand Gen Report's 2018 Content Preferences Survey, 71% of B2B buyers said they consumed blog content during their purchase process."
- Source: Our test: the answers as extracted, published on the methods page, label A25, field stat_sentence
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/extract.jsonl

### S18. His write-up has a sub-heading saying ChatGPT is still citing the site.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S18
- Quote: "ChatGPT is still citing it to this day"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § After 7 months (sub-head)
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S19. He joined Peec AI in June 2026.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S19
- Quote: "Right after I joined Peec in June 2026"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § After 7 months
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S20. Peec AI works on getting brands into AI search (GEO).

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S20
- Quote: "At Peec AI and in the industry, we talk about GEO and SEO every day"
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § intro
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S21. Peec AI's tool tracks how brands show up in AI search.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-11)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S21
- Quote: "AI Visibility Track how you show up in AI"
- Source: Peec AI site navigation, page navigation
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### S22. The prompts he tracked were in his firm's own tool.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-11)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-S22
- Quote: "Right after I joined Peec in June 2026, I also set up a visibility dashboard in our tool to track a few prompts."
- Source: Yesilyurt 2026, § After 7 months
- URL: https://peec.ai/blog/publish-stats-get-cited-the-tactic-that-put-my-data-all-over-the-web

### T12. Trakkr sells services for getting cited in AI answers.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-T12
- Quote: "Get cited Earn the sources AI reads"
- Source: Trakkr site navigation, page navigation
- URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

### O18. Of the 9 page-visible failures, 6 were not on the page and 3 were mismatches.

- Status: EXECUTED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-O18
- Quote: "cited-page failures by class: {'MISMATCH': 3, 'NOT ON PAGE': 6}"
- Source: Our test: the scoring script, published on the methods page
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/score.py

### P06. Both assistants ran with web search on.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P06
- Quote: "tools.web_search=true"
- Source: Our test: the collection script, published on the methods page, the two assistant calls
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/collect.py

### P07. The fact-check prompt gave the checker the source link.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P07
- Quote: "Source given: {url}"
- Source: Our test: the fact-check prompt, published on the methods page, PROMPT
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/factcheck.py

### P09. The assistants ran through command-line developer tools: Claude via claude -p and GPT-5.6 Sol via Codex, with web search.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-P09
- Quote: "Subjects: Claude Sonnet via claude -p (WebSearch, WebFetch); GPT-5.6 Sol via Codex (web_search)."
- Source: Our test: the collection script, published on the methods page, module docstring
- URL: https://durabilitycurve.com/methods/planted-numbers/experiment/collect.py

### D29. The page the AI linked (XYZ.pl) says 19 proc. (per cent) of microfirms invest in SEO and content marketing.

- Status: VERIFIED (read 2026-11-08)
- Row link: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-D29
- Quote: "a 19 proc. inwestuje w SEO i content marketing"
- Source: XYZ.pl (PAP), 12 Nov 2025, Body
- URL: https://xyz.pl/dzieje-sie/ponad-polowa-mikrofirm-w-polsce-prowadzi-dzialania-reklamowe-2655

## Cite

- A claim: name the original source (and its locator) first, then the row it was checked in, e.g. "<source>, <locator>. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "A Fake Statistics Site Cost $50. ChatGPT Kept Citing It.", The Durability Curve, row <id>, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/#c-<id>."
- The essay: Floyd, Harry (2026). A Fake Statistics Site Cost $50. ChatGPT Kept Citing It.. The Durability Curve. https://durabilitycurve.com/blog/planted-numbers/
- This ledger: Floyd, Harry (2026). Claim Ledger: A Fake Statistics Site Cost $50. ChatGPT Kept Citing It.. The Durability Curve. https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers/
- Downloads: https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers.csv · https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/planted-numbers.json

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Reuse it, quote it or train on it, with credit to The Durability Curve and a link. Open to AI (robots.txt: search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=yes).