Snopes is owed money, but question remains over how much
An anti-climactic pretrial hearing left Snopes.com Friday without an answer to an important question: How much money is the fact-checking site actually owed by its advertising partner, Proper Media?
Proper Media, a San Diego-based media firm, sells all advertisements on behalf of Snopes, the urban-legend-dispelling site visited by around 18 million people a month. The companies had previously contracted to split monthly proceeds from advertisements above an $85,000 base payout to Snopes.
But, in a lawsuit filed in May, Proper Media alleges that Snopes’ parent company Bardav Inc. and its CEO David Mikkelson unlawfully tried to terminate the agreement earlier this year. It also claims to own 50 percent of Bardav and is seeking recognition of its stake.
Meanwhile, the media firm has withheld monthly revenue payouts to Bardav for months, prompting Snopes to plead to readers in July to save the site through donations on GoFundMe.
Read more: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-snopes-motions-20170804-story.html
