# What Is going on between Snopes and their vendor?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-between-snopes-and-their-vendor/792038>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 24, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-between-snopes-and-their-vendor/792038 "2017-07-24T16:07:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-between-snopes-and-their-vendor/792038/41 "2017-07-26T01:19:38Z")

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It’s kind of sad to realize a fun hobby has come to this.

I vaguely recall Snopes posts on Usenet. There was a similar guy called the Fake Detective. He exposed faked celebrity photos.

Both moved their work from Usenet to web sites. I doubt either guy expected a major source of income. They just wanted to cover the operating costs.

The original Fake Detective retired several years ago. I don’t know if he’s still associated with the archived web site.

Snopes apparently sold his soul to a pit of vipers. I can only speculate the web site got too big for him & his wife to manage.

Imdb was The Cardiff Internet Movie Database. Started and run by volunteers. Now it’s a shill for Amazon.

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-between-snopes-and-their-vendor/792038/42 "2017-07-26T01:27:53Z")

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Remember all the fan sites on Geocities?

Fans passionate about a show or celebrity built shrines to celebrate them.

All gone.

The Corporate World runs the Net now.

I hope David Mikkelson gets back control of his web site. It would be great to see one major web site not controlled by corporations.

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**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-between-snopes-and-their-vendor/792038/43 "2017-07-26T13:21:56Z")

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Ars technica writeup (my head hurts)

> **[Who owns Snopes? Fracas over fact-checking site now front and center](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/who-owns-snopes-fracas-over-fact-checking-site-now-front-and-center/)**
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> Snopes' parent company was split—one half may be held by 5 men, or a single company.

Brian

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**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-between-snopes-and-their-vendor/792038/44 "2017-07-26T14:57:51Z")

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Interesting.

Also I had always imagined Mr. Mikkelson with a long graying beard like an Old Believer.  
However I think it is time to distinguish Imitation News, such as deliberate false sites purvey for click-bait ( like saying a litter of rabbits were born to a woman \* , or Walmart is giving away free goods on a certain day ) and Fake News which is political, used to discredit whatever one party is saying.

- As in the Mary Toft’s case.

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