Snopes
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Snopes is a fact-checking website used to verify stories online with daily articles written on their platform by authors employed by the group.
Origin of Snopes
The site was originally established as alt.folklore.urban (or AFU) by couple David Mikkelson and Barbara Mikkelson in the 1990s to combat the spread of urban legends on the web. Following the terrorist September 11 attacks, Snopes began transitioning its content to debunking false political claims.
Around 2015, Snopes began to professionalize their content and became one of the most well regarded websites to research into Fake News (Tatolli, 2023).
Co-Founder David Mikkelsen.
Currently there are roughly 18 people employed on the Snopes team comprising of reporters, editors, developers and more (Snopes, 2024).
How To Use Snopes to Detect Fake News
If a popular news item online makes a suspicious claim on a topic, its possible Snopes has already written an article about its validity. Simply use the search function by typing the headline of the story into the bar.
If an article exists, you can read further into the news item and determine if its valid or not. In the case nothing has been written on your topic by Snopes, you can submit a rumour where you offer details on the possible Fake News item you encountered.
Controversies with Snopes
Although nowadays the site is operated by trained news-checkers, Snopes started and remained as an amateur publication until recently. Their writers were occasionally criticised for making errors in their articles, including one story where they wrongly debunked Michael Moore's claims about the Osama Bin Laden family's US travel ban after 9/11 (Tatolli, 2023).
Recently in 2021, co-founder David Mikkelsen has been accused of forging over 60 articles on Snopes and publishing them under another name (Murphy, 2021). He has since retired from the company in 2022 (Snopes, 2024).
Although Snopes is a valuable resource for detecting Fake News, it is important to be mindful of its background and previous controversies regarding the publication.
Reference List
Reference List
Murphy, H. (2021) 'Snopes Retracts 60 Articles Plagiarized by Co-Founder: ‘Our Staff Are Gutted’', The New York Times, 13 Aug, available: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/business/media/snopes-plagiarism-David-Mikkelson.html [accessed 18 April 2024]
Snopes (2024) Our Team | Snopes.com, available: https://www.snopes.com/team/ [accessed 18 April 2024]
Tattoli, C. (2023) 'Inside Snopes: the rise, fall, and rebirth of an internet icon", Fast Company, 02 June, available: https://www.fastcompany.com/90901113/inside-snopes-the-rise-fall-and-rebirth-of-an-internet-icon [accessed 18 April 2024]
The Washington Post (2015) David Mikkelson of Snopes.com (The Fact Checker) [image], available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/17/an-interview-with-the-editor-of-snopes-technology-changes-but-human-nature-doesnt/ [accessed 18 April 2024]
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