CLAIMS sent to Snopes.com for verification:
- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has experienced two “sheriff evictions,” two closed checking accounts, and a credit score of 430.
- Some 18 million illegal immigrants received benefit checks during a government shutdown in January 2019.
- The FBI raided a retirement home to break up an elderly fight club.
- Nathan Phillips falsely claimed to be a U.S. military veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
- American political consultant Roger Stone has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back.
- Roger Stone once marketed ‘Hillary for Prison’ merchandise.
- Did Jim Thorpe Wear Mismatched Shoes at the 1912 Olympics?
- Texas discovered that 58,000 ineligible non-citizens illegally registered and voted in one or more elections in the state.
Some people are not happy unless they are stirring the pot . . . saying hurtful things about people . . . spreading rumors . . . all in the name of politics or the good of the country. People can come up with any number of reasons to soothe their conscience. Perhaps they play games and think “Maybe it’s not provable, but I bet it’s real.”
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the recent gathering in Tacoma to hear former newsman Dan Rather speak about his life reporting the news. In the audience was David Mikkelson, the founder of Snopes.com, one of the world’s most respected fact checking organizations, who asked Dan Rather about the role of fact-finding by journalists, The answer was great: the purest level of reporting is simply to state what happened. Then comes the next level of analysis, then the lowest level of reporting is commentary. How facts are reported can be colored by bias.
The purest level is to simply state what happened. But, simply stating what happened at an event is beyond some people. Mikkelson will be the featured speaker at the February 28th meeting of the Rotary Club of Tacoma #8. In his visit to Tacoma Rotary Club #8, he will speak about the company he founded and his daily work fighting “fake news.” Interested visitors must be a guest of a Rotarian. Please, call 253-473-7723 or visit http://www.rotary8.org/ for details.
Tacoma #8 Rotary meets Thursdays at Noon at the Tacoma Yacht Club at 5401 Yacht Club Road, Tacoma, WA 98407.
RESULTS from Snopes.com
- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has experienced two “sheriff evictions,” two closed checking accounts, and a credit score of 430. – False
- Some 18 million illegal immigrants received benefit checks during a government shutdown in January 2019. – False
- The FBI raided a retirement home to break up an elderly fight club. – False
- Nathan Phillips falsely claimed to be a U.S. military veteran who served in the Vietnam War. – Unproven
- American political consultant Roger Stone has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. – True
- Roger Stone once marketed ‘Hillary for Prison’ merchandise. – True
- Did Jim Thorpe Wear Mismatched Shoes at the 1912 Olympics? – Yes
- Texas discovered that 58,000 ineligible non-citizens illegally registered and voted in one or more elections in the state. – Unproven
I’ve always thought Snopes was quite reliable, but I’ve seen some people question even that site. Too many people (on on both sides of an issue) willingly believe anything that supports their position and disbelieve anything that doesn’t, with no skepticism or critical consideration of many what they read.
Gary,
Thanks for reading and commenting. As you are aware people will believe whatever they want to believe as long as they can twist it to meet their own criteria. Quite often in today’s world it seems like the bigger the lie, but more believers there are. People usually state their opinion, but usually lack a little bit in the facts department or trust in other who only deal in the same warped messages.Truth is a rare commodity these days . . . but then perhaps it always has been. I have found Snopes to be fair . . . and use other sources to double check as well.
Thanks again for reading and sharing.
Don
Snoops is a total fraud David Mikkelson and his hitch hiking girlfriend/wife that he picked up while he was returning from hiding out in Canada, set up this idea of an on-line fact checker as they drove to LA where they rented a mobile home and got a hold of a couple computers. All of a sudden we have snoops, no education or training in research or anything. They just jumped into the fire and all of a sudden they were the experts on everything, they are a total fraud as they admitted in a television interview and told this wild story about how they met on I-5 going south and set up this scam that so many people have bought into.
Gary,
Wow . . . I know of a few other people who started their own businesses in their garage with no training and did quite well . . . I don’t recall people calling them frauds . . . or calling them anything but visionaries . . . and rich. The internet moves a lot faster than life in general used to . . . pinning down facts and leads is hard work. That Mikkelson made a success out of a simple idea . . . and hard work. His simple idea was to get down to the facts and the truth. I always think of Abe Lincolns story: “If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?” The answer is still four, because calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one. I appreciate you opinion, but I have always found Snopes to be reliable and truthful.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Don
Let’s see … I’ve never “hidden out” in Canada (or even been in Canada for more than a few days as a tourist), I’ve never rented a mobile home, I’ve never picked up a hitch-hiker (much less met a future girlfriend/wife that way), I worked at a newspaper, I have a university degree and hundreds of hours of course credits beyond that degree, etc. But aside from those minor details, your fabricated account is spot-on.
David – good of you to weigh in. Even if you had done these things (hid out in Canada, picked up a hitchhiker etc.), what the heck does it have to do with the reliability of Snopes???
David,
I have thought of hiding out in Canada, but not for more that two of three days. Mostly I hide out in North Tacoma . . . I know where the best places to eat are. Thanks for sharing.
Don
What?!?!?! If, in fact, you’re referring to “snoops” and not Snopes, then maybe o.k.
Sounder,
Thanks for reading and commenting, but please explain. I don’t understand your comment. Are you hinting that Snopes does not tell the truth? Or? I always hate to guess wrong . . . I gave up being infallible years ago.
Thanks for sharing.
Don
I’m being sarcastic as the writer wrote snoops instead of snopes. I firmly believe we need Snopes as well as WAPOs Pinocchios and anything else to clarify what is said and reported.
As I was saying…….
Gary,
Yes . . . I know . . . But everyone has an opinion. The comments that are the hardest to believe usually have a reason why.
Don