# Does Snopes.com have a liberal bias? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 13, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796 "2012-05-13T19:39:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/41 "2012-05-14T21:07:54Z")
Oldie but goodie. I guess. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/42 "2012-05-14T21:45:10Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Technically, it was Robert Welch in his book The Politician who made that claim. When I was a member in the 1980s, it was understood within the JBS that one could be a member without buying into that. I understand the JBS is still around – but, post-Cold-War, who is their _bete noir_ **now?** Islamic Jihadists? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/43 "2012-05-14T21:46:53Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > A couple of years ago I read a piece on the BBC website about this. It was asking why so many low-income Americans were so against Obama’s healthcare policies (to the point of hatred) when they were the ones set to gain the most from it. Essentially the conclusion was that a lot of people prefer “stories” to facts, and they feel talked down to when someone comes up with statistics saying how much better something is. In the end a lot of people prefer anecdotal evidence to hard facts, and the right tends to be better at catering to those people. I can’t help but think if we could change this the world would be a much, much better place. I wonder if that’s a matter of human nature, which can’t change, or culture, which can. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/44 "2012-05-14T21:51:02Z")
> [@al27052](#): > > In the US, the more violent political group tends to be the conservatives. Or, [Eliminationists.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533537) (Meaning, those who earnestly want their opponents . . . eliminated. Almost entirely RW, in American history. Haven’t heard of any LW eliminationists 'round here since the '70s; unless you count environmentalists so extreme they wish the whole human race including themselves would die, and those are vanishingly rare.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/45 "2012-05-14T21:53:09Z")
> [@al27052](#): > > I’d say the reason that most poor whites are against it is because they feel that African-Americans have disproportionately benefited from welfare, and they think this is more of the same. I think the main reason that poor whites are so against helping African-Americans is that poor whites tend to, on average, have less education, and uneducated people tend to be more racist, on average. Even though at least half the people on welfare are white, and it’s always been that way, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/46 "2012-05-14T21:59:22Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > ISTM that they have a slight liberal bias in that allegations which are partially true are labeled as false when they are about Obama, and labeled as partially true when they are about others. Example? ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/47 "2012-05-15T00:48:41Z")
> [@al27052](#): > > I’d say the reason that most poor whites are against it is because they feel that African-Americans have disproportionately benefited from welfare, and they think this is more of the same. I think the main reason that poor whites are so against helping African-Americans is that poor whites tend to, on average, have less education, and uneducated people tend to be more racist, on average. > > I really don’t think that poor blacks are particularly against nationalized healthcare. Well yes I think it was mostly referring to whites, but I’d guess there are a lot more poor, white Republican supporters than poor, black Republican supporters. It was a more general point anyway - that a lot of people don’t just ignore facts, they rebel against them. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I wonder if that’s a matter of human nature, which can’t change, or culture, which can. I think it’s a bit of both. But I hope there is more actual thinking going on than there was, say, 500 years ago, which suggests it’s mostly culture that will hopefully be erased eventually. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/48 "2012-05-15T01:03:50Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I have also seen more recent examples of e-myths that use Snopes to give you a false sense of security, there are emails that even end with lines like: "This is true!!! Snopes did confirm it!! Check it for your self!!! > > Of course, when one does check we find that what the email claimed was pure baloney. Unfortunately many do not check, the creators of the email are counting on the laziness and gullibility of many to keep the emails circulating. Those are interesting claims; can you supply any such e-mails that so referenced Snopes? (Or your evidence that _“many do not check”_ Snopes thereafter?) ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/49 "2012-05-15T01:16:45Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Those are interesting claims; can you supply any such e-mails that so referenced Snopes? (Or your evidence that _“many do not check”_ Snopes thereafter?) At least half of the crazy right-wing e-mails I get from my Grandfather make claims of veracity referencing [snopes.com](http://snopes.com). Here is one I got 7 days ago: > [@](#): > > ON JANUARY 1, 2013, THE US GOVERNMENT WILL BE REQUIRING EVERYONE TO HAVE DIRECT DEPOSIT FOR SS CHECKS. > > WONDER WHY? > > Subject: HR 4646 > > Be sure to read entire explanation > > Watch for this AFTER November elections; remember this BEFORE you VOTE, in case you think Obama is looking out for your best interest. > > A 1% tax on all bank transactions is what HR 4646 calls for. > > Do you receive a paycheck, or a retirement check from Social Security or a pension fund and have it direct deposit?? > > Well guess what … It looks as if Obama wants to tax it 1% !!! > > This bill was put forth by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA). > > YES, that is 1% tax on all bank transactions - HR 4646, every time it goes in and every time money goes out. > > Ask your congressperson to vote NO. > > FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! > > 1% tax on all bank transactions ~ HR 4646 - ANOTHER NEW OBAMA TAX SLIPPED IN WHILE WE WERE ASLEEP. Checked this on snopes, it’s true! Check it out yourself ~ HR 4646. > > President Obama’s finance team is recommending a one percent (1%) transaction fee (TAX). Obama’s plan is to sneak it in after the November elections to keep it under the radar. > > This is a 1% tax on all transactions at any financial institution - banks, credit unions, savings and loans, etc. Any deposit you make, or even a transfer within your own bank from one account to another, will have a 1% tax charged. > > If your paycheck or your Social Security or whatever is direct deposit, it will get a 1% tax charged for the transaction. > > If your paycheck is $1000, then you will pay Obama $10 just for the privilege of depositing your paycheck in your bank. Even if you hand carry your paycheck or any check in to your bank for a deposit, 1% tax will be charged. > > You receive a $5,000 stock dividend from your broker, Obama takes $50 just to allow you to deposit that check in the bank. > > If you take $1,000 cash to deposit at your bank, 1% tax will be charged. > > Mind you, this is from the man who promised that, if you make under $250,000 per year, you will not see one penny of new tax. > > Keep your eyes and ears open, you will be amazed at what you learn about this guy’s under-the-table moves to increase the number of ways you are taxed. > > Oh, and by the way, if you receive a refund from the IRS next year and you have it direct deposited or you walk in to deposit that check, you guessed it. You will pay a 1% charge of that money just for putting it in your bank. > > Remember, any money, cash, check or whatever, no matter where it came from, you will pay a 1% fee if you put it in the bank. > > Some will say, oh well, it’s just 1%. Are you kidding me? It’s a 1% tax increase across the board. Remember, once the tax is there, they can also raise it at will. And if anyone protests, they will just say, “Oh,that’s not really a tax, it’s a user fee”! > > Think this is no big deal? Go back and look at the transactions you made from last year’s banking statements. Then add the total of all those transactions and deduct 1%. Still think it’s no big deal? > > The following is copied from Snopes: > > 1. [snopes.com](http://snopes.com): Debt Free America Act••• > Is the U.S.government proposing a 1% tax on debit card usage and/or banking transactions? > …It is true. The bill is HR-4646 introduced by US Rep Peter deFazio D-Oregon and US Senator Tom Harkin D-Iowa. Their plan is to sneak it in after the… > …moved beyond proposing studies and submitted the Debt Free America Act (H.R. 4646), a bill calling for the implementation of a scheme to pay down the… > …[2010] by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). His “Debt Free America Act” (H.R. 4646) would impose a 1 percent “transaction tax” on every financial transaction… > Wed, 02 Nov 201111:27:37 GMThttp://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/debtfree.asp Of course if you actually go to Snopes the e-mail is plainly labeled FALSE (the bill existed, but nobody supported it other than it’s creator - certainly not Obama or Pelosi). I can easily post more if you want to read more crazy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/50 "2012-05-15T01:20:14Z")
Here’s another snippet from one I got about a month ago (which is basically jsut a repackaging of one from 2008): > [@](#): > > Obama’s Air Force One (WAIT! Who’s AFO?) > > INCREDIBLE!!! > > He has turned Air Force One into a campaign slogan carrier… > Not only the Obama Campaign logo on the tail, but it bears his Campaign Slogan and removing the American Flag! > > \ > > If you have doubt about this message, check it out at SNOPES Of course, at [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/airplane.asp), it is also marked as FALSE. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/51 "2012-05-15T01:21:05Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I have also seen more recent examples of e-myths that use Snopes to give you a false sense of security, there are emails that even end with lines like: "This is true!!! Snopes did confirm it!! Check it for your self!!! > > Of course, when one does check we find that what the email claimed was pure baloney. Unfortunately many do not check, the creators of the email are counting on the laziness and gullibility of many to keep the emails circulating. I could if I had the time to go check my emails from my mom the last five years. While I have them archived, it would be a bit tedious looking for those. I can just tell you the **GIGO** had it right. I think that it was a bit more pronounced about 1-3 years ago. They don’t seem to do it as much the last year. But it was certainly true a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/52 "2012-05-15T01:24:44Z")
Yeah, I overstated the prevalence. I currently have around 1,000 e-mails archived from him and only 21 have the word “snopes” in them. So they still exist, but not as much as they used to (I clear out the archive every year or so). ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/53 "2012-05-15T01:26:31Z")
I despair of humanity when I read emails like these. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/54 "2012-05-15T01:33:11Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I could if I had the time to go check my emails from my mom the last five years. While I have them archived, it would be a bit tedious looking for those. > > I can just tell you the **GIGO** had it right. I think that it was a bit more pronounced about 1-3 years ago. They don’t seem to do it as much the last year. But it was certainly true a few years ago. Yep, and thanks for the support guys, I see that \*\*TOWP \*\*still can not believe that perfectly good advise can be turned into a lie depending on the context. “If you have doubt about this message, check it out at SNOPES” is indeed a double lie when used in that way, it actually dulls a good number of people into believing the maker of the note is telling the truth. It is just the same as Lord Monckton and many climate change deniers when they say at the end of their presentations that “you should not just trust me, check the evidence”; sadly, many do not. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/55 "2012-05-15T05:11:11Z")
For that matter, it’s akin to holocaust deniers who throw in pleas to “just show me the evidence, just one little bit of proof”, suggesting that they are indeed open to such and this reasonable request has consistently been left unsatisfied. Of course, what they really want is to plant the suggestion that no real proof exists so even if the reader does goes looking, he has a preconceived notion that all holocaust documentation is fake. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/56 "2012-05-15T05:17:33Z")
The funny thing is that this has been an accusation since the very early days of snopes (early 90’s). So much so that the “old regulars” had a special forum (the pool… had to click on a period in one part of the welcome page IIRC) at the time and referred to themselves as the SLC (Secret Liberal Cabal). The joke was that we were far from a “cut from one cloth” group of people. I was one of the old regulars, and one of the first members of the SLC… and I’m a conservative from the mid-west. The forum still exists in some form but is now just a general MPSIMS type of of forum. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/57 "2012-05-15T05:29:53Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > For that matter, it’s akin to holocaust deniers who throw in pleas to “just show me the evidence, just one little bit of proof”, suggesting that they are indeed open to such and this reasonable request has consistently been left unsatisfied. Of course, what they really want is to plant the suggestion that no real proof exists so even if the reader does goes looking, he has a preconceived notion that all holocaust documentation is fake. Much of what we claim to know about the Holocaust comes from the Nuremberg trials . . . The senior generals of the Allied powers must have been either in on the hoax or duped by it . . . I can’t decide which makes less sense. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/58 "2012-05-15T12:49:23Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Yep, and thanks for the support guys, I see that \*\*TOWP \*\*still can not believe that perfectly good advise can be turned into a lie depending on the context. The “perfectly good advise” isn’t a lie; it’s what folks given such an e-mail should do. > [@](#): > > “If you have doubt about this message, check it out at SNOPES” is indeed a double lie when used in that way, it actually dulls a good number of people into believing the maker of the note is telling the truth. It is just the same as Lord Monckton and many climate change deniers when they say at the end of their presentations that “you should not just trust me, check the evidence”; sadly, many do not. It’s indeed sad that many do not, but what makes it sad is that _“you should not just trust me, check the evidence”_ is true. I merely conclude that more people should follow **Jas09** ’s example instead of disregarding the “perfectly good advise”. ---
**Author:** ![FixMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FixMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FixMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/59 "2012-05-15T12:55:16Z")
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796/60 "2012-05-15T12:58:48Z")
I advise we use the noun “advice” from now on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-snopes-com-have-a-liberal-bias/621796.md?page=4)