Snopes.com CEO Arrested on Charges of Fraud and Corruption

LOS ANGELES, CA – Snopes.com owners Barbara and David Mikkelson were detained by police today after an unrelated investigation of a Snopes.com editor lead police onto a paper trail of corruption, bribery, and fraud at the very heart of the fact-checking organization.

Evidence obtained by police has revealed that Snopes.com, which markets itself as “the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation,” has a history of accepting money and favors from left-leaning and pro-Islamic political groups and individuals for helping them to advance their cause by rigging public discourse with selective fact-finding and deliberate manipulation of public opinion.

Late Monday morning, Brian Williston, a Snopes.com editor, who also doubles as the accountant, found himself at a flea market on the outskirts of Los Angeles. As he was browsing the different tables and tents looking for antiques, an old mechanical piano began playing Dixie’s Land, a song that was adopted as a de facto anthem of the Confederacy during the American Civil War and is now considered offensive by some due to its link to the iconography and ideology of the Old South.

The tune sparked an outrage in Williston, who began yelling and cursing those who “would like to bring back slavery and racial separation,” and ordering the vendors to “turn off that racist music.” When no one nearby claimed to know how to turn off the one-hundred-year-old machine, Williston became violent. He started grabbing various antique objects from the vendors’ tables and throwing them at the antique piano in an attempt to silence the music.

A bystander, later identified as William Barksdale, working as a courier for the L.A. Messenger Service, attempted to calm Williston down, saying that “someone is just trying to see if that the piano still works” and “it’s only a song, don’t shoot the pianist,” but that only prompted the infuriated editor to redirect his rage to the messenger. Williston, who is white, began to choke Barksdale, who is black, while screaming “Shut up! Shut up!” as the mechanical piano continued to play Dixie’s Land in the background.

After some of the shoppers intervened and pried Williston’s hands off the courier’s throat, the Snopes.com editor fled the scene of the incident. LAPD quickly identified Williston by the personal check he left with one of the vendors, which contained his full name and address. While inside his home, Williston ignored commands to open the door, causing police to use forced entry in order to detain him.

The arresting officer caught Williston slipping some papers under a Persian rug, which prompted the police to remove the rug and examine the documents underneath it. One of them turned out to be a handwritten ledger, containing names of well-known individuals and organizations who have been paying Snopes.com to debunk stories that cast them in a bad light, while validating damaging half-truths and rumors about their political opponents.

Having established their website as a reputable resource for validating and debunking stories in American popular culture since 1995, the Mikkelson couple soon found themselves in a position to influence public discourse by punishing or rewarding certain cultural and political biases. Before long they were accepting money to promote some rumors and downplay or completely ignore some others, which over the years have brought them millions of dollars, according to the source.

Especially scandalous may be the website’s possible collaboration with left-leaning national media organizations, which started with payments to Snopes.com to overlook or validate their inaccurate and biased reporting, and eventually evolved into a full-scale coordinated effort with left-leaning groups and public relation firms to construct a media narrative that gave legitimacy to certain opinions, political causes and public figures, while discrediting other opinions, causes, and public figures.

The list of groups and individuals paying to use the website’s clout ranged from local politicians to transnational entities to foreign governments, including Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority. None of the specifics or individual names are being revealed while the investigation is still ongoing, but a police source has indicated that “the shockwaves will rock the world of the media and the political establishment.”

Several watchdog groups have already condemned Snopes.com as a corrupt organization with zero credibility and urged their readers to disregard any political debunking from this tainted source. But some media experts predict that, given the high-profile names involved, as well as the power and magnitude of the political opinion-generating machine of which Snopes.com was only a small wheel, the story may never be allowed to reach a full-blown scandal and will soon be discarded as an urban legend, joining a long line of other similar stories debunked by Snopes.com.

Footage of the player piano that ignited the incident released by the LAPD:

kommissar of viral infectionsEDITORS NOTE: This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.

291 replies
        • Yeah, no
          Yeah, no says:

          Detailed factual allegations presented as true, with no humorous aspect, are not satire. Clearly you are hoping that people will believe your lies as fact and spread them as “news.” A one-line disclaimer at the end of the false story is unlikely to save you from a lawsuit for libel.

          Reply
          • Dan
            Dan says:

            It might help if you actually read the article all of the way through instead of just assuming it said what it really does not.

          • cynthia
            cynthia says:

            First of all, it says at the very beginning of the article that this is satire; see: “August 6, 2015/in Commentary, Political Satire /by Oleg Atbashian.” Also, satire does not have to have clearly humorous aspects. The humor may only be apparent when you know the text is not intended to be taken seriously or you know more about the subject matter. See the famous example of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” in which the suggestion is made to eat infants to respond to Ireland’s famine. Unless readers understand something of the subject matter, it (and this article) doesn’t seem particularly humorous. If I wasn’t familiar with Snopes and what it does, immediately suspicious when I saw the picture, and actually read the byline and the final disclaimer, I might not understand that this is not to be taken seriously.We tend to think that we aren’t expected to think when we read something and that the point should be explicit, which undermines the wit and subtlety of satire and many other types of writing.

          • NC Muscogee
            NC Muscogee says:

            What makes it ESPECIALLY humorous is the indignant reactions it provokes from clueless trollers! Laugh out loud!!

          • RC
            RC says:

            Idiot. It says right under the title of the article…”in Commentary, Political Satire /by Oleg Atbashian”.

          • Rebecca Novicki
            Rebecca Novicki says:

            Yet ironically this article is written in the same manner as many of the snopes “fact” checking articles that are false are also written. That is why this is good satire.

          • MAUREEN E OCARROLL
            MAUREEN E OCARROLL says:

            Satire does not require an overtly humorous aspect. Jonathan Swift’s brilliant essay “A Modest Proposal” is perhaps the most notable example of this.

          • Rev Rob
            Rev Rob says:

            Satire Does NOT mean it isn’t true it just enhances it and makes it quirky… See the definition below… Try looking stuff UP folks before calling each other names Please… God Bless… sat·ire
            ˈsaˌtī(ə)r/
            noun
            the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
            synonyms: mockery, ridicule, derision, scorn, caricature; More
            a play, novel, film, or other work that uses satire.
            plural noun: satires
            “a stinging satire on American politics”
            synonyms: parody, burlesque, caricature, lampoon, skit; More
            a genre of literature characterized by the use of satire.

        • Doug
          Doug says:

          The problem is this is how the liberal left works.. This is business as usual. Your writing is pretty good, too. That is why this story is so believable.

          Reply
          • Jerry
            Jerry says:

            Snopes is biased. Seen it many times with Trump. That’s why my mouth was salivating while reading the article. I finally “got it” when the white man started choking the black man. Ha ha ha. Then how he sweeps everything under the rug.

            I hate liberal ideology.

        • donna kaiser
          donna kaiser says:

          I understand the events depicted were satrical but I am curious as to whether snopes is NOT a place you can go to in order to fact check? Is there another option out there?

          Reply
          • NC Muscogee
            NC Muscogee says:

            Snopes is actually pretty good, even when you consider he’s in the pocket of the left-leaning establishment.

          • Jack
            Jack says:

            Snopes is good. Or try Politifact. Those who are disinclined to accept the answer will call them “left leaning”. Both are quite respected.

          • Lorrie
            Lorrie says:

            How to investigate: You can use your search engine and enter “is it true about …” like is it true about the fighter pilot and the jet taking off from …” and right away find out that it was a clip from a video game … or the one that lost a wing, but was primarily digital, with no actual human pilot. You can also try PolitiFact, major newspapers, and actual universities. The “dog that led 237 people out of the world trade …” was debunked by a service dog web site and an actual seeing eye dog owner who was there. Heroism, yes; 237 by one dog, no. That was an “urban legend,” and it was an untruth published as truth. BUT SATIRE IS A FORM OF HUMOR. IT IS NOT A FACTUAL ACCOUNT, nor is satire a misrepresentation of facts. Satire is like a joke, but a really, really smart joke with an IQ over 170 and an earned Juris Doctor. Get it? And if you enter the story in your search engine, “is it true that …” your result will show, “(author) writes political satire.”

          • Ron
            Ron says:

            I have found “Truth or Fiction ” website to be fairly reliable. I quit using Scopes several years ago because I found too many “likely” or “unlikely” references in their comments. Seemed they couldn’t get down to true or not true.

        • Bill
          Bill says:

          Political satire you say? I was there. The flea market in question is the Long Beach super sale held every third Sunday of the month. Aisle G at about the midway. The scuffle was so loud people were flocking from several sections away to find the cause. No satire here. This happened. Not sure about the ledger under the Persian rug, but the piano was involved. Actually this guy didn’t get really incensed until it started in to play an older Madonna tune called Material Girl.

          Reply
        • John Whiting
          John Whiting says:

          Satire? Without a clear label as satire, you’ve fallen afoul of Poe’s Law, which implies that it is impossible to make extremist statements as satire without the risk of people believing that they are true.

          Now, if you are known for your satires, as is The Onion, then please accept my profound apology. If, however, you intend to be taken seriously most of the time, and then dump little land mines of “satire” in among your serious articles, well, it’s your site. How well-respected you wish to be is your choice.

          https://www.truthorfiction.com/snopes-ceo-arrested-on-fraud-corruption-charges/

          Reply
        • Denny Barringer
          Denny Barringer says:

          The article may be satire but it rings of the truth. Snopes is a left wing POS ran by a man and wife who use Google to investigate.

          Reply
        • David Miller
          David Miller says:

          Why do you write nonsense like this? Low-info folks will take it to be gospel and not believe the highly credible Snopes outfit. You’re doing damage. You’re making things worse. And this is supposed to be humor?

          Reply
          • Catherine Wilford
            Catherine Wilford says:

            BTW – the song in question is, I believe, DIXIE LAND, not Dixie’s Land as stated in the article.

        • Sherman
          Sherman says:

          Based on the comments of our friends on the right, the Tea Bugger right, this proves once again that they will believe anything they want to believe no matter the FACT that the editor clearly that this is political satire. God you’re dumb.

          Reply
        • KeithInTampa
          KeithInTampa says:

          What is the point in posting false, misleading and outright prevaricate stories like this? To come back and label the story as, “Political Satire” is nonsensical…The point is to mislead and it gives conservatives and the conservative movement in this Nation a black eye.

          There seerms to be a large increase in these types of sites that generate fraudulent stories under the guise of “Political Satire”; and for the life of me, I don’t understand the purpose or the need!

          Reply
        • Rick Keller
          Rick Keller says:

          I went to Snopes to debunk this story, but Snopes has not debunked the story. The story must be true, if Snopes has not debunked it. lol

          Reply
        • Rev Rob
          Rev Rob says:

          sat·ire
          ˈsaˌtī(ə)r/
          noun
          the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
          synonyms: mockery, ridicule, derision, scorn, caricature; More
          a play, novel, film, or other work that uses satire.
          plural noun: satires
          “a stinging satire on American politics”
          synonyms: parody, burlesque, caricature, lampoon, skit; More
          a genre of literature characterized by the use of satire.

          Reply
        • Joe
          Joe says:

          This rubbish is being passed off as Satire. Today’s satire sites totally suck. It’s just fake news not satire! They think they are so clever, when they write this trash!

          Reply
        • sandy
          sandy says:

          This isn’t satire! I read the entire article including the player piano bit. Most idiots that believe this stuff don’t bother to read the whole thing. They read what they want to believe and then pass it on to more idiots (some who actually run for President) and with enough saying it and passing it around it becomes “truth”. In my opinion what you’ve done is dangerous and disgusting.

          Reply
        • Dry Gulch Dick
          Dry Gulch Dick says:

          Good writing – wish it were true – I do not like snopes. Don’t use it and haven’t for 6/7 years now.

          Reply
          • greg scott
            greg scott says:

            Rolling on the floor laughing, literally….reading the replies from those who fell for the joke, hook, line, and sinker. LoL….

      • Paul House
        Paul House says:

        People (like yourself) will believe what they want to believe and no presentation of facts can prove to them otherwise.

        Reply
      • lol
        lol says:

        There is NO WAY Snopes can legitimately Claim to know what REALLY HAPPENED to murdered SETH RICH of the DNC and SHAWN LUCAS, the lawyer suing the DNC, less than 24 hours after their deaths!! and yet THERE IT WAS, a full DISCLAIMER that the CLINTONS didn’t DO THEM IN, the very next day, even before the POLICE REPORTS were typed out!

        Reply
      • Susan Stubbs
        Susan Stubbs says:

        “EDITORS NOTE: This political SATIRE (emphasis mine) column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.”

        Reply
      • scott feighner
        scott feighner says:

        The disclaimer at the bottom of the article that states: EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.

        Everything on this web-site is satire.

        Reply
      • Sinjen Hawke
        Sinjen Hawke says:

        Perhaps you should have taken notice of this, which is posted at the end of the column..
        “EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.”

        Reply
      • J.J.
        J.J. says:

        Um, that part at the bottom of the article that indicates: “EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.”

        Reply
    • Mary Ann
      Mary Ann says:

      This case wasn’t the one posted last year, but they had already been credited as being corrupt, not everyone reads, the important things. I stopped referring to snopes long time ago……they are LIARS, CROOKS, AND AGAINST AMERICA.

      Reply
      • Dee
        Dee says:

        Cool your jets !!!!! It’s a JOKE. TAKE TIME TO THOROUGHLY READ ARTICLES. That could be why you obviously have an ABUNDANCE of bitterness in you !! The editors note is at bottom of article if you care to be in on the joke. Meanwhile- lighten up 🙂 life is way to short.

        Reply
        • Paul House
          Paul House says:

          No one reads the articles anymore. They rely on the deceptive “Screaming Headlines” to tell them all they need to know.

          Reply
      • Dan
        Dan says:

        Please feel free to offer up any actual empirical evidence to support your claim that Snopes is not credible.

        I look forward to your proof.

        Reply
        • Jay Reeve
          Jay Reeve says:

          I once told a smart, well-educated, but somewhat credulous friend that “gullible” had been removed from the dictionary. Loved it when he went to his on-line dictionary, typed in “gullable” to check and found it was indeed missing. It took him quite some time to discover the misspelling.

          Reply
    • David
      David says:

      Disgusting. An obvious hit piece designed to discredit snopes at the expense of vulnerable readers who don’t see the disclaimer. Neither funny nor interesting. Just placed out there for right wingers as there “facts” tend to be the most checked due to the sheer volume of their misinformation and inaccuracy. You’re a dick dude.

      Reply
      • Amanda
        Amanda says:

        Dude, it’s a satire. If people can’t read the disclaimer, that’s their own fault. Grow the hell up and stop trying to blame ‘right wingers’ for the simple fact that some people obviously can’t read. Or better yet, keep talking, because you make yourself the idiot jackass every time you post your useless garbage.

        Reply
        • Paul House
          Paul House says:

          Donald Trump’s support from Republican voters tends to come from men, seniors and lower-middle class white people having a high school education or less, according to results from an online NBC News survey of more than 3,000 GOP primary voters. Unfortunately for the Republican Party there are insufficient numbers of uneducated, lower-middle class white people to win the 2016 Presidential election.

          Reply
          • Pete
            Pete says:

            What an unabashed snob! I am a “senior” who actually fought for your right to be an idiot. I suppose you will blindly follow the worst lying thief ever to run for the nations highest office. Makes Nixon look like Mother Teresa.` No real fan of Trump but the lesser evil.

      • NC Muscogee
        NC Muscogee says:

        David, your comment is excellent satire itself, and was totally missed by the steamed-up re-commenters. I love it!

        Reply
      • Truth
        Truth says:

        We all know the only people who hate facts are the ignorant left. Yeah Snopes is no way shape form or fashion a “reliable” fact checking site. If this is where your checking facts then your proving to yourself your one sided , lazy & niev.

        Reply
        • Paul House
          Paul House says:

          The ignorant left, you say? Just as it is a fact that Liberals tend to be more educated than Conservatives, it is also true Donald Trump’s support from Republican voters tends to come from men, seniors and lower-middle class white people having a high school education or less. Unfortunately for the Republican Party there are insufficient numbers of uneducated, lower-middle class white people to win the 2016 Presidential election.

          Reply
      • Bill
        Bill says:

        Oh lighten up. You would be snorting out your nose if it were a hit piece about Bush. Oh and you got your second ‘their’ spelled wrong. Just thought you’d like to know.

        Reply
      • Curtis Boswell
        Curtis Boswell says:

        David? Learn the differences between “Their” “They’re” and “There”. In order for anyone to take your posting’s with any degree of seriousness? You should be ABLE…to effectively say what you mean…and mean what you say…and that is impossible, if you can’t even spell basic words correctly, and in the context of a sentence. You are knocking someone else’s credibility…when your own credibility, based upon your obvious lack of education, remains highly dubious.

        Reply
        • Enerill
          Enerill says:

          You do know, I am sure, that the word “posting’s” in your post should be “postings” which is the plural of “posting”? “Posting’s” is incorrect.

          Reply
      • Jambo
        Jambo says:

        LOL… you must be a leftist…. if you can’t defend then you have to attack. Gullible (or should I say Gullable ha ha) people are on both the left and the right. The purpose of satire is to cause you to believe something that you really have a question about in a humorous (or not so) way and then find out you have been had. If you had ever used Snopes, you were either disgusted with the answer and then have a ‘belief’ moment or verse vicsa moment. Some answers I was happy that I was right and then I have been unhappy and had a ‘belief’ moment and a few times I truly believe that I was ‘right’. There ‘fact checking’ has a few times proven to be incorrect. So, believe what you will, this little “Satire” was successful in the dust that was kicked up, stirring up your jucies so to speak.

        Reply
    • Denise
      Denise says:

      It clearly states that this is a satire site, however, I don’t believe everything that snopes.com says. Do your own research, because they are frequently incorrect or slant their information.

      Reply
    • irish fancy
      irish fancy says:

      It may be a fake story, but at the same time, it’s true. My late brother called them out on several lies he caught them in. The whole site is nothing but a man and wife. There is no research dept. And they are very biased towards the left. They are liars and crooked.

      Reply
    • Catherine Vonnie Wilford
      Catherine Vonnie Wilford says:

      The song being referred to as the “song of the confederacy” is DIXIE LAND, not Dixie’s Land. So
      once again, you are WRONG!

      Reply
    • B B
      B B says:

      This is known as misinformation. There actually is evidence and several articles linking Snopes to left wing propaganda groups.

      Reply
    • Jim Gabig
      Jim Gabig says:

      Any idea why David Milkkelson is applying for asylum at the Duchy of Fenwick? I know it’s a fringe outlet, but “it’s a fake” isn’t exactly enlightening.

      Reply
    • Ka-Tay LuCille Bennett
      Ka-Tay LuCille Bennett says:

      Easy to prove! Snopes people aren’t banking on intelligent people checking out public information by looking up the owners names background through a legitimate website! Do you always believe what you read? Is the apparent news source legitimate?

      Reply
    • Kernighan
      Kernighan says:

      You probably need to mark this kind of material ***SATIRE****FICTION****. Today’s web browsing public is not up to the literary standards of my Junior High School English class. Back then we read Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and this young group was easily able to understand it was false, but intended as satire and employed extended figure of speech-like constructs and methods. Today, it appears vast swaths of reader have utterly no clue what that actually is, and seem perplexed by something like satire, or hyperbole, allegory, or metaphor.

      Reply
      • Peg D
        Peg D says:

        LOL !! Articles and sites like this pop up all the time with my friends who don’t read the fine print. They then run around like headless chickens screaming that the sky is falling. I just shake my head…a lot.

        Reply
      • Amanda
        Amanda says:

        Probably wouldn’t do any good to mark it as *satire* considering any one under the age of 30 wouldn’t have a clue as to what that meant. Education is certainly not what it used to be and the uneducated are always the first to claim some kind of ‘injustice’ when their poor wittle feewing hurt.

        Reply
        • Graeme
          Graeme says:

          No, it isn’t satire. It is, at best, trolling. It’s misinformation. It is intended to capitalize on, and amplify, a pre-existing antagonism toward Snopes. Conservatives dislike Snopes because it debunks their lies, so they respond by lying about Snopes. (They call it “satire” only to generate plausible deniability; it intention is clearly to discredit Snopes. There is nothing “satirical” about that.)

          Reply
  1. Bob Schmidt
    Bob Schmidt says:

    I have always thought the bias in wikipedia, in snopes, accuracy-in-media, Bozell, and similar was always over-enthusiasm with their agenda. I never thought anyone was in it for the money. The rage against the piano was just not believable in this story. Things just don’t happen that way…at least not in my experience.

    Reply
  2. Roger
    Roger says:

    Why do you not either remove this or prominently state that it is political satire – and NO IT IS NOT FUNNY – it is sick!

    Reply
    • KMAhitlaryLuvrs
      KMAhitlaryLuvrs says:

      Omg what a baby. The author clearly states SATIRE at the beginning and the end. Now go vote for HitLary Clinton and beg for the government to raise your children. You can always tell when a HitLary supporter shows up… ZERO sense of humor & thinks the leader of blacklivesMatter should be Hitlary’s Vice President pick. 😂

      Reply
    • SweetOlBob
      SweetOlBob says:

      Ahhh, sure an Kathleen darlin’ girl, Ye must have lost yer foine Irish sense of humor, or else someone mistakenly placed that darlin’ name on the wrong Coleen.
      What is yer father’s last name, Katy, me Kitten ?
      There’s probably an effin Englishman crawlin’ around there somewhere !

      Reply
    • Tom
      Tom says:

      Snopes has been proven to be biased in their reporting. Many, or maybe most of their data is correct but their political affiliation is always present when there is a choice to lean left.

      Sorry, I can never look at snopes as an honest interpretation of any story that has a political option to it.

      Reply
    • Bookcrafter
      Bookcrafter says:

      You are right, it isn’t funny. What is funny, though, is how many people can read these ridiculous “news” stories and blindly believe everything they read. The article clearly states that it is satire. These stories are written simply to generate buzz on social media. It keeps a wealth of advertising revenue coming in for the publishers.

      Reply
  3. Tom
    Tom says:

    Hilarious… Live with it or don’t
    If you believe everything you read you’re as childish as the purveyors of nonsense like this. Of course it’s fake but it’s a great read… Still laughing at comments above. Rationalizing “paid opinions” and hoping it was true? Too funny on many levels.

    PT BARNUM WAS CORRECT

    Reply
      • Ed Evans
        Ed Evans says:

        As I read down through these comments I am amazed, first, at how many people don’t read what’s before them, second, how many don’t speak the language of satire, and third, I am not surprised at all by the responses. It all leaves me as mixed as my metaphors. One of the big problems today is that people have lost their sense of humor, which leads us to take people like Bill and Hillary Clinton for what they say they are, instead of recognizing they are both a big joke.
        Keep up the good work, Dr. Rich, we need a laugh now and then, even if it chokes us!

        Reply
  4. Skeet Davis
    Skeet Davis says:

    Barbara and David Mikkelson have not been arrested on fraud and corruption charges.

    A fake news website called The People’s Cube started that rumor with a story that appeared under the headline, “Snopes.com CEO arrested on charges of fraud and corruption.” According to the report:

    LOS ANGELES, CA – Snopes.com owners Barbara and David Mikkelson were detained by police today after an unrelated investigation of a Snopes.com editor lead police onto a paper trail of corruption, bribery, and fraud at the very heart of the fact-checking organization.

    Evidence obtained by police has revealed that Snopes.com, which markets itself as “the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation,” has a history of accepting money and favors from left-leaning and pro-Islamic political groups and individuals for helping them to advance their cause by rigging public discourse with selective fact-finding and deliberate manipulation of public opinion.

    The story goes that police followed a paper trail to Barbara and David Mikkelson after a Snopes editor lashed out a flea market vendor in Los Angeles for playing the song “Dixie’s Land” because of its ties to the Confederacy and Old South.

    The story was shared thousands of times, but it’s a work of fiction.

    The People’s Cube describes itself as a People’s Political Humor and Satire Collective, among other things.

    Reply
  5. mmilano
    mmilano says:

    intereting excerice in futility hence the one liners in american jewish humour….no depth or perspective just insider club info,like free masons handshake and gay acknowledgement sign language……the us is not a country, peoples or nation…its an idea…an experiment in progress…often tastless with a corosive humour on the benefit of the sufering of others……….dont shoot the piano player…its the pianos fault..

    Reply
  6. Linda
    Linda says:

    I knew they lied and that they were left leaning, it was obvious. I am so happy that they have been caught at their fraudulent acts, ha ha ha. Typical left, lies,lies, lies.

    Reply
    • Jjb
      Jjb says:

      Whether or not you think they lied, the fact is no one at snopes has been arrested. Read the article in its original context and the comments. It is satire.

      Reply
  7. Eric
    Eric says:

    At first I thought this was a true story! Even as I read about somebody who is reported to be liberal getting angry about a racist song, I still believed it. Because there are liberals who blamed a church shooting on the Confederate flag, instead of on the shooter. So this part seemed entirely realistic! But then when somebody identified as a “messenger” was quoted saying “don’t kill the piano,” I knew it was satire and thought that was a rather humorous line! As I read the rest of the article, I did so with the attitude of reading a humorous piece! So when I got to the bottom, and actually saw that it’s labeled as being written as satire, I didn’t go into a state of shock or anger like some of these people. Somebody in the comments actually labelled it as “sick!”
    Whatever people! Anybody angry after reading this needs to get a sense of humor! The only “sick” thing I see related to this, are the reports that go around the internet of certain celebrities being dead, when they’re not. I wonder what kind of people start rumors like that, and what their reasons are for doing so. And BTW, I’m not speaking of the joke where it said that Betty White dyed! That was funny, because it got a lot of illiterates who forwarded it reporting her death without reading the story. Plus, even while just reading the headline, they totally missed the spelling of the word dyed! This one was actually funny too.
    So in summary …. if you’re starting death rumors to amuse yourself, you’re kind of sick in the head. But if you’re angry that this article about snopes.com is a joke …. get a life! Lmao

    Reply
  8. Lanette Fox
    Lanette Fox says:

    I immediately thought it was something written by the GOP to discredit Snopes.com, due to the frequent debunking of some of their outrageous lies!

    Reply
    • Dr. Rich Swier
      Dr. Rich Swier says:

      Lanette,

      Thanks for reading this column and commenting.

      Actually this was written by a former citizen of the former Soviet Union. Oleg has a great talent and I consider him s modern day Will Rogers.

      Reply
      • Brian
        Brian says:

        Rich,
        Oleg is now writing the same style of propaganda he did while part of the Soviet Union, but now he is doing it for the Conservative movement in the US. The part that bothers me more than than, is that conservatives like you are promoting this propaganda. Stop enabling your fellow communists.

        Reply
        • Dr. Rich Swier
          Dr. Rich Swier says:

          Oleg is no communist. He is a staunch conservative and a believer in the U.S. Constitution. He has been fighting the socialist/communist/democratic party agenda since immigrating to America.

          You got your facts wrong on Oleg.

          Reply
  9. JDplus33
    JDplus33 says:

    It’s not very good satire, in that it presents it’s case with “facts” that are within the realm of possibility. It may be stupid, but it also does a bad job of creating irony. It is even repeated by persons who have been reported on by Snopes. Bad form, Doctor.

    Reply
  10. PonytailJones
    PonytailJones says:

    ‘Satire’ meant for people who equate fact-checking with liberal bias, is satire for a completely different reason than intended. You’ve discovered some new form of ironic, self-defeating meta-satire.

    Reply
  11. Justin K
    Justin K says:

    The sad thing is that, satire aside, I have found standing articles on Snopes.com and similar Fact Checking sites that are outdated and inaccurate regarding evidence that has surfaced since their publishing. At the very least, that shows poor site maintenance and follow up on the part of such sites; at worst, it is intentional. If an article remains published that touts something as “fact” when it has since been shown to be incorrect, then what does that say about the legitimacy of such sites? When new information becomes available, these sites should be updating their previous publications regarding the subject matter instead of allowing outdated and incorrect information to be referenced as factual.

    Reply
  12. Tamela
    Tamela says:

    With George Soros funding this website I still don’t trust it. Snopes is the last place I go to for verification of facts. There is no other human on earth as leftist as Soros.

    Reply
  13. Bill
    Bill says:

    This “satire” as you call it is nothing but trash. How many gullible readers didn’t finish the whole piece and the reposted on places like Facebook or Twitter? If anyone here thinks that this is funny, they are a part of why this country is going to hell in a hand basket. This is not satire. It’s character assassination pure and simple.

    Reply
  14. Ruth Darcangelo
    Ruth Darcangelo says:

    Gee, thanks, everyone. Went to Snopes on a legitimate fact search and stumbled onto this mess. I’ve been told that I have great wit and sense of humor. Love satire and usually get it. Not this time. Not even close to being funny. What a waste of valuable time. Moving on………..Jeez!

    Reply
  15. D
    D says:

    OK, that was pretty funny. I was horrified and muttering under my breath until I got to the end and realized it was a joke.
    Possibly you should put something at the top, too, for people who don’t bother to finish the article.

    Reply
  16. John Thompson
    John Thompson says:

    I believe it. I believe everything that I read. If it wasn’t true, why would it be on the internet? However, I have yet to see a spiderpig. But I’m hopeful.

    Reply
  17. Paul T.
    Paul T. says:

    I linked to this from one of your ads on Facebook, which only includes the headline and first few lines of the article. I would suggest that the intent is clearly to damage the reputation of Snopes by spreading misinformation about it. I can understand how frustrating it must be to have all your favorite chain e-mails repudiated and dismantled, but you ought not shoot the messenger.

    Reply
  18. Linda Beebe
    Linda Beebe says:

    The first clue that it’s fake is the badly photo-shopped pic. The 2nd clue is where it states that it’s political satire right in the byline!

    Reply
  19. Adam
    Adam says:

    Just calling something “satire” doesn’t make it so. This is just a fraudulent, libelous attempt to smear people who illustrate that the truth has a well-known liberal bias. Satire is done intelligently, with a sense of humor, in order to advance a philosophical point. This advances no point… it’s just an entirely fabricated hatchet job. Interesting that you demonstrably lie in order to accuse people who haven’t been caught lying of lying.

    Reply
  20. John W K
    John W K says:

    It wasn’t until I reached the bottom of the article that I realized that this was satire. I read all the comments, and see that many people didn’t catch the satire (fakeness) of the facts. Some people claim that everyone should be able to see that the picture was badly photoshopped. Well, I’m sorry, I’m gifted, a member of the Triple Nine Society, and even looking at the picture again afterward, I don’t see that.

    I did not see the words, “Political Satire” at the top of the article because they were in a smaller font. The problem, as I see it, is that many people only read a few paragraphs, then abandon the reading. How many people read something like this, that the author intended to be recognized as satire, and believe it to be true. There need to be more obvious hints to the satirical nature, for example, a vertical bar down the side that repeats the word “Political Satire – not a true news story” for those people who might not get it otherwise.

    For example, the Fox Network story about the Moon Landing being faked may have originally been meant as satire, but it turned into the foundation of an entire movement of people who have decided to deny science. I have a friend who insists that the “Third Law” (To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction) is false, that it is impossible for any craft to leave the Moon once it lands on the moon, etc. He will give me one “fact” that proves the NASA photos are false, (He started with shadows going two different directions as proof that there were two light sources), then once someone proves that fact to be wrong (a hill upward or a slope downward will cause shadows to appear to go a different direction in a photo), he’ll just come up with another fact, (like he’ll then say that the whiteness on the shaded side of the astronaut’s leg is proof there is another light source) ignoring the fact that cameras can be adjusted to let more light in where there is excessive shade to be compensated for, or that photo developers use devices to allow some parts of a picture to receive less light and other areas more light during exposure (I remember Dad doing that in his basement photolab), then when that is explained, he comes up with another reason.

    My point is that some people will use articles like this to represent truth, then nobody will be able to dissuade them of their opinion, because they will be convinced it is the truth.

    My friend is absolutely convinced, 100%, that the moon landing was faked, that the mission to Pluto didn’t happen, and you can imagine what else. He will not admit that there is a chance that it might have happened. He knows what he knows, because he read it somewhere on the Internet.

    Please, everyone who posts satire on the Internet, please make it clear enough at the TOP of the page that it is meant to be satire, a piece of political humor. Let’s not expand the membership of the “Flat Earth Society.”

    John

    Reply
  21. Jenna
    Jenna says:

    Satire uses humor, irony, wit, or ridicule to expose/criticize stupidity. This article is an extremely poor and pathetic example of this as there is nothing funny, ironic or witty about it. It only succeeds in ridiculing the gullible readers who believed it was either true (and have already decided Snopes is a fraud forever) or thought it was a right winger attempt at discrediting the organization.

    Reply
  22. Jack Wright
    Jack Wright says:

    Some of these fake articles look like real articles. They do not have a disclaimer till the end so some one just browsing would not know they are fake. It fooled me till the end and I am not a fool. Satire at the title would be nice but then people might not read the whole thing if at all and that is the point, to get people to read your stuff at all costs even if you have to lie.

    Reply
  23. Sharon
    Sharon says:

    But… The fact that’s it’s been thought whether a farce or not….this thinking and greed exists! So many layers of bs in the world today…just makes u wish for the ole simpler daze.

    Reply
  24. Kate
    Kate says:

    Not satire.

    Simple Definition of satire: a way of using humor to show that someone or something is foolish, weak, bad, etc. : humor that shows the weaknesses or bad qualities of a person, government, society, etc.

    What this article is lacking is humor. Too many people throw allegations around and then claim them to be satire. There is nothing funny in this article. People losing their cool over stupid stuff and going violent… not funny. People being corrupt… not funny. White person choking black person… not funny.

    What this is: a jab at snopes. An article meant to deceive. Satire is OBVIOUS. This has to be read down to the very last sentence to discern that it is not true. This is just plain stupid.

    Reply
  25. J. Seamus Boylson
    J. Seamus Boylson says:

    From both this original posting through a good number of the reader response postings – any number of which were ADAMANT statements of sure/hellfire belief that the now legendary SNOPES was/long had been TOTALLY CORRUPTED – it becomes ever easier to understand how about 20>30% of our VOTING AGE POPULATION is so easily taken in/mind-swamped with fairly obvious BS PROPAGANDA! They believe what they WANT to believe; & NO amount of clarification/denouncing of the scam info can/will ameliorate the original TOTAL/willing acceptance of the BS material(s) presented. One would like to believe that such an advanced nation, society & electoral population as ours, would be far, far more “sophisticated”, & far, far less “gullible”, than they are. Maybe IF more of them actually fully participated in our D/democratic process, than is the case, they’d possibly be less gullible. But, as the old “cop out” saying goes: IT IS WHAT IT IS; LIVE WITH IT!!

    Reply
  26. Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall says:

    Is this for real, or just the establishment’s way of trying to cast dispersions over having been called out? For that matter, why should we believe that anything we hear reported anymore is credible?

    Reply
  27. Margie
    Margie says:

    Right at the end of the article folks:

    EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.

    IT’S SATIRE

    Reply
  28. Rae
    Rae says:

    The reason this is funny to me is because it is mocking all the same right-wingers who came here to comment about how snopes is biased without providing any proofing said claim. They were thinking, while reading this, “Ah! Finally! Proof!” Also, if you can’t sniff out the satire here, even without the disclaimer, I don’t know what to tell you. Read more?

    Reply
  29. Frank
    Frank says:

    It’s a completely fabricated “LIE”. Snopes.com doesn’t even have a Los Angeles office. Don’t believe everything you read. No one from Snopes.com has been arrested … Snopes.com debunks falsehoods in the media, that’s what they do, so naturally some people are out to “get” them.

    Reply
  30. Anne
    Anne says:

    This is debate is so silly! Anyone with any sense at all who reads this article can see the ridiculousness of it and should know it’s a satirical piece. It just goes to show you how some people believe everything they read on the Internet, especially if aligns with their own opinions/beliefs. It’s even funnier to read some of the responses. Good Lord people. Lighten up!

    Reply
  31. cec327
    cec327 says:

    The article is clearly identified as satire. I would simply say to those those who believe it’s true — You can’t fix stupid.

    Reply
  32. Matt Channing
    Matt Channing says:

    The photograph is obviously, and badly, photoshopped. For a doctor you sure are a stupid, credulous pile of shit.

    Reply
  33. Chris
    Chris says:

    Hey Dr Swier, I thought satire was supposed to be funny. I like your stance on smaller government, but if you’re going to write a hit piece, at least make it legit.

    Reply
      • MontanaGranny
        MontanaGranny says:

        I think that most people have already figured out that they’re way Lilberal, and obviously biased…which makes something like this so believable, if it weren’t for the fact that it didn’t make msm headlines long ago.

        Reply
  34. Danno
    Danno says:

    I think an implied aspect of “political satire”, is that you don’t follow up by incessantly parroting an explanation to readers that it is “political satire”.
    Reminds me of high school kids that discover a given concept and then assume that nobody knows about it.
    And besides, if an adult is that clueless, is it really your job to educate them?
    (I’m gonna skip the sarcasm disclaimer…)

    Reply
    • Carol Calkins
      Carol Calkins says:

      Well, I saw the link, believed it, and passed it along to all my friends! Now they’re telling me what an idiot I am for not reading the whole (slowly downloading, I might add) page! I prefer to say that I’m a Democrat. You don’t want to read the end of THAT page!

      Reply
  35. Ed Miller
    Ed Miller says:

    Those officers were DEA. DEA would not be investigation a misdemeanor such as disorderly conduct or vandalism. If a federal warrant was issued the FBI would make the arrest. This is then a bogus arrest photo. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is usually all drug investigations.

    Reply
  36. anthony ratcliffe
    anthony ratcliffe says:

    who made snopes the god of truth. They seldom if at all list their source of information. I trust they as much as any other page on the web, It only states what the person imputing the information in provides.

    Reply
  37. pa
    pa says:

    Not humurous at all – therefore it’s not satire. Just because one calls it satire does not make it so. Hire a funny writer, because you are not funny.

    Reply
  38. Kerry
    Kerry says:

    It really says something that simply fact-checking automatically makes you “left leaning”. The Right has gone so far down the rabbit-hole that simply examining a claim makes you a leftist.

    Reply
  39. John
    John says:

    I love the “Snopes is biased” crowd. The facts are biased. They exist outside your Kool-Aid bubble.

    If “Snopes is biased,” why is it that no one can ever prove them wrong? “Well, they’ve never been proved wrong, but they’re wrong because I don’t believe what they said.”

    Who can argue with that illogic?

    Reply
  40. Terrance L Wolf
    Terrance L Wolf says:

    Like it says below the piano pic: “EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.” Some people are idiots…

    Reply
  41. JW
    JW says:

    This isn’t really a “right” or “left” problem, I’m sure you can find multiple people on both sides that bought this. Yes this is “satire” and for those of you who can’t come to terms with it. The only answer is, instead of just checking one site to find your facts, check numerous sites, which you should do anyway. They are out there. Then decide whether to believe what you’re reading or not. Kind of like visiting a Dr. and you want to be sure what he’s saying about your course of treatment is right. You should be going for a second and maybe third opinion. Don’t just take the first thing you hear/read as gospel.

    Reply
  42. Cheeky Bastard
    Cheeky Bastard says:

    Wow.

    Your Photoshop skills are improving, Dr. Rich Swine…it would appear that you’ve FINALLY learned that you can’t post bogus news articles as fact using crummy, amateurishly doctored illustrations.

    Now work on your shitty writing, huh…?

    Reply
  43. Tom Broido
    Tom Broido says:

    I knew it was fake when the man defending the piano was named William Barksdale. Barksdale was a Conferderate General from Mississippi killed at the battle of Gettysburg. Someone had fun giving a Black man that name.

    Reply
  44. Patricia Pennant
    Patricia Pennant says:

    Hello readers! When an article or news wire refers to itself as a “Political Satire”, please believe that they are just what they say they are.
    Please note what’s written at the end of the article by the editor:

    . EDITORS NOTE: “This political satire column originally appeared in the Peoples Cube. The author is the Kommissar of Viral Infections with additional reporting by Red Square.”

    Reply
  45. James
    James says:

    This magazine is dedicated to telling the truth, no matter how unpleasant, holding elected officials accountable and telling those stories no one else will. We are inspired by the words of African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
    Unless it is someone you disagree with, then all bets are off.

    Reply
  46. f
    f says:

    Political satire like this isn’t political satire at all. It’s misinformation and disinformation. This kind odf site needs to die a thousand deaths and the folks that run it are scum of the earth.

    Reply
  47. Joshua
    Joshua says:

    Hilarious to see readers mad that this story is satire. They can’t seem to fathom that facts have a well-known liberal bias.

    Reply
  48. AmazedHuman
    AmazedHuman says:

    I’ve been telling folks for ages not to trust Snopes.com. It wasn’t what it was supposed to be or what people thought it was. No truth, just most slanted, biased, garbage. Lies and more lies. What a shame.

    Reply
  49. Moonshadow
    Moonshadow says:

    The photo at the top of the page is a really BAD photoshop job. The original is the arrest of Viktor Bout and you can even see the remnants of his head and neck around Mikkelson’s head and neck.

    Reply
  50. Chastran
    Chastran says:

    The item above may be political satire,but the following has been documented and is valid: BUSTED! Main Political “Fact” Checker For SNOPES Is FINALLY EXPOSED As Liberal Hack
    By 100% FED Up –
    Jun 18, 2016

    Wait until you read this woman’s biography and past quotes about conservatives!

    Popular myth-busting website Snopes originally gained recognition for being the go-to site for disproving outlandish urban legends -such as the presence of UFOs in Haiti or the existence of human-animal hybrids in the Amazon jungle.

    Recently, however, the site has tried to pose as a political fact-checker. But Snopes’ “fact-checking” looks more like playing defense for prominent Democrats like Hillary Clinton and it’s political “fact-checker” describes herself as a liberal and has called Republicans “regressive” and afraid of “female agency.”

    Snopes’ main political fact-checker is a writer named Kim Lacapria. Before writing for Snopes, Lacapria wrote for Inquisitr, a blog that — oddly enough — is known for publishing fake quotes and even downright hoaxes as much as anything else.

    While at Inquisitr, the future “fact-checker” consistently displayed clear partisanship.

    She described herself as “openly left-leaning” and a liberal. She trashed the Tea Party as “teahadists.” She called Bill Clinton “one of our greatest” presidents. She claimed that conservatives only criticized Lena Dunham’s comparison of voting to sex because they “fear female agency.”

    She once wrote: “Like many GOP ideas about the poor, the panic about using food stamps for alcohol, pornography or guns seems to have been cut from whole cloth–or more likely, the ideas many have about the fantasy of poverty.” (A simple fact-check would show that food stamp fraud does occur and costs taxpayers tens of millions.)

    Lacapria even accused the Bush administration of being “at least guilty of criminal negligience” in the September 11 attacks. (The future “fact-checker” offered no evidence to support her accusation.)

    Her columns apparently failed to impress her readership, oftentimes failing to get more than 10-20 shares.

    After blogging the Inquisitr, Lacapria joined Snopes, where she regularly plays defense for her fellow liberals.

    She wrote a “fact check” article about Jimmy Carter’s unilateral ban of Iranian nationals from entering the country that looks more like an opinion column arguing against Donald Trump’s proposed Muslim ban.

    Similarly, Lacapria — in another “fact check” article — argued Hillary Clinton hadn’t included Benghazi at all in her infamous “we didn’t lose a single person in Libya” gaffe. Lacapria claimed Clinton only meant to refer to the 2011 invasion of Libya (but not the 2012 Benghazi attack) but offered little fact-based evidence to support her claim.

    After the Orlando terror attack, Lacapria claimed that just because Omar Mateen was a registered Democrat with an active voter registration status didn’t mean he was actually a Democrat. Her “fact check” argued that he might “have chosen a random political affiliation when he initially registered.”

    Lacapria even tried to contradict the former Facebook workers who admitted that Facebook regularly censors conservative news, dismissing the news as “rumors.”

    In that “fact check” article, Lacapria argued that “Facebook Trending’s blacklisting of ‘junk topics’ was not only not a scandalous development, but to be expected following the social network’s crackdown on fake news sites.” The opinion-heavy article was mockingly titled: The Algorithm Is Gonna Get You.

    Lacapria again played defense for Clinton in a fact check article when she claimed: “Outrage over an expensive Armani jacket worn by Hillary Clinton was peppered with inaccurate details.”

    One of the “inaccurate details” cited by Lacapria was that, “The cost of men’s suits worn by fellow politicians didn’t appear in the article for contrast.” She also argued the speech Clinton gave while wearing the $12,495 jacket, which discussed “raising wages and reducing inequality,” wasn’t actually about income inequality.

    Reply
  51. Ken
    Ken says:

    I heard the same story several years ago. I also noticed that every reply to a political candidate, political move, or incumbents is left leaning. Read some of their responses with an open mind.

    Reply
  52. Nancy
    Nancy says:

    Fake news is a way to cast doubts; what you are really doing is character assassination and seeding doubt in a particular direction. I abhor this bullshit.

    Reply
  53. Eddie
    Eddie says:

    SEE ! We here in the South are still whoopin’ Yankees but we’re doing it with a piano and that great old song DIXIE ! I just can’t imagine someone loosing their cool over a simple song like Dixie. I have preached for years that the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery, it was fought because of Fedzilla denying the Southern States their states rights. Ignorance of the facts is no excuse for this kind of behavior !

    Reply
  54. Hardbone
    Hardbone says:

    It’s funny in of itself to see the trolls come out and prove that they have absolutely no sense of humor nor can they read what is in red print. Snopes is a known left leaning site thus always subject to suspicion of what they post.

    Reply
  55. abby
    abby says:

    “…after an investigation of Snopes.com editor LEAD police…” –
    LEAD as a verb: lead, led, led
    LEAD as a noun – an element found in nature, listed on the perziodic table of the elements.

    Should be written “after an investigation of Snopes.com editor ‘led’ police…”
    In the interest of avoiding confusion and preserving the English language.
    You’re welcome.

    Reply
  56. RICHARD
    RICHARD says:

    I UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF THE FINANCES WERE PROVIDED BY GEORGE SOROS, CAN WE SEE HIM IN JAIL AS WELL AND LET’s HAVE ALL HIS ASSETS FROZEN BY THE TREASURY AND WAIT TILL PRESIDENT TRUMP TAKES OFFICE BEFORE WE PROSECUTE HIM. YOU CAN KEEP HIM IN GUANTANAMO IN ADJOINING CELLS WITH OBAMA AND KILLARY.

    Reply
  57. Tony Newcomb
    Tony Newcomb says:

    I’ve always disregarded SNOPES as left wing, some of their NON-political stuff is
    BS……..always believed SNOPES was owned/financed by George Soros, who DOES own “Progressive Insurance”……

    Reply
  58. Gary Shapiro
    Gary Shapiro says:

    It’s a shame that some people think that, just because it isn’t funny, it isn’t satire. Satire doesn’t have to be funny, and it often reflects the author’s political or social views of his community, nation or world, usually in an exaggerated, ironic, or even fantastical manner. I am sure (or I hope) that no one thinks 1984 was funny. Several posters identified Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”, but his other writings, including Gulliver’s Travels, were also political satire, although you wouldn’t know it from the hatchet job Hollywood has done on this literary masterpiece over the years.

    Reply
  59. Dalton McCrary
    Dalton McCrary says:

    —PEOPLE———- JUST LOOK AT PICTURE. LOOK AT THE NECK. SEE AT THE COLLAR, THAT IS A PHOTO SHOP MISTAKE. HEAD WAS ADDED TO THE PICTURE. THE HEAD DOES NOT GO WITH THAT PICTURE IT’S PLAIN TO SEE.

    Reply
  60. Irene Hinman
    Irene Hinman says:

    Snopes CEO Arrested on Fraud, Corruption Charges-Fiction!

    Summary of eRumor:

    A report that Barbara and David Mikkelson, the founders of Snopes, were arrested on fraud and corruption charges has gone viral.

    The Truth:

    Barbara and David Mikkelson have not been arrested on fraud and corruption charges.

    A fake news website called The People’s Cube started that rumor with a story that appeared under the headline, “Snopes.com CEO arrested on charges of fraud and corruption.” According to the report:

    Reply
  61. Barry
    Barry says:

    This article helped Trump get elected. Here is how. It is now clear that Trump garnered a majority percent of old people votes. Old people cannot see so good. That very fine print at the beginning of this article stating that this article is a satire cannot be read by old folks. So they read this as factual and were outraged at the left. Hence voted for someone that is equally outraged at the left (and California).

    Reply
  62. traa
    traa says:

    Everyone knew snopes was bullshit long before this happened. I mean its just a man, wife and cat sitting at their computer in the living room who run snopes. They have no research background, no investigative experience. They just make shit up

    Reply
  63. Jerry Koett
    Jerry Koett says:

    This is kind of old news. They have arrested the Mikkelsons several times before. It has been known for a long time that they have been leftist leaning and, since then, I have used Truth or Fiction for fact checking.

    Reply
  64. K-dawg
    K-dawg says:

    Satire should at least be marginally funny. Honestly, this piece wasn’t. It wasn’t well written either, but I don’t think it was intended to be. I believe the author aimed it at an audience with a short little attention span, who probably wouldn’t make it through the morass of the second paragraph. I believe it was intentionally aimed to be re-posted by the those same folks who got Bozo the clown elected President. I saw the “Political Satire” disclaimer when I started reading, and I read all the way to the end. I submit that this hastily written piece of pulp was intended to cast doubt on Snopes, or anyone else interested in facts. The world does not need this crap right now.

    Reply
  65. yuri
    yuri says:

    He is jewish, jews are not whitev they are arabs, aka arbids, white is not even a biological term but one of propaganda. Arabs are white according to american immigration. Yet white has no definition at all in science, it is in opinion related to caucasians, yet it is widely used by governments to describe caucasiods who can be pitch black of skin but with a similar skull shape to caucasians

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] P. Mikkelson was accused of embezzlement in a divorce proceeding and arrested on charges of fraud and corruption. Mikkelson’s wife is reportedly a “non-voting […]

  2. […] P. Mikkelson was accused of embezzlement in a divorce proceeding and arrested on charges of fraud and corruption. Mikkelson’s wife is reportedly a “non-voting […]

  3. […] Snopes.com CEO Arrested on Charges of Fraud and Corruption: Snopes.com owners Barbara and David Mikkelson were detained by police today after an unrelated […]

  4. […] August of last year, the couple, Barbara and David Mikkelson, were arrested by police after “an unrelated investigation of a Snopes.com editor lead police onto a paper trail of […]

  5. […] August of last year, the couple, Barbara and David Mikkelson, were arrested by police after “an unrelated investigation of a Snopes.com editor lead police onto a paper trail of […]

  6. […] if you wondering, Snopes is a reverse fact checker… Snopes.com CEO Arrested on Charges of Fraud and Corruption ? Dr. Rich Swier Snopes.com Accuracy In Politics: Snopes Got Snoped EXPOSED – Guess Who is REALLY Behind […]

  7. […] Snopes.com CEO Arrested on Charges of Fraud and Corruption – Dr. Rich Swier Just guessing?? […]

  8. […] shall I say, some unfavorable rumors or half truths, and to promote others. It’s reported by Dr. Rich Swier  that Mikkleson was taking bribes from left wing politicians in order to soften any nefarious […]

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