RealTown's RealTalk

11/17/2008 @ 7:20 PM HST

A lot of people use Snopes to check out facts. I had a thought (playing devil's advocate)...how do we know Snopes is accurate? I confess I don't know much about them except they are always quoted to prove/disprove a rumor. Has Snopes every been wrong? Someone told me years ago not to believe everything you read/see on the Internet.  

With Warmest Aloha,

 I'll second Eileen's comments.  I use snopes.com to check all sorts of things, and generally find them very reliable...mostly because the DON'T represent themselves as the "authority", but rather provide you with links to original sources and additional verification information.  And when they're not able to verify something...they let you know that, too.

Maybe not the end all to beat all...but most definitely a reliable place to start!

Juanita Williams said this: ( re: Ruth asked has Snopes ever been wrong?)

"Yes. I use About.com pays to use more than 1 sometimes."

They are two different types of sites.  Snopes, as Eileen pointed out, is primarily a source for discovering "urban legends" and email scams.  They are THE best source for that sort of search.

About has very little to do with those - it is a site that tells "about" lots of things - how they're made, etc.

As for your statement that Snopes "has been wrong" - please provide a link to support your assertion.

Yes, Bob, I wondered the same thing....  Ruth wondered "has snopes.com ever been wrong", and Juanita jumps up and says "Yes".... and then leaves you waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I was expecting, not necessarily a link, maybe just a mention of an instance.... but, no.

I was tempted to ask, as you did, why she would say Yes and expect us/me to take her word for it, without an example...... but I did not want to step into her parlor, so I went to Google with "snopes wrong".... yes there are a few cases cases where snopes was wrong, or a little off, or still disputed.... that doesn't bother me, as I feel very comfortable with their attempts to be as accurate and unbiased as possible.  I will happily continue to use snopes.

Lindy in Houston