Is snopes.com a right wing website?

[Jara sang]

I have always suspected that it was. There are always anti-Clinton stories on the site. For example, the site uses a story about Bush saluting a soldier at a hospital and other pro Bush stories while they focus on the Clinton/Lewinsky thing. Anybody have a better idea on where they are politically? I often see DUers reference snopes.

[davidinalameda]

1. I thought they were an equal opportunity bashing site

[Selatius]

2. I think they are fairly neutral

Otherwise, they wouldn't have this:

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm

[StayOutTheBushes]

3. Lord knows there is never anything anti-Clinton on DU.

[TwilightZone]

5. No kidding.

Sometimes I wonder who hates Hillary more, "us" or them.

[TwilightZone]

4. Doesn't seem like it, frankly.

They seem to cover everything fairly well. They've strongly debunked a lot of anti-Dem crap lately, including some e-mails making the rounds about social security.

[enigmatic]

6. No

They were the first ones to completely dismantle the ridiculous "Clinton Body Count" lie the Right had pedaled for years.

They take on all, not just one side.

[lancdem]

15. And they debunked that RW story

saying Hillary dissed the Gold Star Mothers.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. I don't think it is. Its owner, Barbara Michelson is probably a (R) though

In fact, she may be the last Republican on the planet who makes a honest (and largely successful) effort to be impartial in reporting.

There's LOTS of anti-Clinton lies debunked there. And quite a few other anti-Liberal/anti-Left ones.

[charlie]

8. Dunno

They don't like Michael Moore, though. And wound up looking stupid when their distaste for the man ran ahead of their good sense.

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/flight.htm

[momisold]

9. They answer what they are asked.

When there are lots of emails floating around about Clinton, Bush, etc. that's what is submitted to them to check into. I have not gotten the feeling they are one way or the other. They also do lots of fact checking on medical myths, donation emails, etc. so they aren't just focusing on political things.

Think you are barking up the wrong tree on this one.

[Jara sang]

11. No way, they are obviously pro-Iraq war.

And their pages are filled with nationalist bullshit that could hardly be called urban legends.

[zbdent]

19. Although their debunking of Repub-bashing myths seem to get done

quickly, and drag their heels on debunking Dem-bashing stuff, they DO debunk both sides.

However, there seems to be a bit of RW tinge to it.

[Xithras]

26. They don't just deal with urban legends

A lot of the RW stuff is actually there because of US. Typically what happens is the Bushbots will start posting a "touching" or "manly" photo or story about Bush on the web, and people on the left will begin questioning whether it was a setup or whether it really happened. Snopes will then step in, investigate, and post whether the photo is a setup or the story is false.

That's exactly how the photo of Bush hugging the 9/11 victims daughter got on there. When it first started circulating a bunch of people began claiming that the story was a PR hoax, so they investigated. They found that the photo was legit and posted as such.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. No; they just debunk urban legends and Internet rumors.

They seem to be scrupulously neutral. I've used them many times to counter stupid freeper e-mails.

[Lex]

12. Yep, I found them to be fairly neutral too.

And I *love* hitting "Reply All" and linking up the snopes debunking for my rightwing family members.

Cuts down on the stupid emails from them drastically.

[ThoughtCriminal]

14. I see more RW stuff debunked

Because frankly there is more right-wing BS floating around.

[K-W]

13. Jara, could you post some links to the material you are referring to.

I certainly havent noticed any ideological bias on scopes, but I dont read everything they publish.

[Jara sang]

21. here ya go:

Anti-french:

Gen. George S. Patton Jr. discovers the French are honoring a latrine pit.
http://www.snopes.com/military/patton.asp

Pro-Bush:

The domain GeorgeWBush.com hosts the legitimate web site of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/website.asp

President George W. Bush has been nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.*
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/nobel.htm

Churchgoer describes encounter with President Bush at St. John's Church
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/stjohns.asp

President Bush spoke to Lindsey Yeskoo, the wife of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, after delivering a speech in Shanghai.
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/yeskoo.htm

In 2003, President and Mrs. Bush helped hand out Christmas presents to children of inmates.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/angel.asp

Photograph shows President Bush jogging with a serviceman who lost a leg in Afghanistan.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/jogging.asp

Photograph shows President Bush hugging the daughter of a 9/11 victim.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/faulkner.asp

Now, I would like to know how any of those stories qualify as an "Urban Legend"

[K-W]

28. Thanks, I will look them over. EOM

[patcox2]

16. They were virulent on Saudi Evacuation after 9/11.

They called it a myth that the US rounded up Saudis and flew them around during the no-fly period. It of course is true. I sent her an email with documentation from mainstream news reports, and she responded hatefully, angry and insulting.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

22. Yea, they dropped the ball on that one. However, their accuracy rate

is otherwise stellar. Sometimes you can't help having your personal bias cloud your judgment. She succeeds 99% of the time though, which is more than you can say about most people.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rniel]

18. They debunked a lot of the Jane Fonda urban legends

And some other things. I think they are calling it like it is from what I've seen.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

23. The Jane Fonda story is telling.

They respected all the facts, but left lots of opinion (RW opinion) there. As if saying, "All right, ALL RIGHT, this bad thing about Jane Fonda is a lie but I still think she sucks!"

As I said elsewhere, almost always -- but not always -- impartial.

[rniel]

25. Your right

I remember reading the whole thing, it was trying to keep to the facts at least, but did take a lot of swipes at her.

[deadparrot]

20. They debunk falsities,

whether they're from "their" side or ours.

[Jara sang]

24. OK here is the run down.

Granted there are a few stories that paint Bush in a less than favorable light, however they are more along the lines of "Oops, Bush just goofed up" Look at the pro-Bush compared to the anti Kerry and pro-Kerry stuff. Of which there really is no pro-Kerry stuff. I am only looking at articles that have been proven to be "true"

Anti-Kerry:

-Photograph shows John Kerry at a 1970 anti-war rally seated near Jane Fonda.*

- E-mailed item shows five homes owned by John Kerry and worth many millions of dollars.

- John Kerry referred to a Secret Service agent as a "son of a bitch."

- Swift boat veterans offer opinions about John Kerry.

- E-mail from neighbor describes Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards.

- For John Kerry's 'front porch' stop in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on Labor Day, neighborhood streets were closed and residents told to take down their Bush/Cheney signs.

- John Kerry told interviewer Larry King that he "hasn't had time" to be briefed on the possibility of new al Qaeda attacks.

- Photograph in Vietnamese museum honors John Kerry as an anti-war protester.


Now for the pro-Bush stuff:

- During a hospital visit, President George W. Bush saluted an Army officer who had been badly injured during the September 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.*

- President George W. Bush has been nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.*

- By proclamation of Governor George W. Bush, 10 June 2000 was 'Jesus Day in Texas.*

- Churchgoer describes encounter with President Bush at St. John's Church.*

- President Bush spoke to Lindsey Yeskoo, the wife of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, after delivering a speech in Shanghai.*

- The domain GeorgeWBush.com hosts the legitimate web site of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

- In 2003, President and Mrs. Bush helped hand out Christmas gifts to children of inmates

- Photograph shows President Bush jogging with a serviceman who lost a leg in Afghanistan.

- Photograph shows President Bush hugging the daughter of a 9/11 victim.

[Beaverhausen]

27. I just looked up anti bush stuff and they said "true"

for instance Bush/Asshole
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/bushcuss.asp

It just depends on what you search for.

Search Cheney and there are lots of fun listings!!!!


and the Kerry/Homes story you said they said was TRUE was in fact MULTIPLE. It does explain that several are owned by his wife.

[LoZoccolo]

29. I think this is because right-wingers like to pass emails around.

The emails and urban legends they debunk circulate around the right-wing community, who seem to have an affinity for such things. As a result, both true and false urban legends tend to have a right-wing slant.

[K-W]

30. It seems to me that they operate in good faith,

but that there is a noticable conservative bias in some political entries.

Considering that our culture has a noticable conservative bias, its hard to find too much fault, but I do agree that it is a fault.

[Taxloss]

31. It's resolutely neutral.

The problem is that the RW circulates far more crappy emails than the left, so inevitably it spends more time on them, true or not. RWers - spammers to a man and woman.

[Vektor]

32. I think they are ok...

They did debunk all the Vietnam smears about Kerry. They have also busted Bush before. I think they are pretty fair.

[T Town Jake]

33. Well, about the only time I ever visit snopes.com...

...is through links posted here at DU, and it's almost always debunking some fresh round of right wing horseshit.

But they debunk urban legends from all sides of the political spectrum, and some folks like to cherish certain myths which fit their world view while cheering the proper dismissal of others. I suggest that this is the case here.