Frequently Asked Questions

The short answer is, “Because readers ask about it.”
But of course we have given the topic more consideration than that answer would indicate. Read this note from our founder to learn more.

Yes! We always welcome reader tips and queries. Send us links to articles, social media posts, or images using our contact form. If you have screenshots or other relevant attachments, use the “Add File” button on the contact form. Include as much information as possible, including when and where you found the item you hope to see fact-checked.

Due to the volume of correspondence we receive every day, we regret that we may not be able to respond to your request personally.

Curious if we have already fact-checked the claim in question? Type in one or two keywords into our site search. Searches that are too lengthy or specific tend to produce fewer results.
To keep up with the latest fact-checking on Snopes.com, subscribe to our newsletter. 

The notion of inviting guest writers and experts to research for Snopes on special topics outside our regular writers’ beats is intriguing; however, we have to be extremely careful to protect the trust we have built with our readers. Properly verifying the credibility of myriad guest writers and their sources requires time and resources we just don’t have.

In general, when a political piece is primarily an editorial or other expression of opinion, we tag it as such and attempt to verify only whether the attribution is correct (since opinions are not falsifiable, the attribution is the sole aspect of the piece that may be objectively determined as being true or false). When a political piece purports to offer facts, we place it in a relevant category and analyze the factual claims made within for veracity.

Snopes cannot fact-check every dubious claim ever published, so we try to tackle what seems most prominent each day. In other words, we write about whatever the greatest number of readers are asking about or fact-checking at any given time, without any partisan considerations.  

The items we address include (but are not limited to):

– text circulated online
– social media posts
– images or memes
– photographs and videos
– printed material
– articles from other sites and publications

If any questionable materials come across your screen that you cannot fact-check or debunk yourself, let us know. Include a link or a screenshot if you can.

We don’t fact-check, without exception, every single item that comes our way. For example, we may decline to undertake a given topic because it is beyond our scope (e.g., answering the question “Does God exist?”) or represents a subject that is not relevant or appropriate for our site (e.g., speculating about a given celebrity’s sexual orientation).

Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we regret that we may not be able to respond to your request personally. Know that we are very appreciative of you taking the time to engage with Snopes.

Since the material we fact-check can range from everything to analyzing whether an image has been digitally manipulated to explicating the text of a Congressional bill, we can’t describe any single method that applies to all our fact-checking efforts.

In general, each entry is assigned to one of the members of our editorial staff who undertakes the preliminary research and writes the first draft of the fact check.

Our research generally begins with (whenever possible) attempting to contact the source of the claim for elaboration and supporting information. We also attempt to contact individuals and organizations who would be knowledgeable about, or have relevant expertise in, the subject at hand, as well as searching out printed information (news articles, scientific and medical journal articles, books, interview transcripts, statistical sources) with bearing on the topic.

We attempt to use non-partisan information and data sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journals, government agency statistics) as much as possible, and to alert readers that information and data from sources such as political advocacy organizations and partisan think tanks should be regarded with skepticism.

Depending upon the nature and complexity of the topic, other members of the editorial staff may contribute additional research (or their own personal expertise) and editing. The final product will pass through the hands of at least one editor. Any piece that is not deemed up to our standards by one or more editors is subject to further revision and review before being released for publication.

We have long observed the principle that we fact-check whatever items the greatest number of readers are asking about or searching for at any given time, without any partisan considerations.

We don’t choose (or exclude) items for coverage based on whether they deal with Republican/Democratic, conservative/liberal, or religious/secular issues. We also don’t impose our own judgments about whether a given item’s perceived importance, controversiality, obviousness, or superficiality (or lack thereof) merit our addressing it. (We are, of course, limited in how much we can cover by our available resources and staffing.)

The inputs we use to determine reader interest include the tabulation of terms entered into our search engine, reader email submissions, comments and items posted to our Twitter and Facebook accounts, external social media posts, as well as what’s trending on Google and other social media sites.

Our policy is to promptly correct errors of fact and to clarify any potentially confusing or ambiguous statements in our articles and fact checks. Readers can submit potential corrections through our Contact Form.

Whenever we change the rating of a fact check (for any reason), correct or modify a substantive supporting fact (even if it does not affect the item’s overall rating), or add substantial new information to an existing article, those changes are noted and explained in an Update box at the foot of the article.
Corrections of typographical errors, misspellings, or other minor revisions not deemed substantive by our editors are not noted.

Please keep in mind that text appearing inside a box with a colored background is either an example of collected folklore or a quotation from another source, not our own writing. We reproduce these items exactly as we find them and do not edit them to correct orthographical errors.

Our priority is original fact-checking and investigative reporting, however, Snopes also publishes a small selection of Associated Press (AP) articles to help us address as many reader queries as possible. Our team works hard but we can’t cover it all.

With an AP subscription we can more quickly respond to queries, as well as make search results on Snopes.com more reliable for loyal readers.

The AP describes itself as an independent, not-for-profit cooperative that has been reporting the news for almost two centuries. The AP is widely esteemed for its reporting, evidenced by a pile of prestigious awards, not to mention the fact that it is distributed by thousands of publications and newsrooms around the world.

We don’t run everything they publish. AP articles and photographs you find on Snopes.com are curated and posted to our site by members of our editorial team. These stories may include U.S. politics, entertainment, and breaking news, among other topics. We try to select stories that will interest and serve our readers the most.

Wondering how to identify an AP story on Snopes.com?
All AP stories are clearly labeled. Check either the category label at the top of the story or the byline located underneath the headline.

Have a question or concern about an AP story you read on Snopes.com? Consider reaching out to AP directly.

Read the latest AP stories on Snopes here.

Distilling the veracity of a topic or event into a one-word assessment can be challenging. Sometimes labeling an article “true” or “false” is not appropriate to the question at hand, or it doesn’t tell the whole story. Our rating system has a variety of labels, so we can be accurate, clear and fair. It’s important to take note of the claim statement on each article, as the specific wording of the claim is what the rating evaluates.

Snopes has been answering questions on the internet for more than two decades (since before Google existed, even) and millions of readers are still consulting us every week.

We like to think our portfolio of work speaks for itself. But we wouldn’t be particularly reliable fact-checkers if we didn’t corroborate that.

In a profile on BBC News, Snopes is described as “the go-to bible for many fact-checkers.”

“I haven’t done a paper in the past 10 years that I haven’t also checked to see what Snopes had to say about it first,” Patricia Turner, professor of folklore at UCLA, told the Los Angeles Times. “Anything that raises hairs on the back of my neck, I go to Snopes.”

“Do the Snopes.com articles reveal a political bias?” wrote FactCheck.org. “We reviewed a sampling of their political offerings, including some on rumors about George W. Bush, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama, and we found them to be utterly poker-faced.”

And in 2019 Popular Mechanics included Snopes on its list of “The 50 Most Important Websites of All Time.”

(Find more media coverage here.)

Of course, we don’t expect anyone to accept us as the ultimate authority on any topic. No single source, no matter how reliable, is infallible. Anyone can make mistakes. Or get duped. Or have a bad day at the fact-checking bureau.

However, unlike so many anonymous individuals who create and spread unsigned, unsourced messages across the internet, we show our work on Snopes.com. Research materials used in the preparation of any fact check are listed so that readers who wish to verify the validity of our information may check those sources for themselves. Just click the “Sources” button at the bottom of an article.

Feeling skeptical? That’s probably a good sign. Keep looking for more information. We will, too.

See something we missed? Contact us. 

Snopes is the name of a family of characters who appear throughout the works of American writer William Faulkner.

When David Mikkelson, creator of Snopes.com, began publishing on the internet in the late 1980s, he worried even back in those relatively uncrowded days that no one would remember yet another David. He was inspired to adopt a nom-de-Net, selecting one that honored those fictional Faulknerian characters, and began signing his newsgroups posts as “snopes.”

Over the years snopes established a reputation for his ability to thoroughly fact-check and debunk false claims. When it came time to name our domain, snopes.com seemed the obvious choice.

Wondering about the pronunciation? It rhymes with “soaps.”

Are we Republicans or Democrats? Conservatives or liberals? Administration supporters or a secretly-funded tool of the opposition? According to our readers, we’re all of the above. Somehow we performed the remarkable feat of being decidedly biased in every possible direction.

Thank you for your interest. If we are recruiting for any positions, we will make the information available on our Careers page.

That would be difficult because urban legends and viral memes are often expressions of adult fears and concerns and, as such, often convey those messages via stories that are unsuitable for children.

Corrections are always welcome; but keep in mind that text appearing inside a bordered box with a colored background is either an example of collected folklore or a quotation from another source, not our own writing. Because these items are pieces of folklore, we reproduce them exactly as we find them and do not edit them to correct orthographical errors.

Use our contact form to alert us to any mistakes or typos you think Snopes, and not a quoted source, has perpetrated.

An “urban legend” is not the same thing as a “fictional tale” or an “apocryphal anecdote,” although many people mistakenly use the term in that sense (e.g., “That’s not true; it’s just an urban legend!”).

A tale is considered to be an urban legend if it circulates widely, is told and retold with differing details (or exists in multiple versions), and is said to be true. Whether or not the events described in the tale ever actually occurred is irrelevant to its classification as an urban legend.

For example, the tale about a student who mistakes a math problem thought to be unsolvable for a homework assignment and solves it is an urban legend, even though something very similar did once happen in real life. The tale is still an urban legend, however, because over the years many of its details (i.e., when it happened, where it happened, the identity of the student, the reaction of the student’s instructor) have changed as it has spread.

Snopes has been fact-checking folklore, urban legends, hoaxes, memes, and rumors on the internet for more than 25 years. It began as something of a hobby and has grown considerably since. Now our team of fact-checkers, developers, and support staff is probably greater than you can fit in a large passenger van, although we haven’t scientifically tested that yet.

Thank you for thinking of us. Please send a complete summary of the event details using our Contact Form.

We did participate in Facebook’s third party fact-checking experiment, along with about a half dozen other fact-checking organizations, starting at the end of 2016. But after contributing to that effort for two years, we elected not to renew our participation in that program.

In addition to fact-checking, Snopes publishes original news stories, in-depth investigations, and other material we believe will help readers understand and contextualize information they encounter.

Fact checks, which use our rating system, are clearly labeled.

To stay up-to-date on all Snopes content, subscribe to our newsletter. 

Memberships allow our readers a way to support Snopes with a sustainably sized contribution that helps us keep the lights on and, more importantly, helps us do it ourselves. Our memberships also offer special benefits, like ad-free browsing, a community badge, and a members-only newsletter called the Snopes Digest.

To learn more, click here.

You can become a Snopes member by visiting our membership page and selecting the subscription that works best for you. After you’ve purchased your membership, you’ll receive an email with information about how to create your Snopes Account to access ad-free browsing and more.

Please note: direct contributions do not include memberships.

Snopes is not becoming a paid service, but by supporting Snopes with a membership, you gain access to exclusive benefits through your Snopes Account. These include ad-free browsing and the Snopes Digest, a twice-monthly newsletter for members only. All online articles and fact checks will remain free.

From the Snopes.com home page, click the button to the right of the search bar and click “Log in.” From there, enter the email address associated with your Snopes Account. If your account is new or is passwordless, check your inbox for a unique, temporary log-in link. If you do not receive this email within a few minutes of logging in, please check your spam folder.

Once logged in to your account, you may wish to add a password to your account. Once you’ve given your account a password, simply enter your email address and the password you created from your account’s Profile tab.

Note for mobile users: If you use a passwordless account, simply copy and paste the URL sent to your email address into the mobile browser of your choice. Emails are sent to passwordless accounts each time they attempt to log in.

Accounts with passwords can be logged in on their mobile device the same way you would log in on a desktop computer.

You don’t need to log in to use your Snopes membership every time, but we do require that you log in again if you’ve been inactive for a while.

If you don’t receive your URL within a few minutes of logging in, please check your spam, junk, and promotions folders.

If you still aren’t receiving the email, please contact us at support@snopes.com so we can continue to help you troubleshoot.

To change your email address, please visit your Snopes account page and click on the Profile tab. Type the email address you wish to change to and click “save changes” below to proceed. If you need further assistance, please contact accounts@snopes.com.

All Snopes accounts default to passwordless accounts. We use this system for a few keys reasons:

1. It’s more secure. With a username and password system, users tend to choose a password they’re comfortable with (such as their birthday or pet’s name) or credentials they’ve used for other accounts. As a result, if hackers get access to one account, they can gain access to many, leading to a “domino effect” that can put all of your information at risk. A passwordless system removes this threat.

2. It’s simpler. Since your Snopes account will be tied to your email, you won’t need to remember complicated passwords or periodically renew your password to keep your information safe. All you’ll need to do is remember the email address associated with your account to log in.

3. It’s becoming the norm. Many other industry leaders are moving towards passwordless login systems for both reasons above, so it very well may soon be used by other websites you frequent. 

Some users may wish to set a password for their accounts so that they don’t need to check their email to log in. For more information about how to do this, please visit the FAQ below entitled “How do set a password for my account?”

To change your email address, please visit your Snopes account page and click on the Profile tab. Enter the password you wish to use twice (for verification purposes) and then click on the keep “Keep password” below.

Once you’ve decided on a password, click “Save changes” to complete the process. Once completed, this process cannot be undone. You will no longer receive log-in emails.

If you need further assistance, please contact support@snopes.com.

We sure do! For more information, please visit this page.

We’re sorry to see you go. Subscriptions can be managed via your Snopes account page underneath the Library tab. If you need further assistance, please contact accounts@snopes.com.

First, please make sure your account has an active membership. Memberships can be purchased here.

If you’re logged in to your Snopes Account and you’re a member, navigate to your member profile by clicking the button next to our search bar on the top right corner of Snopes.com. Verify that the text “Ad-Free Browsing Enabled” appears beneath your Order History.

If you have created and logged into your Snopes Account before purchasing your membership, you’ll need to log out and back in before you can turn on ad-free browsing. To log out, click the “Log Out” link located in the footer on the bottom of Snopes.com, and then visit snopes.com/login to log back in.

If you’ve followed these steps but still seeing ads, please contact us at accounts@snopes.com and we’ll help.

You can submit any errors you see through our contact form or by emailing us at support@snopes.com. In the report, please include a brief description of the error and attach screenshots, if possible.

Without ads, we couldn’t afford to operate this site as a free resource for everyone. That said, we are committed to providing the best reader experience we can.

If you encounter issues with any advertising on our site, please contact us immediately at adops@snopes.com. Please include as many details as possible (e.g., name of the advertiser, description of the ad, or a screen capture of the ad). Please note that without these details (especially screenshots) it is often difficult for us to identify a particular problem as many ads are geo-targeted to specific countries or regions of the U.S.; and if the geotargeting excludes the area where we live, we can’t see the ads for ourselves.

The advertisements you see on Snopes.com are provided by Google, Amazon, Facebook, and other large-scale advertising exchanges. They are served to users based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: the content of a web page, your browsing history, and where you are located.
Snopes has little control over which ads display on your screen when you visit our site, but we do maintain aggressive quality controls to prevent misleading or “clickbait” ads from getting into the mix. Sometimes bad actors mask malicious ads and malware in order to bypass our quality controls and those of our partners. We are doing everything in our power to monitor this activity and block those bad actors when and if they get through.

We do our best to ensure the advertisements we carry on our site are as inoffensive as possible, and we filter out ads that advocate partisan political causes or candidates, flash excessively, contain adult material, play (non-user-initiated) audio, spawn multiple windows, automatically trigger downloads, install malware, or misleadingly claim visitors have won contests or report the presence of viruses or spyware.

However, with several million different advertisers rotating through our site on a daily basis, we can’t possibly preview every advertisement appearing on our site (and vet all the sites they link to), so sometimes we’re not aware we’re carrying an ad that violates these guidelines until a reader points it out to us. (Some advertisers deliberately change their names from month to month or furtively switch pre-approved ad copy in order to bypass filters and fool advertising agencies and webmasters who have previously excluded their ads.)

If you encounter issues with any advertising on our site, please contact us immediately at adops@snopes.com. Please include as many details as possible (e.g., name of the advertiser, description of the ad, or a screen capture of the ad). Please note that without these details (especially screenshots) it is often difficult for us to identify a particular problem as many ads are geo-targeted to specific countries or regions of the U.S.; and if the geotargeting excludes the area where we live, we can’t see the ads for ourselves.

All of our advertising is carefully positioned not to obscure any of the text or other elements within our articles, but not all browsers properly render the code used to align advertisements. If you encounter difficulties in reading an article due to a particular advertisement contained therein, you can usually eliminate the problem by simply refreshing the page, which will (in most cases) cause different ads to display within the article.

If you are experiencing difficulty with a banner ad obscuring the search engine entry box on an article page, you can get around this issue by simply using our main search page.

Most internet advertising exchanges use cookies to keep track of which ads have been displayed to a particular visitor. These cookies do not acquire or collect any personal information about visitors (such as name, address, phone number, or email address), and the technical information they do temporarily store (such as geographic location, browser type, and IP address) is used solely for the purpose of targeting ads and measuring a given ad’s effectiveness. Nonetheless, some security programs flag such cookies as “adware” and/or mistakenly report cookie placement as an attempt to download software to the user’s computer. If you are uncomfortable with the use of cookies to temporarily store non-personal information, you can delete the cookie or alter your browser’s security settings to prevent it from accepting cookies.

No. Snopes is completely independent. Our operations are sustained by advertising revenue and generous contributions from readers.