Snopes

About Snopes

Snopes (pronounced /ˈsnoʊps/), also known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, is a web site that is the most widely-known resource for validating or debunking urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other such stories of uncertain or questionable origin in popular culture. Snopes is run by Barbara and David Mikkelson, a California couple who met on the alt.folklore.urban newsgroup. The Mikkelsons also founded the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society, and were credited as the owners of the site until 2005. The site is organized according to topic and includes a message board where questionable stories and pictures may be posted.

David Mikkelson used the username "snopes" (the name of a family of often unpleasant people in the works of William Faulkner) in the Usenet newsgroup alt.folklore.urban. Barbara Hamel was also a prolific poster. The Mikkelsons created snopes.com in 1995. Barbara now works on the site full time, while David, a programmer, works on the site part time.

Snopes aims to debunk or confirm widely spread urban legends. The site is often referenced by news media and other sites, including CNN, FOX news, and MSNBC. The site is so comprehensive that leading folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand has cited it as a reason why he has never created a site of his own. Snopes' popular standing is such that some chain e-mail hoaxes claim to have been "checked out on 'Snopes.com'" in an attempt to discourage readers from seeking verification.[10]