Remember when Snopes was a fun place to fact-check unbelievable claims like Bigfoot sightings and people left in icy tubs after a chance organ-harvesting encounter? Once a revered site beloved for fun and factual footnotes to urban legends, the site went political and has no plans to become reputable again. Like many media platforms, Snopes dabbles in leftist politics with predictable results. The site has lost any semblance of neutrality and has become another mouthpiece for liberals.
In January 2023, the Biden administration was inexplicably going all-in on a ban on natural gas-powered stoves. Richard Trumka, Jr. of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) called them “a hidden hazard” and confirmed that “such a ban was on the table.”
He was quickly met with backlash from pie-baking grandmas and others who understood the reliability and superiority of cooking with natural gas. He publicly reversed course, but the issue was far from dead. In March 2023, the CSPC quietly requested public information about the impact of gas stoves on human health.
Snopes, armed with enough information to declare a subsequent fact-check as true but refusing to do so, released a “mixed” rating regarding the rumor and moved on.
However, according to recently revealed emails, Snopes caved to pressure from the White House. They changed its classification from “mixed” to “false,” adding that the administration is “not currently considering a ban on gas stoves.”
Snopes, originally known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, was founded in 1994 by David and Barbara Mikkelson. It drew knowledge from discussions on the Usenet newsgroup alt.folklore.urban, where the Mikkelsons were active participants.
Over time, Snopes broadened its scope, covering many subjects and verifying or debunking dubious stories and claims. By 2010, Snopes was attracting millions of unique visitors each month. Snopes continues to publish a variety of “fact-checks” daily across topics ranging from politics to pop culture, with the stated goal of providing “reliable information to combat misinformation.”
Like many fact-checking entities, Snopes has taken a left-leaning position on various issues. Former lead fact-checker Kimberly LaCapria has faced scrutiny for her pro-left bias and personal controversies. Legal disputes and personal matters involving the site’s ownership and staff have further fueled the claims of left-leaning bias.
However, Snopes maintains that it operates impartially and fact-checks without bias, suggesting that perceived bias may stem from the polarized political climate rather than intentional leaning. It’s important to note that Snopes’ own AllSides Media Bias Rating categorizes the organization as “Lean Left.”
Make no mistake – Snopes doesn’t just “lean left.” It lurched so far to the left that it fell off the fence entirely.
Just ask former President Donald Trump, who has never said a word that Snopes doesn’t count as a lie. In fact, Donald Trump has been fact-checked significantly more times than President Joe Biden. Throughout his presidency, Snopes researched thousands of claims about the Trump administration, covering topics from his tweets to COVID-19 and election fraud. Snopes has also fact-checked claims about President Biden when forced to acknowledge his absurdity, but the volume of fact-checks for Trump far surpasses that for Biden.
Snopes was already pushing the boundaries of truth when it rated the gas stove ban rumor as a “mixture” of fact and fiction. After all, there was someone on record confirming it was a possibility. But more than a few eyebrows were raised when it changed its rating from “mixture” to “false.”
CPSC communications director Pamela Rucker Springs confirmed via email to White House assistant press secretary Michael Kikukawa that Snopes changed its tune after her office pressured it to do so. In the email, she brags, “Sent over tough letter to this writer yesterday when the initial claim was rated as ‘mixed.” Kikukawa praised the move, noting in his reply that the change would be “so helpful going forward.”
When the emails were uncovered, the Biden administration quickly responded. “As a routine matter, whenever CPSC identifies factually inaccurate coverage in any media outlet, we contact the outlet to request a correction.” Springs told Fox News Digital, with Kikukawa adding, “We were glad to see accurate reports that the administration is not trying to ban gas stoves – and never has.”
Snopes did not respond to either statement with a fact check, which would be classified under a new category – “blatantly false.” The Biden administration may not like gas stoves, but it loves gaslighting the American people.