# Distrust of snopes - how to answer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778 "2008-10-27T15:55:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/1 "2008-10-27T15:55:48Z")
My father-in-law received this email and asked me about its truth. I’m not sure what to tell him. Any ideas? It seems implausible to me, but I don’t know how to fact-check snopes itself, especially with no actual examples. > [@](#): > > Received this from a friend so take it for what it’s worth > > I have suspected some problems with snopes for some time now, but I have only caught them in half-truths. If there is any subjectivity they do an immediate full left rudder. (I have also noted that they are hesitant to expose things I’ve heard or seen on Youtube that are exact quotes from B.O.) dak > > [www.truthorfiction.com](http://www.truthorfiction.com) is the better source for verification, in my opinion. ( Or perhaps [http://urbanlegends.about.com/](http://urbanlegends.about.com/)) > > Just FYI. I have been wanting to send you all some information on [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) for a while and I will get around to that soon. > > I have recently discovered that [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) is owned by a flaming liberal and this man is in the tank for Obama. There are many things they have listed on their site as a hoax and yet you can go to Youtube yourself and find the video of Obama actually saying these things. So you see, you cannot and should not trust [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com)…ever for anything that remotely resembles truth! I don’t even trust them to tell me if email chains are hoaxes anymore. > > A few conservative speakers on Myspace told me about [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) a few months ago and I took it upon myself to do a little research to find out if it was true. Well, I found out for myself that it is true. This website is backing Obama and is covering up for him. They will say anything that makes him look bad is a hoax and they also tell lies on the other side about McCain and Palin. > > Anyway just FYI please don’t use [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) anymore for fact checking and make your friends aware of their political leanings as well. Many people still think [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) is neutral and they can be trusted as factual. We need to make sure everyone is aware that that is a hoax in itself. (The email looks like it has comments from a couple of people mushed together - I’m not who wrote what.) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/2 "2008-10-27T15:58:22Z")
Snopes says this isn’t true. Ok, after putting in my two-cent joke response, I decided to actually look and see if Snopes has adressed this. As of yet, they haven’t – however, [Truth Or Fiction](http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/snopes.htm) has. I’m sure that the persons sending out this drivel won’t be happy to find that the site they cited has called them on their bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/3 "2008-10-27T16:02:52Z")
Actually, I couldn’t find it on snopes. After posting this, I did think to check the alternative site that they recommended, and _it_ says that it’s not true, so I sent that [link](http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/snopes.htm) to FIL. I’m not sure if there is anything else to say about it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/4 "2008-10-27T16:06:33Z")
Snopes is not owned by anyone. It is (they are) a little old couple who have somehow become the internet’s arbiters of truth. Oddly, they seem to do it pretty well too. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/5 "2008-10-27T16:06:54Z")
Too late for more editing… Sorry dinks, [About.com’s Urban Legends](http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/internet/a/snopes_exposed.htm) debunks you as well. Obviously _they’re_ now part of the conspiracy as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/6 "2008-10-27T16:16:04Z")
> [@](#): > > There are many things they have listed on their site as a hoax and yet you can go to Youtube yourself and find the video of Obama actually saying these things. And yet, shockingly, they fail to list any of those things, which would go a long ways towards proving their case. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/7 "2008-10-27T16:26:00Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > Snopes is not owned by anyone… they seem to do it pretty well too. I see cause and effect here, but maybe that’s just me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/8 "2008-10-27T17:16:44Z")
Sometimes Snopes does sort of get it sort of wrong. An example of this concerns a chain-email which has been doing the rounds in the UK for the last three years. This concerns a story about receiving a postcard from a courier company asking you to phone them about an undelivered parcel. The email then goes on to say that when you do phone that number you are immediately charged £15, and there is no such parcel waiting for you. There is an element of truth in this story, but not the part about the £15 charge. Back in 2005 a company was running such a scam but you had to stay on the line for six minute and you were charged £9, This company was closed down that same year and fined several thousands of pounds. If you check this story on Snopes it says right at the top"true", but only because this scam did sort of happen. But you have to scroll down the page to discover that the scam is no longer operating and there was never a £15 instant charge. Thus people have gone to Snopes, seen the “True” tag and have not only believed the legend, but have passed it on all over the net. I prefer Hoax-Slayer. At the top of their page dealing with this same urban legend you see this :- _Status: Was true, but the scam was shut down in late 2005._ ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/9 "2008-10-27T17:18:47Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And yet, shockingly, they fail to list any of those things, which would go a long ways towards proving their case. Yeah, that should be clue #1. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distrust-of-snopes-how-to-answer/469778/10 "2008-10-27T17:22:05Z")
I’ve always thought that Snopes was deficient on political questions because they went too easy on Bush for his Texas Air National Guard and Cocaine and “Who cares what you think stuff” because it could not be prove to their satisfaction. At least if they apply equal skepticism to either side, as now appears the case, they seem to be using a Fairness Doctrine.