With all our political discussions over here and with all our fact checking, some are questioning the veracity of Snopes. I have always thought it excellent for fact checking, and while I knew it was started by a husband and wife, I didn't care. It isn't rocket science to fact check; you just have to have access to databases, be persistent and go to primary sources. So, I didn't much care that they weren't certified investigators, or whatever the critics thought they should be. Indeed, someone shared this on my FB page (though I promptly deleted it).

What are your thoughts about Snopes? I went to Snopes and thought they'd answer this, but I couldn't find it. I hope I haven't been too trusting.

Snopes gets criticised by left-wingers accusing it of right wing bias and by right-wingers accusing it of left wing bias and, much as in the case of the BBC, that probably means it's about right.

I've seen that before and somewhere on Snopes it is discussed. Unfortunately since Snopes changed the search interface it is much harder to actually find things. I don't check it nearly as much as I used to, not because I don't trust it just because it's such a pain the backside to find things now.

Remember when you see things on FB like the one you linked the first question you should ask is what biases the poster has. The people who complain most about Snopes fact checking are the people whose "facts" have been checked.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,

Neither side likes it when a (famous) website disagrees with it. Snopes is an easy shortcut for critical thinking. If you want to, you can simple check news sources, online references, etc.

If you're getting your "news" (or infotainment) from cable TV and social media, you're not going to get swayed one way or another by facts. which contradict your Weltanschauung.

[Full disclosure: I was mentioned in an old Snopes' article way back when.]

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Full disclosure: I was mentioned in an old Snopes' article way back when.]

And how accurate did they rate you?

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I was mentioned in an old Snopes' article way back when.]

Did they say that you were really zebra but because you were filmed in black and white no one could see the stripes?

(That's a reference that only the old-timers here will get.)

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Snopes is an easy shortcut for critical thinking. If you want to, you can simple check news sources, online references, etc.

That is essentially what I said when I responded to the person who essentially said I was fool for using Snopes because it was a husband and wife working from their home. So what? Anyone who has access to the internet can search newspaper archives or speeches or Supreme Court decisions (or whatever) to verify something. My husband does that all the time. We have found Snopes slightly wrong from time to time, though often it just comes down to interpretation. Usually, though, they are spot on.

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Neither side likes it when a (famous) website disagrees with it.

As of late, there really tends to be only one side.

I like Snopes w/o reservation, but I have only & always used it for glib viral emails cut-&-pasted by relatives or friends I think gullible.

Perhaps Snopes should get some credit for the fact that nowaday, Op-Eds & even comment threads are replete w/links citing their sources. In its own small way I like to think that Wordcraft contributes to that trend. I quickly learned (9 yrs ago when I joined) to check some sources before speculating!

I quickly learned (9 yrs ago when I joined) to check some sources before speculating! I did too, Bethree! I agree that Snopes isn't 100% right and tends to be more liberal - but, by being available for fact-checking, it encourages people to fact check.