snopes.comReviews 72

I would give them zero stars if I could. I went to Snopes.com to find out if it is true thatless than 20% of donations to the Susan G. Komen Foundation actually go toward cancer research. The article Snopes.com posts on this topic gives a long-winded discussion that does discuss the high salaries of top employees at Komen but then digresses into a sermon about how many charities have other goals besides just funding research so it really is still good to contribute to them - however, they don't tie this to Komen at all by discussing whether Komen supports other goals. I found this very disappointing and offensive that they would try to "spin" charitable contributions this way. Snopes.com, in my opinion, should be a fact-based website and this clearly strayed from facts about Komen. I decided to share my opinion on this with them using their "Contact Us" feature. I received the following reply from them:

"Your comments evince a flawed understanding of the item you remarked upon.

For best results, we recommend ensuring you carefully read and thoroughly comprehend articles prior to submitting comments on their contents."

This was simply rude and uncalled for. When I attempted to respond to them I received an automated message from my e-mail provider that my message was undeliverable. I'm presuming that means they blocked further communication from my e-mail address. Rude and shocking. I will never rely on Snopes.com for information again. I have many other options.

I honestly can't rate it reliable... I was directed to snopes for the very first time when I was conducting research on the credibility of a certain local enterprise. The info labelled as "fact" by snopes looked like it came directly from the public relations department of the company in question, and the "facts" provided I KNOW FOR A FACT are false. This is based on my personal experience.
So snopes does have a bias towards certain entities. Therefore I have to take the rest of their "facts" at face value.

I have always checked Snopes instantly upon receiving any email which urges me to send it on to all my friends. That is the big red flag. Invariably these chain emails do turn out to be hoaxes.

One of the stupidest hoax recommendations: Everyone should drink 8 glasses of water per day. The history of this stupidity comes from the dropping off from a government recommendation of the all-crucial statement: "Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods" and propagation of the error in Dr. Erwin Stillman's publication in 1967, the Doctors Quick Weight Loss Diet, which sold 12 million copies, apparently without being factually checked. A book by a "Doctor", with its gross error, tends to be trusted by 12 million naive readers. For further details read: http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/howmuchwater.htm.

BTW, there is one exceptional condition when drinking enough water on a regular basis may have very real medical value. I am told by a good friend that he totally stopped his frequent incidence of kidney stones by continuously drinking enough water. He claims that, in his particular case, this prevents the seeding of the crystals which lead to the kidney stones. That, to me, is a plausible mechanism. Comments from others on this subject are invited.

Snopes.com is the first place I look when my MIL or aunt forward me multicolored, badly formatted email rants/poems/quotes. They have saved me from looking foolish several times, when I was lucky enough to think of checking Snopes before passing along some sketchy information. The site is well-written, with an old school design, easy to navigate, and they've proved themselves worthy of being the internet's official "stamp of approval" on urban legends and rumors.

With a resource such as this one available, you really have to wonder how so many people can believe so much of the unmitigated BS they receive in their email boxes.
This site lets us sort out the facts from the crap with a couple of clicks of the mouse. I wish ALL of my email correspondents would make a habit of using it BEFORE they send me the fundamentally stupid and totally inaccurate propaganda they use to advance some of their foolish beliefs.