Snopes CEO Arrested on Fraud, Corruption Charges-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A report that Barbara and David Mikkelson, the founders of Snopes, were arrested on fraud and corruption charges has gone viral.
The Truth:
Barbara and David Mikkelson have not been arrested on fraud and corruption charges.
A fake news website called The People’s Cube started that rumor with a story that appeared under the headline, “Snopes.com CEO arrested on charges of fraud and corruption.” According to the report:
LOS ANGELES, CA – Snopes.com owners Barbara and David Mikkelson were detained by police today after an unrelated investigation of a Snopes.com editor lead police onto a paper trail of corruption, bribery, and fraud at the very heart of the fact-checking organization.
Evidence obtained by police has revealed that Snopes.com, which markets itself as “the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation,” has a history of accepting money and favors from left-leaning and pro-Islamic political groups and individuals for helping them to advance their cause by rigging public discourse with selective fact-finding and deliberate manipulation of public opinion.
The story goes that police followed a paper trail to Barbara and David Mikkelson after a Snopes editor lashed out a flea market vendor in Los Angeles for playing the song “Dixie’s Land” because of its ties to the Confederacy and Old South.
The story was shared thousands of times, but it’s a work of fiction.
The People’s Cube describes itself as a People’s Political Humor and Satire Collective, among other things.
TruthorFiction.com previously investigated a separate eRumor that claimed Snopes was a secret tool of the Democratic Party. Click here for that report.