Glasstrail

Open-source research · geopolitics · energy · money · US public life

We follow the money through public documents.

You see the document, not my opinion. One independent researcher, working from public records: every claim with its source on screen, both sides in their own words, and no verdict from the narrator.

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First case in progress

Worked example · checked Oct 16, 2026

Two Taiwan arms packages. Two kinds of evidence.

This is what the tags are for. Same topic, same year, very different footing.

  1. DOCUMENTDSCA notice · Dec 17, 2025
    “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale…”

    One of several notices that day for Taiwan's office in the US (TECRO). This one: M109A7 howitzers. Formally sent to Congress. Open the source ↗

  2. REPORTEDBreaking Defense · Dec 2025
    “an estimated $11 billion-worth of defense equipment”

    The total is the outlet's sum of that day's notices, not a figure from one document. Open the source ↗

  3. REPORTEDTaipei Times (Bloomberg, AFP) · May 31, 2026
    “the US$14 billion weapons deal” … “that US President Donald Trump has yet to approve”

    A second package. Its contents come from people who “requested anonymity”. No formal notice to Congress. Open the source ↗

  4. ON RECORDDonald Trump, Fox News · May 15, 2026
    “I'm holding that in abeyance and it depends on China. It's a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It's a lot of weapons.”

    The President's own words, in an interview after his Beijing visit (quoted by Spectrum News). Open the source ↗

What the record shows
  • The December 2025 sales are on the official record: notified to Congress by the State Department.
  • The $14 billion package is not. What's in it comes from anonymous sources; that it's on hold comes from the President himself.
What it doesn't show
  • Notified isn't delivered or paid for.
  • Whether or when the $14 billion package will be notified, and what exactly it would contain. Reported still on hold on Sept 29, 2026 (AP).

Four kinds of videos

Case file12–15 min

A big open question

Built up from many sources, one piece of evidence at a time, on the desk.

Receipts6–9 min

Then and now

What was promised, said or voted, set beside what was said or done later. The gap is left as a question.

The Number6–8 min

One number, taken apart

Where a number comes from, what it is made of, and who pays.

One Image5–8 min

A claim, checked on one image

A check, not a ruling: matches, doesn't match, or can't tell, and only about what the image itself can show.

How a case is built

  1. A question, not a conclusion. Who pays, who decided, what changed. The video starts from what we don't know.
  2. The documents. Public records first: notices, filings, budgets, transcripts, images. News reports help find them.
  3. Both sides. Each side in its own words, from the same kind of source, for the same time on screen.
  4. What would change the picture. The ending names what's still unknown and the dates to watch. You decide.

Read the tags

Every source on screen says how strong it is.

DOCUMENT

The record itself: a notice, a filing, a bill, a budget line.

ON RECORD

Someone said it publicly, in their own name: a hearing, a briefing, a speech.

REPORTED

A news outlet reported it. Used to find documents, labelled as reporting.

CLAIMED

One side says so. Shown as a claim, next to the other side.

DATA

A dataset or a number from an official table.

MEASURED

Measured by me on real map data or an image, and shown how.

FILE PHOTO

A real photo from another time or place, with its year, and what it is not.

REAL AUDIO

A real person's real voice, with its source. The narration is my own cloned voice; real audio never is.

Latest

Case logChannel

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Questions

Who runs Glasstrail?

One independent researcher. I keep my name off the channel because it covers sensitive topics; the work doesn't need it, because every source is listed and you can check each one yourself.

Do you take a side?

No. Both sides speak in their own words, from the same kind of source, for the same time on screen. I end on what's unknown and what would change the picture, not on a verdict.

Is this made with AI?

AI tools help me search, organise research, draft and build the animations. I check every claim against its source before it goes on screen. The narration is my own voice, generated from a clone of it. No AI-made realistic images or footage. More on the methods page.

I found a mistake.

Show me the page that proves it: reply under the video or write to contact@glasstraildesk.com. Fixes are pinned under the video, listed on the corrections page and shown on screen in the next video.

Can I suggest something?

Yes: point me to public records, such as a filing, a notice or a dataset, at contact@glasstraildesk.com. Please don't send confidential or leaked material: I don't publish it, and I can't protect sources.

The promise in every video

Every document is linked below each video. If I got something wrong, show me the page, and I'll correct it on screen.