Debunkers of Fictions Sift the Net

[NorthCarolina]

by Brian Stelter

It is one of the paradoxes of the Internet.

Along with the freest access to knowledge the world has ever seen comes a staggering amount of untruth, from imagined threats on health care to too-easy-to-be-true ways to earn money by forwarding an e-mail message to 10 friends. “A cesspool,” Google’s chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, once called it.

David and Barbara Mikkelson are among those trying to clean the cesspool. The unassuming California couple run Snopes, one of the most popular fact-checking destinations on the Web.

<snip>

In a given week, Snopes tries to set the record straight on everything from political smears to old wives’ tales. No, Kenya did not erect a sign welcoming people to the “birthplace of Barack Obama.” No, Wal-Mart did not authorize illegal immigration raids at its stores. No, the Olive Garden restaurant chain did not hand out $500 gift cards to online fans.

<snip>

Much of the site’s resources are spent on investigating political claims, even though the Mikkelsons say politics is the last subject they want to write about. (Barbara cannot even vote in American elections; she is a Canadian citizen.) Claims relating to President Obama are now the top searches on the site but “even when there were Republicans in the White House, the mail was still overwhelmingly anti-liberal,” Mr. Mikkelson said.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/technology/05snopes.html

[TlalocW]

1. Has anyone ever received a liberal diatribe in email that was nothing but lies?

I have to debunk the conservative ones all the time that are sent to me from my family (actually, they don't send them to me anymore because I make them look like fools - my mom forwards them to me, and I reply all). I can't remember anything even remotely approaching some of the conservative BS I've gotten.

TlalocW

[we can do it]

2. Me Either and I Am Quite Sick of It