Beware of emails that say "Snopes verified this"

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

On a thread that was locked, a poster copied an email villifying Michelle Obama. At the top, it said the allegations had been verified by Snopes, but with no connecting link. Before answering any email of this sort, I would suggest you visit Snopes itself and see what is actually said. I did for this email, which was about Michelle Obama's college thesis, and here is the link:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/thesis.asp

My suggestion for emails of this source is to not only provide the link, but to quote from the article, especially parts that explain how and why the email is wrong. Always provide a link to the primary source, be it a college thesis or video, and challenge people to read and think for themselves.

This is the best way to combat smear emails.

[benddem]

1. yes and since the morans

who send those out...rarely if ever send them blind...respond to all and inform them that snopes or the source said no such thing.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. What I want to know is...

did the dipshit who defended the OP also get the boot?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I really don't know

I was busy responding to the OP with the snopes article, which for some reason I couldn't copy/paste. By the time I was done typing, the thread had been locked. I didn't want to waste my research, so decided to at least link to snopes and explain my plan of action against smear emails.

[Born_A_Truman]

16. You used to be able to copy/paste from Snopes

but for some reason now I am unable to do that. Does anyone know a workaround?

I have a feeling Snopes will be very busy until November.

[FatDave]

24. Couple less than perfect ways.

I was able to copy the article by doing a ctrl-a (select all) and then a ctrl-c copy, but this grabs all the links down the side and whatnot. But you can paste it into a text editor and then get what you want.

The other way is to do a "view source" on it and copy from the source code. You then have to edit out the HTML tags though.

It's interesting. I've never seen a website that locks the ability to highlight text. I assume it's some kind of javascript trick, so disabling javascript (buried somewhere in your browser options) will probably work as well. That's a pain too though.

[blondeatlast]

5. I didn't have time to "buddy list" it, so I'm waiting to see myself.

That's how I keep track--I've really got my eye on that "JeffR" for RW, too...)

[Patsy Stone]

8. Yes

according to another thread, and apparently the thread wasn't just locked, it was disappeared.

[blondeatlast]

13. Still here; this time, the modus operandi is reversed...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Slightly cleverer than most.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Is that who it was?

I didn't remember the username.

[blondeatlast]

17. The first reply, I believe. nt

[redqueen]

21. I have that one on ignore.

I love verification.

[BlooInBloo]

4. And beware of DUers spreading said emails.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

15. That is why my OP was about techniques to quash said emails

and only spoke in general terms about the email topic. We don't need to spread lies, we need to find the truth instead. What I'd like to see are more posts about "I got this email about Topic X" from my freeper cousin, and here's the information you can use to rebut it, complete with citations.

[JimGinPA]

6. I Got The "Obama Is A Muslim" Email Saying It Was "Verified By Snopes"...

When it was actually debunked there. People are stupid.

[ghostsofgiants]

11. Stupid is putting it mildly.

[chieftain]

7. I'm glad you posted this. The OP accurately quoted Snopes

as to the lifting of the embargo on Michele's thesis and then added a complete misrepresentation of what she wrote as if it was attributable to Snopes. This was clearly the work of a freeper troll but it underscores how leery we should be of any negative postings about any Democrats. Lying is what the RW does best. In fact a concerted strategy of lies and deception is their only hope in maintaining power.

[uppityperson]

9. k&r for checking on Snopes and not trusting someone sending you emails

[papapi]

10. Thanks ayeshahaqqiqa for the link to the Snopes page.....

the 'smear intent' is clear when you see the Daily Princetonian summary.

[liberal N proud]

12. with no connecting link is the key

Don't trust anything that can't be backed up with evidence.

I however do not have a link to back that up you will just have to trust me on this. LOL

[Muttocracy]

18. that's a good point - even right-wingers may have figured out that phrase. nt

[NJmaverick]

19. Anytime you get a BS Obama email, hit reply all and send this

Obama- 11 McCain- 0


That's the number of false rumors, targeted at each of the presidential candidates. Seems the Republicans are guilty of 11 outright lies, while there has been none, coming from the Democrats.

Here are website links you can use to verify this information.

John McCain's Snopes (a website devoted to truth and accuracy on the internet) entry:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/mccain/mccain.asp

Barack Obama's Snopes entry:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/obama.asp

So next time you see a political email in your in-box, consider its source before you even read it. If one of your conservative friends sends you a "friendly" email, letting you know some secret information about Obama, just remember 11-0.

[redqueen]

20. And don't forget to use REPLY ALL.

So many shameless idiots out there. Ugh.

[sandyj999]

22. I get propaganda from a republican that was a classmate a hundred years ago....almost.

And I delight in actually going to Snopes and blowing his e-mail out of the water! I have also informed him that it is extremely irresponsible to forward e-mails before they are checked. Does he get it? No,remember I said he is a republican.

[TexasObserver]

23. I've gotten some of those.

Of course, about a month ago, I read everyone the riot act who was sending me anti Obama bullshit. Basically, I told everyone "do it again, and I'll block your fucking email! You, too, mother!"

[Sweet Freedom]

25. And then be sure to cross-post

here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Downtown Hound]

26. Forget the missing link

Snopes isn't an authority on anything. It is not and never has been the deciding factor. It's just a site run by some folks, and they do work hard at it and try and be thorough, but they can and do get stuff wrong now and again.