# Reliability of Snopes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924 "2013-04-28T18:16:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/1 "2013-04-28T18:16:40Z")
In my ongoing Quest for Universal Truth™, I have frequently turned to [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) for help in debunking myths and hoaxes. Lately, I’ve been chastised by a couple of friends, who seem to believe that Barbara and David Mikkelson are some sorts of liberal operatives, and that their website leans to the far left. Honestly, I don’t believe this, but for the sake of argument: [ul] [li]Do you yourself believe that the Snopes website has a political agenda?[/li][li]Can you provide any credible cites that support that belief?[/li][li]Are there other sites out there (besides this one, of course) that you use to research urban myths and hoaxes and such? (Especially political topics.)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/2 "2013-04-28T18:18:51Z")
Well, this board has been criticized as having a liberal slant too. I tend to agree in both cases, but don’t know about any truly unbiased board in respect to politics. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/3 "2013-04-28T18:21:15Z")
There has been a thread on this in the past. > **[Does Snopes.com have a liberal bias?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=651652)** > > I’ve read mutters-and-whispers to that effect on some messageboards (never this one). Mainly because Snopes is always debunking RW spam emails, like this. (Such emails, BTW, often come from a highly organized source.) But I didn’t realize until... None of this is going to convince your friends of course ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/4 "2013-04-28T18:32:45Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > [ul] > [li]Do you yourself believe that the Snopes website has a political agenda?[/li][li]Can you provide any credible cites that support that belief?[/li][li]Are there other sites out there (besides this one, of course) that you use to research urban myths and hoaxes and such? (Especially political topics.)[/li][/ul] The people who claim Snopes has a liberal bias are likely the same ones who say schools have a liberal bias. Example: The Earth is 6,000 years old. Schools teach Geology classes that state the Earth is billions of years old. Ergo, schools have a liberal bias. There was [a thread a while back](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=515284), asking if Snopes was ever wrong. It contains a long discussion of whether a [small airplane crashed into a tree next to a LEARN TO FLY HERE sign](http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/flightschool.asp), and whether the sign was photoshopped. The incident is True (as Snopes says), but the image was 'shopped. Snopes have never edited their article to make people aware that the sign was digitally reversed for comedic effect. Aside from that incident, the articles I’ve read on Snopes have contained footnotes and links citing evidence. There are people who ignore evidence when it conflicts with their beliefs, and those are the people likely to disparage Snopes as having a ‘liberal bias’. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/5 "2013-04-28T18:41:04Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > None of this is going to convince your friends of course Heh. I pointed out to an old friend that a meme he shared was a bit misleading, and added the correct George Washington quote. He angrily asked for my cite, and told me “not to use that damned liberal Snopes crap” to prove my point. So I cited [guncite.com](http://guncite.com) (along with the Library of Congress and the George Washington Papers Project at the University of Virginia.) Old Friend didn’t have the grace to thank me for using non-Snopes cites… :dubious: And thanks for the links to prior threads, y’all - I should have searched before posting! ---
**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:** [April 28, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/6 "2013-04-28T18:51:51Z")
My litmus test for finding an outfit that is less biased is how they report items that have lots of science against extreme ideas, in this case, the ones against Genetic engineering in food and nuclear power that have lots of opposition from leftists. RationalWiki passes that test, with articles putting down many of the radical left ideas on those subjects in Genetic Manipulation and a fair pro and con view of the Nuclear issue. > **[Genetic modification](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Genetic_modification)** > > Genetic modification is the manipulation of an organism's genes to introduce particular traits. All methods of breeding modify the genes, but the technique that is usually implied by the term "genetic modification," and that attracts the greatest... > **[Nuclear power](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nuclear_power)** > > Nuclear power is the process of extracting the binding energy of atomic nuclei – whether by fission, fusion, or radioactive decay – and using it to produce electricity, usually by heating water to spin a turbine. All currently operating nuclear... So what do they have on Snopes? > **[Snopes](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Snopes)** > > Snopes.com is a website founded by Barbara and David Mikkelson (David has also used the pseudonym Jeff Zarronandia\[1\]) that dedicates itself to researching and confirming the truth behind stupidity urban legends, chain e-mails, and other stories of... > [@](#): > > Woo-pushers, the fringe on either end of the political spectrum, and those who benefit from these stories tend to dismiss Snopes as wrong or biased, despite research showing it isn’t. To show that it really isn’t biased or just plain cynical, a surprising number of myths actually turn out to be true (although usually in a much more mundane way than the chain letters imply). > Randomly browsing Snopes is a fun way to kill your day, right up there with TV Tropes and Cracked. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/7 "2013-04-28T18:52:45Z")
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? I did a brief bit of research about a year ago. I’m not going to go look up all the links again, but the credible consensus is that while they’re not infallible, they are reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/8 "2013-04-28T18:59:55Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? [heh](http://xkcd.com/250/). ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/9 "2013-04-28T19:10:33Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > [heh](http://xkcd.com/250/). Where is the LOL smiley when you need it? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/10 "2013-04-28T19:10:56Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? We do. That’s why this thread is here. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/11 "2013-04-28T19:56:05Z")
I had the exact same dismissive arm waving re Snopes in a Facebook squabble I was having with some TPers pushing a false flag conspiracy story re the Boston bombing. I will say, however, I was surprised by [Snopes saying this item](http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/sciencetest.asp) a 4th grade creationist science test was “probably true” based on an anonymous person claiming they were the source for it. It reeks of obvious BS. I see they have now changed it to “undetermined”. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/12 "2013-04-28T20:23:06Z")
Facts have a liberal bias. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/13 "2013-04-29T03:04:09Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Facts have a liberal bias. Close. Reality has a liberal bias. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/14 "2013-04-29T03:20:18Z")
I use Equal in my coffee, and a friend of mine hates it, because she’s convinced that it’s going to kill me. In a subsequent conversation, she mentioned Snopes several times and I asked her how accurate she thought Snopes was. Pretty darned accurate, she says. What about Equal, I says? They say it’s safe as mother’s milk! No, she says, they’re wrong on that one; it’s poison and it’s gonna kill ya. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/15 "2013-04-29T03:38:18Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I had the exact same dismissive arm waving re Snopes in a Facebook squabble I was having with some TPers pushing a false flag conspiracy story re the Boston bombing. > > I will say, however, I was surprised by [Snopes saying this item](http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/sciencetest.asp) a 4th grade creationist science test was “probably true” based on an anonymous person claiming they were the source for it. It reeks of obvious BS. > > I see they have now changed it to “undetermined”. That’s good to see. I was puzzled and disappointed at how quickly they tagged that as “probably true.” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/16 "2013-04-29T03:59:12Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I use Equal in my coffee, and a friend of mine hates it, because she’s convinced that it’s going to kill me. > > In a subsequent conversation, she mentioned Snopes several times and I asked her how accurate she thought Snopes was. Pretty darned accurate, she says. What about Equal, I says? They say it’s safe as mother’s milk! No, she says, they’re wrong on that one; it’s poison and it’s gonna kill ya. > > :dubious: That’s classic! ---
**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:** [April 29, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/17 "2013-04-29T04:38:36Z")
I’ll toss in my 2 cents… I was a regular in the early days. I’m a moderate Republican. There was a joke from the very beginning about people accusing us of being Liberally biased. If you look in their message board… which is split into way to many sections (IMHO), you will find one called the SLC (for those who have passed the secret initiation rites). This is an inside joke. SLC stands for “Secret Liberal Cabal” which obviously all of us who spent hours researching urban legends in the early days were a part of. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/18 "2013-04-29T11:34:30Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > Well, this board has been criticized as having a liberal slant too. I tend to agree in both cases, but don’t know about any truly unbiased board in respect to politics. The individual fora in which people express opinions and engage in debates may or may not have a liberal bias. But for individual fora where hard _facts_ are discussed (e.g. “General Questions”, or Snopes, where specific truth claims are evaluated for validity/veracity), I’m not clear on how a liberal or conservative bias may manifest itself. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/19 "2013-04-29T14:04:44Z")
ISTM that Snopes has a liberal bias. In discussing the veracity of various assertions about the Obama administration and campaigns, they seem to veer from their general mission to assess the facts into a more subjective editorializing about how what might seem like negative facts are really different when you consider them in context etc., to a greater extent than they do when discussing similar issues about Republicans. But it’s not especially egregious, and I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924/20 "2013-04-29T14:08:54Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > ISTM that Snopes has a liberal bias. > > In discussing the veracity of various assertions about the Obama administration and campaigns, they seem to veer from their general mission to assess the facts into a more subjective editorializing about how what might seem like negative facts are really different when you consider them in context etc., to a greater extent than they do when discussing similar issues about Republicans. > > But it’s not especially egregious, and I could be wrong. Could you show a couple of examples for us to campare? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reliability-of-snopes/656924.md?page=2)