Tag: Snopes

Analysis: Snopes and the Fact-Checked Claims That Weren’t Really Made

RealClearWire

A fact-checker’s role is to help readers distinguish fact from fiction by analyzing and rating claims. Sometimes, however, fact-checkers seem to create and check claims that no one is making, or, perhaps inadvertently, blame outlets or individuals for false claims that they didn’t make.

In a fact-check published Jan. 5, Snopes contributor Madison Dapcevich analyzed the claim “Legislation proposed in the New York State Senate in 2021 called for the establishment of COVID-19 ‘detention camps,’” rating this a “Mixture” of truth and falsehood.

Read the full story

Analysis: Beware of ‘Fact Checkers’

Admin

We live in an age in which information is far more accessible than ever before in human history. However, so is misinformation. How can we sort out one from other?

Well, some people who call themselves “fact checkers” claim to have the answer. They say, “Trust us.” But all-too-often, they fail to get even basic facts correct. Let’s look at three prime examples. See if you notice a common thread between them.

Read the full story

City Pages Readers Roast City Pages for Running Smear Piece on Minnesota Sun

Anthony Gockowski

City Pages, a subsidiary of The Star Tribune, recently published a story titled: “Minnesota Sun: A Republican mega-donor site masquerading as ‘local news.’” The article was based on a Snopes “investigation” of Star News Digital Media, Inc., the parent company of The Minnesota Sun as well as The Ohio Star, The Tennessee Star, and Battleground State News. On Facebook, City Pages captioned its story with a tagline of “all the right-wing propaganda that’s fit to print,” but the outlet’s own readers weren’t buying it. Many comments on Facebook pointed out the “irony” and “hypocrisy” in City Pages’ article. “So good to know that CP has Snopes for their resources,” one reader wrote. “Thank you! I never had heard of them, but I now have a news source more reliable and truthful than City Pages and MinnPost,” another added. “What about all the left-wing bulls– you guys print?” yet another asked. Others comments in response to the City Pages article included: One reader even claimed that City Pages runs ads for “hookers” in its print edition. The organization’s print edition, which is available free-of-charge at many businesses throughout the Twin Cities area, does regularly include advertisements for strip clubs and phone…

Read the full story

Snopes Gets Key Facts Wrong on Ocasio-Cortez Campaign Finance Scandal

Admin

by Andrew Kerr   The left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes butchered facts about a PAC controlled by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her top aide in a story published Thursday. Ocasio-Cortez and Saikat Chakrabarti, her former campaign chair and current chief of staff, obtained majority control of Justice Democrats in December 2017. The PAC, which had raised more than $1.8 million before her June 2018 primary, has been widely credited with manufacturing her upset victory over incumbent Democrat Joe Crowley. Snopes writer Dan MacGuill falsely claimed in his story that Chakrabarti, who served as executive director of Justice Democrats in 2018, “was not an official agent or officer” of the PAC. He also failed to acknowledge the fact that he and Ocasio-Cortez are members of the PAC’s three-member board of directors, according to archived versions of the Justice Democrats website and corporate filings obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Justice Democrats’ board of directors on March 23, 2018. (Screenshot/Wayback Machine) Former Federal Election Commission member Brad Smith told TheDCNF that Ocasio-Cortez and her top aide “could be facing jail time” if they knowingly and willfully withheld their control over Justice Democrats from the commission in order to bypass campaign contribution…

Read the full story

FAKE NEWS: Fact-Checker ‘Snopes’ Botches Nathan Phillips Fact-Check

Admin

by Peter Hasson   Snopes, a left-leaning fact-checking website given preferential treatment by both Facebook and Google, flubbed its fact-check of American Indian activist Nathan Phillips’ false claim of being a Vietnam veteran. Phillips shot to national attention after a viral confrontation between him and a group of high school boys from Covington Catholic high school. Phillips, with the help of credulous national media outlets, said the boys mobbed and racially harassed him as he tried to leave the Indigenous People’s March. Video evidence debunked Phillips’s account. In addition to botching the details of the confrontation, media outlets also inaccurately reported that Phillips is a Vietnam veteran. Phillips described himself in interviews as a “Vietnam-times veteran” and groups affiliated with him told The New York Times that he fought in Vietnam. Phillips explicitly claimed in a 2018 Facebook video that he was a Vietnam veteran who served “in theater.” Military records show that Phillips never deployed to Vietnam, though his military service did include a long stint as a refrigerator technician. Snopes’s fact-check incorrectly labeled it “unproven” that Phillips had falsely claimed to be a Vietnam veteran. Snopes declined to change its misleading ruling despite definitive video evidence of Phillips doing exactly that. Both Facebook and Google give Snopes preferential treatment on their platforms, though…

Read the full story

FAKE NEWS: Google and Facebook’s Official Fact Checker ‘Snopes’ Botches Republican-Bashing Fact Check

Admin

by Peter Hasson   Snopes, a left-leaning fact-checking website given preferential treatment by Facebook and Google, botched its fact-check of a viral meme that was mocked within political circles for spreading false information. The meme showed a picture of President Donald Trump with Republican lawmakers and members of his administration following the House’s vote to repeal Obamacare in 2017. Thirty-three people in the photo Snopes used had a red X over their face, though it cropped out a 34th person included in others. The caption accurately claimed the photo was taken at the White House following the House’s Obamacare vote, then falsely claimed that “Everyone with an X has since been voted out of Congress.” Lol at this dumb viral tweet full of inaccuracies. Aside from the many other wrong ones, he has an ‘X’ over Seema Verma’s face. She’s never even served in Congress 🤷🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/mPXIbI4rj1 — Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) November 17, 2018 DeSantis ran for gov. Tom Price went into the Cabinet. Steve Pearce didnt run for the House This is quite literally insane fake news. — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 18, 2018 Amazing. This photo illustration — posted by @nicholaskitchel — is actually more incorrect than correct. —…

Read the full story