Tier	Questions	Prize Amount
1	6	$10,000
2	5	$25,000
3	4	$100,000
4	3	$200,000
5	2	$350,000
6	1	$500,000

The Moment of Truth is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 based on the Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n Nada más que la verdad

Nada más que la verdad

Nada más que la verdad is a game show created by Howard Schultz, an American television producer and owner of Lighthearted Entertainment. It was first aired in Colombia. The hosts asks the contestants a series of 21 increasingly personal and embarrassing questions for a huge jackpot...

 format ("Nothing More than the Truth"). Contestants answer a series of 21 increasingly personal and embarrassing questions to receive cash prizes. The show is hosted by Mark L. Walberg

Mark L. Walberg

Mark Lewis Walberg is an American actor, television personality and game show host. His television credits include Antiques Roadshow , as well as the game shows Russian Roulette on GSN and The Moment of Truth on Fox....

 and aired on the Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 network. The show premiered on January 23, 2008 and ended on August 8, 2009.

On February 1, 2008, Fox ordered an additional 13 episodes of the show, bringing its episode order to 23. It was supposed to be on Fox's fall lineup, but was pushed back to make room for FOX's new game show Hole in the Wall, as well as the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)

So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...

.

Format

Prior to the show, a contestant is administered a polygraph

Polygraph

A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...

 exam and asked more than 50 questions - many of which are then asked again in front of the studio audience during the actual taping of the program. Without knowing the results of the polygraph, he or she is asked 21 of those same questions again on the program, each becoming progressively more personal in nature. If the contestant answers honestly, according to the polygraph results, he or she moves on to the next question; however, should a contestant lie in his or her answer (as determined by the polygraph) or simply refuse to answer a question after it has been asked, the game ends. If he/she gives a false answer before the $10,000 level of questions, he/she leaves with nothing; after the $25,000 level, if a false answer is given, the contestant leaves with $25,000 (during the first season, a false answer on any level caused the player to leave with nothing). For each tier of questions answered correctly, the contestant wins the corresponding amount of money. A contestant may stop at any time before any question is asked and collect their earnings, but once they hear a question, they must answer it or lose the game. Answering all 21 questions truthfully, as determined by the polygraph results, wins the jackpot of $500,000.

The questions vary, increasing in difficulty and degree of personal nature of the questions. Sometimes, a "surprise guest"—such as an ex-partner or a good friend—will come on the stage and ask a particularly difficult question. Friends, colleagues, and family of the contestant who are gathered near the player have access to a button which can be used to switch out a question once per game, an option which is introduced to them after the third question.

Though no contestant on the shows aired by FOX has answered all 21 questions truthfully as determined by the polygraph testing, according to Mike Darnell

Mike Darnell

Michael H. Darnell is an American television executive.Darnell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He is currently president of Alternative Entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company. He is credited for launching When Animals Attack!, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire,...

, president of alternative entertainment at Fox, "In the vast majority of contestants, 99%, you get, 'Hmm, I was a little worried when I answered that question.'" The series requires contestants to sign an agreement that they will accept the conclusions drawn by the polygraph examiner.

However, one contestant in the unaired third season did answer all 21 questions truthfully to win the top prize. The contestant was Melanie Williams, a member of a secretive polygamist group. Most of the questions centered around the secrets of polygamy and what took place in the group in which Williams was a member.

For $500,000, Williams' final question was whether she believed her father had sexual relations as an adult with a minor. She said she felt he did, and the lie detector determined her truthful for the grand prize.

Episodes

The first episode was the lead out after the highly-rated American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

, and managed to rate very well itself with 23 million viewers, the highest rating for a premiere to that point in 2008.