# Snopes: Do people REALLY believe this crap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236 "2014-10-13T20:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/81 "2014-10-15T02:26:39Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I can tell you, but you might not like the answer…It’s us, the parents and grand parents of those people. We wanted our children to be _F R E E_! In allowing them to be free, we finished their home work and blamed the teachers when they failed. We gave them trophies for just showing up. We wanted to eliminate competition. By doing so, we took away any reason to strive. We killed curiosity. Without curiosity, a person will believe anything presented with little authority. > Eventually, they all got through the public school system and went out and reproduced. We didn’t teach them to think. > > I know this is probably going to start something. Please, remember, I’m generalizing. I’m not talking about your child or grandchild. Most of the really, really stupid (or at least willfully ignorant) people I have run into have been adults my age. The younger people I interact with are often uneducated, but they aren’t the ones circulating the crap on Snopes - it’s the old fogies who do. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/82 "2014-10-15T03:06:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yes, but not in baby form. There are specific parameters. He has to descend from heaven the same way his followers saw him go up, i.e., a fully grown man. > > Also, as **JAQ** says, it would be pretty big news. He doesn’t come back secretly. He comes back to take over the world, and everyone bows down to him, not being able to respond in any other way. Not to mention the enemy combatants that die of supernatural causes, the Rapture that may happen then or up to 7 years before he comes back, and the dead people who come back with him. Whoa. Well, should that all transpire feel free to send me a " Told Ya So" email or PM. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/83 "2014-10-15T09:15:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I heard that one - except that I heard it ten years ago, and it was Bush getting rid of all the flu vaccines so old people would die and he could privatize Social Security. (The person telling me this story insisted that they had seen Donald Rumsfeld on TV saying “the best thing senior citizens can do for this country is to die”, but couldn’t quite remember when or on what channel.) This was probably derived from a statement made by the former governor of Colorado, Richard Lamm, in 1984. Speaking about terminally ill old folk, he said: > [@](#): > > You’ve got a duty to die and get out of the way. Let the other society, our kids, build a reasonable life. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/84 "2014-10-15T10:59:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Has the Obama administration ordered $1 billion worth of disposable coffins for use with Ebola victims? But there’s pictures of them … well they are coffin liners that some company stockpiles. Rather than say, hand making to order. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/85 "2014-10-15T11:14:36Z")
Now I know my Dad must be adopted. His brother just sent me one of those “this is so important you must pass it around” emails. [ACLU vs. The Marines](http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/marines.asp) [QUOTE=] Corps Belief Claim: The ACLU objected to a U.S. Marine prayer session because it constituted “federal employees praying on federal property and on federal time.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/86 "2014-10-15T14:47:30Z")
My parents send this shit to me all the time. It’s always the ‘OMG Obama is cooking and eating kids!’ kinda stuff that a simple web search can disprove easily. The first time I showed that one of their emails was bogus, and I gave easily verifiable proof that it was, the response I got was ‘Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.’ The subsequent discussion about the difference between opinion and fact didn’t exactly smooth things out. When you have people who can’t tell the difference between their opinions and actual reality this is what you get. It goes past gullibility, past ignorance, they are actively holding onto demonstrably wrong ideas. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/87 "2014-10-15T15:21:25Z")
Another trend is the proliferation of fake news sites that make their articles appear to be legitimate news stories but bury in the disclaimer page that their stories are satire and it is the reader’s obligation to second source everything they read. If I see a story shared on Facebook, I look at the link first. Anything from “The National Report” or some other illegitimate source I don’t even read the title. Most of the “What’s New” snopes articles are debunking articles from these types of stupidity spreading sites. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/88 "2014-10-15T15:52:41Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Halloween is scary, and Friday the 13th is scary. People always take a certain number of brain shortcuts, (otherwise we would get overwhelmed with details) and so adding two scary things together makes a certain amount of superstitious sense. I’m sure that some people realize AFTERWARD, “Oh wait, that can’t actually happen.” > > Ebola is scary. Plus a lot of people don’t know much about it. > Then add to that all the stories of government overspending. I think you’ve got it. A friend of my wife’s posted on Facebook that she heard the “Halloween is on Friday the 13th!” UL and had this thought sequence: “Halloween is on Friday the 13th? Whoaa! Spooky!” (Beat) “Wait a sec…” ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/89 "2014-10-15T16:18:26Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > The subsequent discussion about the difference between opinion and fact didn’t exactly smooth things out. “And that is your opinion, Shelly” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/90 "2014-10-15T16:27:08Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Aren’t coffins by default disposable? Or do they generally pull the stiff out after everybody leaves the ceremony and reuse for the next dead person? Some are reused, unless [Amadeus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUt4DfGnyJQ)has lied to me. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/91 "2014-10-16T22:10:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve always found it interesting that so many of the items they debunk are designed to appeal to the _right-wing and ignorant_ demographic. Whereas I see fairly few that would appeal to the _left-wing and ignorant_ demographic. > > I wonder whether that’s due to > > 1. Snopes has a preference for making right-wingers look silly & cherry picks what they debunk. > or > 2. Somebody(s) somewhere are producing these items \*en masse \*for right-winger consumption to keep the base agitated. > or > 3. the _left wing but ignorant_ crowd is so slothful or anomic or ??? that they don’t see, much less repeat or report, stuff intended to appeal to their prejudices. > or > 4. ??? > > Anybody have a theory? The common left-wing ULs are stuff that Snopes apparently thinks is too complex for them to touch. [For example, this is the only relevant result that comes up when I google ‘snopes vaccines autism’](http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/cdcwhistleblower.asp) without quotes: No discussion of Wakefield’s most famous (now-withdrawn) paper or the larger issue, just a very narrowly-focused article on one claim that the CDC said one specific thing. Snopes also doesn’t do very much with the idea that nuclear energy is literally The Devil, which has long been a left-wing talking point. They address a few specific nuclear-related issues and ignore the main topic. [They do a better job debunking the idea that GMOs are evil](http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/monsantocorn.asp), another left-wing UL, but even there it’s an examination and refutation of a specific claim. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/92 "2014-10-17T07:01:30Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The common left-wing ULs are stuff that Snopes apparently thinks is too complex for them to touch. [For example, this is the only relevant result that comes up when I google ‘snopes vaccines autism’](http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/cdcwhistleblower.asp) without quotes: No discussion of Wakefield’s most famous (now-withdrawn) paper or the larger issue, just a very narrowly-focused article on one claim that the CDC said one specific thing. Pew poll: [“These results basically suggest that there’s little or no political divide in terms of who falls for Jenny McCarthy’s misinformation. Notably, liberals were somewhat more aware of her claims and yet, nevertheless, were least likely to listen to them. But not by a huge margin or anything.”](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/04/27/more-polling-data-on-the-politics-of-vaccine-resistance/) > [@](#): > > Snopes also doesn’t do very much with the idea that nuclear energy is literally The Devil, which has long been a left-wing talking point. Cite? Quote of email? Quote of glurgy anti-nuclear email that Snopes ignores? > [@](#): > > They address a few specific nuclear-related issues and ignore the main topic. LOL. They don’t discuss monetary policy either, except as it pertains to folklore. > [@](#): > > [They do a better job debunking the idea that GMOs are evil](http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/monsantocorn.asp), another left-wing UL, but even there it’s an examination and refutation of a specific claim. Yeah, all that demanding documentation that actual pieces of folklore exists, rather than ranting about their vague impressions: what a bunch of liberals! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/93 "2014-10-17T12:45:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Whoa. Well, should that all transpire feel free to send me a " Told Ya So" email or PM. Believe or not, as you see fit. But the point is that the very people who believe that a young virgin once became pregnant with the Son of God are the ones who have the least grounds for believing it will happen again. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/94 "2014-10-17T14:16:07Z")
Considering all the mass and repeatedly forwarded emails I used to get when I was new to the interwebs, I find it easy to believe there are people who do believe the most ridiculous stories. After all, you can’t put it on the internet if it isn’t true, can you? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/95 "2014-10-17T16:01:21Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Considering all the mass and repeatedly forwarded emails I used to get when I was new to the interwebs, I find it easy to believe there are people who do believe the most ridiculous stories. After all, you can’t put it on the internet if it isn’t true, can you? I used to be that way, sort of. When I was but a wee teenager, way before the internet, even before Jan Brunvand wrote his first book, I was told in all seriousness about someone getting a rat in a Coke can. Happened to a friend of a friend, IIRC.🙂 While I doubted the story (it seemed to fantastic even then) I thought it could be true, After all, why would people lie? How can newspapers print things that aren’t true? I wised up pretty quick. My folks raised me not to believe everything I hear. But at the time, I could see believing them. Until, that is, something like Snopes or the old alt.folklore pages, or _The Vanishing Hitchhiker_ came along and set you straight. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/96 "2014-10-18T03:01:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I used to be that way, sort of. When I was but a wee teenager, way before the internet, even before Jan Brunvand wrote his first book, I was told in all seriousness about someone getting a rat in a Coke can. Happened to a friend of a friend, IIRC.🙂 While I doubted the story (it seemed to fantastic even then) I thought it could be true, After all, why would people lie? How can newspapers print things that aren’t true? > > I wised up pretty quick. My folks raised me not to believe everything I hear. But at the time, I could see believing them. Until, that is, something like Snopes or the old alt.folklore pages, or _The Vanishing Hitchhiker_ came along and set you straight. When I was in high school, there was a rumor about gang members hiding in the parking lot at the local mall. It was the old story about how new gang members would have to hide under peoples’ cars, and then, when you’d go to get in your car, they’d go and slash your ankle. And when you’d reach down and grab your ankle, they’d cut your finger off and take it in for initiation. And someone always said it happened to their cousin’s friend’s boyfriend’s neighbor, etc. It’s so stupid, but we totally believed it. Yep, [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/slasher.asp) mentions it. Apparently it was circulating around here in 1994. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236/97 "2014-10-23T03:27:06Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Pew poll: [“These results basically suggest that there’s little or no political divide in terms of who falls for Jenny McCarthy’s misinformation. Notably, liberals were somewhat more aware of her claims and yet, nevertheless, were least likely to listen to them. But not by a huge margin or anything.”](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/04/27/more-polling-data-on-the-politics-of-vaccine-resistance/) “Liberal” doesn’t mean “exclusively liberal”. Nice try, though. > [@](#): > > Cite? Quote of email? Quote of glurgy anti-nuclear email that Snopes ignores? LOL. That’s part of my point, LOL. > [@](#): > > Yeah, all that demanding documentation that actual pieces of folklore exists, rather than ranting about their vague impressions: what a bunch of liberals! My point is, they could go more of the Skeptoid route and debunk stuff that doesn’t fit in a glurgy email or FOAF tale. If they did that, they could have a post on “Loose Change”, a post on “Zeitgeist”, and a lot of other posts they don’t have, which would draw them more towards debunking the worst of the Chomsky-crowd’s cherished legends. But they don’t, so they stick to the crap the AM talk radio/glurgy email crowd sends around, which skews more Glenn Beck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-do-people-really-believe-this-crap/701236.md?page=4)