These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation. See all Left-Center sources.
LEFT-CENTER BIAS
- We rate Snopes Left-Center biased based on news story selection that slightly favors a liberal perspective. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting rather than High due to an investigation that indicates a co-founding editor engaged in plagiarism. The plagiarism was not related to Fact-Checks, and they remain credible for fact-checking.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
History
Founded in 1994 by Barbara and David Mikkelson, Snopes.com, also known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, was one of the first online fact-checking websites. It is a resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture. Snopes ownership has said that the site receives more complaints of liberal bias than conservative bias but insists that the same debunking standards are applied to all political claims and urban legends.
On 8/13/2021, a Buzzfeed investigation revealed that co-founder David Mikkelson plagiarized over 50 news stories between 2015 and 2019.
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
According to their about page, Snopes.com is an independent publication owned by Snopes Media Group. They derive funding from online advertising as well as donations. They fully disclose funding and expenses, as well as listing any donation over $10,000. For example, they list that Facebook paid them $100,000, and the James Randi Educational Foundation awarded them $75,000 in the past. In 2020, they received a donation of $10,030 from Wei-Hwa Huang and Trisha Brooke Huang. Snopes offers full transparency with funding.
Analysis
In 2012, FactCheck.org reviewed a sample of Snopes’ responses to political rumors regarding George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama and found them free from bias in all cases. Critics of the site have made the false claim that the website is funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, which has been debunked many times as they are funded through advertising and donations, which they disclose.
Snopes was previously a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) that the Poynter Institute runs. Snopes was independently verified by the IFCN, which lists its core principles as: “non-partisanship and fairness, transparency of sources, transparency of funding and organization, transparency of methodology, and open and honest corrections policy.” They met these criteria, along with 80+ other fact-checkers worldwide. However, in 2019 they left the IFCN.
On August 3, 2022, Snopes is again a signatory of the IFCN.
Further, Snopes always openly source their information and avoid emotional wording, though they occasionally publish news stories that offer some opinions. Snopes is frequently accused of liberal bias by some on the right. For example, the Daily Express of the UK and the Daily Caller have criticized them for fact checks they felt were wrong or biased against the right.
Bias
According to research performed by Real Clear Politics in the article: Snopes and Editorializing Fact Checks, they determined that out of the six fact-checkers working with Facebook, “that Snopes is the least likely to fact-check matters of opinion.” This is important because opinion is something that cannot be fact-checked. The article went on to say, “We have found that since we started our project, Snopes has fact-checked opinions only 2 percent of the time. In other words, 98 percent of the time, it sticks to matters of verifiable fact. Such an achievement is even more remarkable given that during this period, they produced the second-most articles of the six fact-checking outfits.”
In 2022, Snopes’ fact-checks remain properly sourced and factual. We have also found a reasonable balance between fact-checks on the right and left as a new Democratic administration makes statements subject to fact-checking.
Finally, the Snopes website also features news reports from other sources such as the Associated Press. From an editorial perspective, the news stories they choose to publish are slightly more favorable to the left, such as this: Founders: Removal from office is not the only purpose of impeachment. This story is republished from The Conversation. Original reporting such as this Is Trump Withdrawing Deportation Protections for Families of Active Troops? is low biased, factual, and properly sourced to left-leaning sources such as NPR and the New York Times as well as Government sources. In general, their original reporting and news curation hold a left-of-center bias.
Failed Fact Checks
- They are Fact-Checkers
Overall Bias and Credibility Rating
We rate Snopes Left-Center biased based on news story selection that slightly favors a liberal perspective. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting rather than High due to an investigation that indicates a co-founding editor engaged in plagiarism. The plagiarism was not related to Fact-Checks and they remain credible for fact-checking. (D. Van Zandt 7/10/2016) Updated (10/21/2022)
Source: https://www.snopes.com/
Last Updated on October 21, 2022 by Media Bias Fact Check
Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources
