On the weekend we looked at WOT, the W
Too often we take what others say at face value. What if there a way to check the truth behind the story? Help is out there. Help in the form of snopes.com, the oldest fact checking and hoax busting website on the
internet.
The site began with the intention of investigating urban legends hoaxes and folklore. Founder David Mikkelson started the site in 1984 (so it’s turning 25 next year) and was later joined by his wife and eventually a team to sift through the misinformation of the internet and show the results in as transparent and well researched manner as possible.
The site is simple, you can either browse through various categories or search using the main search bar at the top of the page. This is great for testing the veracity of items you see posted in places like Facebook.
For example; did Smirnoff Vodka take a dig at President Trump with an advert that said “Made in America, but we’d be happy to talk about our ties to Russia under oath” Yes they did.
Another example of things frequently believed as facts: Does stepping on a rusty nail cause tetanus? No! Tetanus is caused by Clostridium tetani, a bacterium that is fairly ubiquitous in soil. Logically it’s possible that a
rusty nail has been in contact with soil but the connection is much more tenuous than most people think. Type Rust Tetanus into Snopes for all
the information.
If you have too much time on your hands there’s even a randomizer to point you to a random article for your reading pleasure.
I hope you find something really useful in that. Please let us know in the comments what stories you’ve been able to debunk with Snopes.
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I’m here to help. Thank you so much for watching and have a great day!