The Liberal Bias of Snopes (topic updated) (Read 21847 times)

passivekinetic

The Liberal Bias of Snopes (topic updated)
« on: June 07, 2016, 10:17:47 AM »
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-california-voters-president-20160607-snap-story.html

Quote
“I always watched her career and admired her as a young woman who’s career-minded,” said Kelly Crown, 25, a healthcare business analyst who voted for Clinton in Echo Park. Crown said she was a big fan of Clinton’s book “Living History.” “Yes, she’s made mistakes,” Crown said. “She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life, and I have a lot of respect for her.”

Note that Kelly Crown, age 25, must have started watching Clinton at least since birth.

I wonder who wrote that bio book.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2016, 07:22:48 AM by passivekinetic »
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous

robtmc

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2016, 08:43:55 AM »
The corrupt hag certainly started off in a manner that would have predicted her future behavior:

punaperson

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2016, 01:30:41 PM »
Fired "because she was a liar, she was an unethical, dishonest lawyer, she conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the Committee, and the rules of confidentiality"?

I thought that was the list of requirements to receive funding from the party apparatus to get re-elected, or to become the head of an anti-arms rights organization like Bloomberg, Watts, Brady, etc.

passivekinetic

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2016, 02:28:59 PM »
Snopes (which IMHO is biased liberal) says

http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/zeifman.asp

Quote
A pair of articles published during Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency in 2008, one by Northstar Writers Group founder Dan Calabrese and one by Jerry Zeifman himself, asserted that Zeifman was Hillary's supervisor during the Watergate investigation and that he eventually fired her from the investigation for "unethical, dishonest" conduct. However, whatever Zeifman may have thought of Hillary and her work during the investigation, he was not her supervisor, neither he nor anyone else fired her from her position on the Impeachment Inquiry staff (Zeifman in fact didn't have the power to fire her, even had he wanted to do so), his description of her conduct as "unethical" and "dishonest" is his personal, highly subjective characterization, and the "facts" on which he bases that characterization are ones that he has contradicted himself about on multiple occasions.

It writes off Zeifman's comments as "his personal, highly subjective characterization" not without justification for saying so, but again, the whole Snopes page seems to work overly hard to support Hilary Clinton.
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous

eyeeatingfish

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2016, 10:45:21 AM »
The corrupt hag certainly started off in a manner that would have predicted her future behavior:



http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/zeifman.asp

robtmc

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2016, 10:58:16 AM »
Snopes (which IMHO is biased liberal) says

http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/zeifman.asp

It writes off Zeifman's comments as "his personal, highly subjective characterization" not without justification for saying so, but again, the whole Snopes page seems to work overly hard to support Hilary Clinton.
Snopes is run by a very liberal couple and has slanted hard left on their "fact finding" for years. 

Most clear heads reject anyone using Snopes as "Evidence" of accuracy out of hand for using a source with as much neutrality as "Media Matters", a know Clintoon surrogate.  They may have their moments, but on anything political, are corrupt.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2016, 12:44:59 PM by robtmc »

passivekinetic

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2016, 02:51:53 PM »
Yup. Wikipedia is a little less left than Snopes.
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous

eyeeatingfish

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2016, 08:58:15 PM »
Snopes is run by a very liberal couple and has slanted hard left on their "fact finding" for years. 

Most clear heads reject anyone using Snopes as "Evidence" of accuracy out of hand for using a source with as much neutrality as "Media Matters", a know Clintoon surrogate.  They may have their moments, but on anything political, are corrupt.

I think people say that about snopes when they don't like the facts. I see it time and time again. Whenever a newsperson, a website, a TV show says something that they don't like or don't want to be true they claim bias. It is so much easier to claim bias than to have to face the fact that sometimes the facts don't agree with you.

The husband and wife team that own snopes have a pretty neutral record. The wife is Canadian not eligible to vote. The husband is an independent who was a registered republican.

punaperson

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2016, 07:11:58 AM »
I think people say that about snopes when they don't like the facts. I see it time and time again. Whenever a newsperson, a website, a TV show says something that they don't like or don't want to be true they claim bias. It is so much easier to claim bias than to have to face the fact that sometimes the facts don't agree with you.

The husband and wife team that own snopes have a pretty neutral record. The wife is Canadian not eligible to vote. The husband is an independent who was a registered republican.
Yeah, right.

Here's an example of their "facts":

http://www.snopes.com/hillary-clinton-armani-jacket/

CLAIM: Hillary Clinton purchased a $12,000 Giorgio Armani jacket to deliver a speech about income inequality.

MOSTLY FALSE

WHAT'S TRUE: Hillary Clinton wore an Armani jacket priced between $7,000 and $12,000 in April 2016; the sartorial choice became an issue several months later after a New York newspaper reported on it.

WHAT'S FALSE: The jacket was several thousand dollars less expensive than reported; high-profile figures are often loaned designer items by large brands.

WHAT'S UNDETERMINED: Whether Clinton purchased the coat herself; whether the item was priced at $12,495 in April 2016.

* * * *
[First of all the original article never claimed she purchased or owned the "expensive" jacket, they wrote that she "wore" it. Snopes themselves put three separate quotes to that effect right there at the head of the article!] Snopes.com declares this claim to be "mostly false" because 1. the price was "lower" (perhaps by the huge amount of 4% lower), and 2. because "high-profile figures are often loaned designer items by large brands".  They then go on to say they 1. don't know the price of the jacket, 2. don't know if Clinton bought it with her own money, and 3. don't know if it was loaned to her or not. In other words they have no "facts"at all to substantiate the entire basis for their claim that the original assertion is "mostly false". Therefore, their claim of "mostly false" is "mostly false".

That's your idea of "objective" and "facts"? The above "argument" is a total joke, not to mention totally self-contradictory. Snopes consistently demonstrates high levels of "liberal" bias. Read the damn website!

macsak

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2016, 07:46:15 AM »
It is so much easier to claim bias than to have to face the fact that sometimes the facts don't agree with you.

"hello, pot?"
"this is kettle"
"you're black"

Inspector

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2016, 04:33:34 PM »
I think people say that about snopes when they don't like the facts. I see it time and time again. Whenever a newsperson, a website, a TV show says something that they don't like or don't want to be true they claim bias. It is so much easier to claim bias than to have to face the fact that sometimes the facts don't agree with you.

The husband and wife team that own snopes have a pretty neutral record. The wife is Canadian not eligible to vote. The husband is an independent who was a registered republican.
They may appear independent and not involved in U.S. politics in either direction. But you cannot deny in any way that they have a very subtle liberal bias for certain politically charged issues. There are many documented snopes pages where they have to admit something conservative or religious is correct but then spend pages trying to defend the liberal side. If you spent some time on Google you will find this to be true. But they do not do the same for for liberal issues. They never spend page after page             defending the conservative viewpoint when a liberal biased issue is concerned. And yes, that does mean they have a liberal bent. They do spend a lot of time and effort trying to bend the truth to the way they see it in some political issues.

Snopes does not do this for all political issues so it seems to be more of a personal thing. They pick and choose their issues so it cannot be said for every issue. Like I said, it is very subtle but something you have no argument for. I think Snopes has its place in non political issues. But once again you need to have an open mind to see the truth. Obviously, you don't see it that way. So I'm not sure what your deal is defending something as not true that is absolutely true. Just because the couple appears to not have any political leanings doesn't mean they don't. Google is your friend.
SCIENCE THAT CAN’T BE QUESTIONED IS PROPAGANDA!!!

passivekinetic

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2016, 08:02:26 PM »
I used to be a liberal, most of my life as a young person.

I scoffed at anyone who told me that "If you are not a liberal when young, you have no heart. But if you are older and not a conservative, you have no brain."

I had to wake up by (re)educating myself and REASSESSING EVERYTHING I HAVE READ AND WATCHED and THEN I could clearly see the difference between LEFT and RIGHT, meaning I successfully brought myself to the center.

The odds are HEAVILY STACKED against any person on this planet, with VERY BIASED LEFTIST views and opinion on the vast amount of content extant, especially in America.

But generally in Europe they are very leftist also.

AND THEY DO NOT REALIZE IT.

Most liberals do not agree that the mainstream media is heavily liberal biased. If you feel that way, it is a sign you are brainwashed, and you need to reassess everything.
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous

eyeeatingfish

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2016, 10:29:25 PM »
They may appear independent and not involved in U.S. politics in either direction. But you cannot deny in any way that they have a very subtle liberal bias for certain politically charged issues. There are many documented snopes pages where they have to admit something conservative or religious is correct but then spend pages trying to defend the liberal side. If you spent some time on Google you will find this to be true. But they do not do the same for for liberal issues. They never spend page after page             defending the conservative viewpoint when a liberal biased issue is concerned. And yes, that does mean they have a liberal bent. They do spend a lot of time and effort trying to bend the truth to the way they see it in some political issues.

Snopes does not do this for all political issues so it seems to be more of a personal thing. They pick and choose their issues so it cannot be said for every issue. Like I said, it is very subtle but something you have no argument for. I think Snopes has its place in non political issues. But once again you need to have an open mind to see the truth. Obviously, you don't see it that way. So I'm not sure what your deal is defending something as not true that is absolutely true. Just because the couple appears to not have any political leanings doesn't mean they don't. Google is your friend.

Certainly they are humans and therefore are not completely immune from bias. I have no doubt they have political opinions at some level. And since they are human they are certainly susceptible to making mistakes so an anecdotal case of a faulty claim is not good proof of an severe overall bias. I don't consider slopes to be infallible either. We have to weigh everything to try and find the truth hidden in the smoke. I step in to defend Snopes because I have found them to be generally more reliable than most other media. There have been times I haven't agreed with their conclusions but in my experience, the claim that they are horribly left slanted and dishonest just doesn't pan out.

In regards to this particular issue, we have a meme with no real proof vs a snopes article that has a lot more information and posts some sources. Which one sounds more credible to you? Is it possible Snopes is wrong, either through mistake or by intent? Sure, but what do we do with that possibility? Do we examine the claims that are made in the Snopes piece to find the truth or do we simply claim bias so we can keep on believing a meme we like? Look at this very thread and ask yourself which case we see. I see more effort being put into discrediting Snopes than actually finding out whether the meme is true or not! This begs the question of whether anyone here really cares about the real truth.

What irritates me and what I see very often is when people claim bias when prevented with facts they don't like. I see this on both sides of political issues so I am not saying only one side is guilty of this. I have been in discussions where I had no stake in the topic but been claimed to be biased when I pointed out facts that weren't friendly to one side. On this very forum I have remained neutral on some issues and been claimed to be some liberal in hiding even though I am a conservative. You will find that I will defend my opponent from an inaccurate or dishonest argument/attack.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2235277/data-center/fact-checking-the-fact-checkers--snopes-com-gets-an--a-.html

Inspector

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #13 on: June 12, 2016, 03:29:55 PM »
Certainly they are humans and therefore are not completely immune from bias. I have no doubt they have political opinions at some level. And since they are human they are certainly susceptible to making mistakes so an anecdotal case of a faulty claim is not good proof of an severe overall bias. I don't consider slopes to be infallible either. We have to weigh everything to try and find the truth hidden in the smoke. I step in to defend Snopes because I have found them to be generally more reliable than most other media. There have been times I haven't agreed with their conclusions but in my experience, the claim that they are horribly left slanted and dishonest just doesn't pan out.

In regards to this particular issue, we have a meme with no real proof vs a snopes article that has a lot more information and posts some sources. Which one sounds more credible to you? Is it possible Snopes is wrong, either through mistake or by intent? Sure, but what do we do with that possibility? Do we examine the claims that are made in the Snopes piece to find the truth or do we simply claim bias so we can keep on believing a meme we like? Look at this very thread and ask yourself which case we see. I see more effort being put into discrediting Snopes than actually finding out whether the meme is true or not! This begs the question of whether anyone here really cares about the real truth.

What irritates me and what I see very often is when people claim bias when prevented with facts they don't like. I see this on both sides of political issues so I am not saying only one side is guilty of this. I have been in discussions where I had no stake in the topic but been claimed to be biased when I pointed out facts that weren't friendly to one side. On this very forum I have remained neutral on some issues and been claimed to be some liberal in hiding even though I am a conservative. You will find that I will defend my opponent from an inaccurate or dishonest argument/attack.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2235277/data-center/fact-checking-the-fact-checkers--snopes-com-gets-an--a-.html
You stated that the couple has a "...pretty neutral record." And when I pointed out that this just is not true, you back peddle. This is exactly what Snopes does when they have to admit a conservative issue is true. Then they back peddle and start making excuses for their behavior as being "human" just as you are doing here. And you further your back peddling by saying they made a mistake. They made no mistakes. If they did they would remove any mistakes from their website. Proof they are biased no matter how you want to look at it. Even Mac said you are calling the kettle black. Just stop, you have no dog in the fight. It is obvious to all of us you are not open minded enough to see for yourself you put your foot in your mouth when you tried to defend something that is not defendable.

As far as the meme is concerned I believe it is somewhat incorrect. But that is not what I stepped in to discuss with you. I believe Snopes is somewhat correct about the meme. There are better and much more accurate fact check sites than Snopes though I find Snopes to be quite accurate outside the political arena. The one thing I noticed while reading that long winded description on Snopes regarding this meme as with all the detail they went into, they never once admitted nor discussed (unless I missed it) the fact that she was fired and the reason she was fired. Let's face it, this meme purports that she was fired and the person who fired her and the reason why. Any well written fact check would also state that she was fired and the reason why. So unless I missed it, and I could have, I see another liberal bias in this Snopes report as well.
SCIENCE THAT CAN’T BE QUESTIONED IS PROPAGANDA!!!

Inspector

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #14 on: June 12, 2016, 03:41:49 PM »
I used to be a liberal, most of my life as a young person.

I scoffed at anyone who told me that "If you are not a liberal when young, you have no heart. But if you are older and not a conservative, you have no brain."

I had to wake up by (re)educating myself and REASSESSING EVERYTHING I HAVE READ AND WATCHED and THEN I could clearly see the difference between LEFT and RIGHT, meaning I successfully brought myself to the center.

The odds are HEAVILY STACKED against any person on this planet, with VERY BIASED LEFTIST views and opinion on the vast amount of content extant, especially in America.

But generally in Europe they are very leftist also.

AND THEY DO NOT REALIZE IT.

Most liberals do not agree that the mainstream media is heavily liberal biased. If you feel that way, it is a sign you are brainwashed, and you need to reassess everything.
I started off life as a Reagan Republican. And later on became a Democrat. But as the Democrat party started to become much more Socialist in their views I could not justify lying to myself that I believe in the same things the party supports. Then I became a Libertarian. After a while I realized that this party suffers from a lot of in fighting and is highly unorganized. Some of the candidates that have run as Libertarians have been outstanding. But I couldn't take the in fighting so I became an Independent. I am conservative on some issues and liberal on others. I like it better this way as I don't feel I want to side with either of the two major parties.
SCIENCE THAT CAN’T BE QUESTIONED IS PROPAGANDA!!!

passivekinetic

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #15 on: June 12, 2016, 07:59:50 PM »
It's true that we often are force fed to take everything the main parties stand for, wholesale, when in fact we disagree with some issues and agree only with others.

However, generally speaking, nowadays I am much more conservative than liberal. Generally libertarian (as a principle, not necessarily party affiliation).
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous

eyeeatingfish

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #16 on: June 13, 2016, 10:31:35 PM »
You stated that the couple has a "...pretty neutral record." And when I pointed out that this just is not true, you back peddle. This is exactly what Snopes does when they have to admit a conservative issue is true. Then they back peddle and start making excuses for their behavior as being "human" just as you are doing here. And you further your back peddling by saying they made a mistake. They made no mistakes. If they did they would remove any mistakes from their website. Proof they are biased no matter how you want to look at it. Even Mac said you are calling the kettle black. Just stop, you have no dog in the fight. It is obvious to all of us you are not open minded enough to see for yourself you put your foot in your mouth when you tried to defend something that is not defendable.

As far as the meme is concerned I believe it is somewhat incorrect. But that is not what I stepped in to discuss with you. I believe Snopes is somewhat correct about the meme. There are better and much more accurate fact check sites than Snopes though I find Snopes to be quite accurate outside the political arena. The one thing I noticed while reading that long winded description on Snopes regarding this meme as with all the detail they went into, they never once admitted nor discussed (unless I missed it) the fact that she was fired and the reason she was fired. Let's face it, this meme purports that she was fired and the person who fired her and the reason why. Any well written fact check would also state that she was fired and the reason why. So unless I missed it, and I could have, I see another liberal bias in this Snopes report as well.

I disagree with your premise. Admitting to being an imperfect human is not backpedaling. Additionally, just because you show some anecdotal instance of a flaw in their myth busting does not prove they don't have a "pretty neutral record." If you want to say that snopes is not infallible then go ahead, I would agree with you. Do they have a bias that creeps out from time to time? It certainly wouldn't surprise me.  But all things equal here, there is a lot more reason to believe Snopes' conclusion than the meme. Do you find the meme to be more credible than Snopes' article?

I think you missed my point in all of this. I am not putting Snopes up on a pedestal. My issue is that lack of objectivity among the readers here. They would rather believe the meme that has no evidence than Snopes which at least presents sources supporting it's conclusion. Rather than follow up on the sources people spend more time trying to discredit Snopes as a whole than to prove Snopes got this issue wrong. Apparently they reason that if they can prove Snopes has a bias then there is no reason to entertain Snopes' conclusion and they can go on believing the meme. Real objectivity doesn't care whether Snopes is biased, it only cares about the facts. Did anyone on here argue that Snopes is wrong because of this source and that source?

I see time and time again liberals who avoid conservative points and facts by saying that Fox news is biased and it becomes very irritating. Not because I believe Fox to be unbiased or super accurate but because they won't even consider the possibility that, Fox news might have gotten the story right. They don't want to hear facts that don't support their positions and it is easier for them to ignore the facts through claims of bias than it is to confront the facts.

People justify putting on blinders so they can keep on believing what they want to believe. I don't accept this from my opponents side or my own side.

Inspector

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2016, 06:47:09 AM »
I disagree with your premise. Admitting to being an imperfect human is not backpedaling. Additionally, just because you show some anecdotal instance of a flaw in their myth busting does not prove they don't have a "pretty neutral record." If you want to say that snopes is not infallible then go ahead, I would agree with you. Do they have a bias that creeps out from time to time? It certainly wouldn't surprise me.  But all things equal here, there is a lot more reason to believe Snopes' conclusion than the meme. Do you find the meme to be more credible than Snopes' article?

I think you missed my point in all of this. I am not putting Snopes up on a pedestal. My issue is that lack of objectivity among the readers here. They would rather believe the meme that has no evidence than Snopes which at least presents sources supporting it's conclusion. Rather than follow up on the sources people spend more time trying to discredit Snopes as a whole than to prove Snopes got this issue wrong. Apparently they reason that if they can prove Snopes has a bias then there is no reason to entertain Snopes' conclusion and they can go on believing the meme. Real objectivity doesn't care whether Snopes is biased, it only cares about the facts. Did anyone on here argue that Snopes is wrong because of this source and that source?

I see time and time again liberals who avoid conservative points and facts by saying that Fox news is biased and it becomes very irritating. Not because I believe Fox to be unbiased or super accurate but because they won't even consider the possibility that, Fox news might have gotten the story right. They don't want to hear facts that don't support their positions and it is easier for them to ignore the facts through claims of bias than it is to confront the facts.

People justify putting on blinders so they can keep on believing what they want to believe. I don't accept this from my opponents side or my own side.
Let's get one thing straight here. I did not miss your original point. Your original point that I disagree with is that you defended Snopes and the owners. You put them both on a pedestal. Then you backed down from that position in your next posting(s). That IS back peddling. I did not miss your point. You changed your point later. You added to it in your later posts in order to take them down from the pedestal YOU put them on. I understood exactly what your intent was at the time you first posted your defense of Snopes and the owners. If you want to back down from that, fine. Admit it and let's move on. I did not misunderstand. You misspoke. There is a huge difference here and you cannot deny (based on the timeline) that that is exactly what happened. It is all in black and white here. This is not a matter of your opinion against mine. It is a fact. But I know you will try and save face here and continue to back peddle. Or worse, just ignore what I am saying here because that is your usual MO.

I did not say admitting that one is imperfect is back peddling. What I said was that you are using the fact that they are imperfect to try and cover up your back peddling. What I said was they have intent. Because if what they publish on their website is a mistake then they could remove it at any time. The fact that they don't remove what you call a mistake is proof of intent that they want to deflect and back peddle and try to influence people to their way of thinking which just happens to have a liberal bent. Do not change my words nor my intent to try and deflect and back peddle here. You have been caught and the more you squirm the worse you look.

I understand completely what you are saying regarding your original point about Snopes. Yes, claim bias and they become not believable. That is why I made sure I chose my words carefully. I made sure I separated the political from the non political. I look at everything Snopes says with suspicion due to their bias. But you can usually pick out the truth from the BS. If they didn't have a liberal bent on some political issues I would not be so suspicious.

I think there are people everywhere in this world who just want to know that what is happening conforms to their way of thinking. And that is what politics is all about. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, etc. They all lie. But the fact is the MSNBC's, CNN's and the like lie much more often and only lie in a liberal context. Fox News in fact lies less than all the other stations. But with that said, does that mean we can trust them? NO!!!! The only way to understand an issue is to hear all sides of it and then make your mind up for yourself. Which is why I was very clear that I find Snopes to be not so accurate on political issues and mostly accurate on non political issues. I look at both sides of everything. BTW, I knew the MEME was not fully correct when it was posted. It was posted quite a while ago on one of my forums and I think it might have been sent to me in an e-mail. I fact check almost everything. It doesn't matter. The MEME is what it is. What matters to me is how Snopes handled it. And I believe in this case, by not fully reporting the facts that about Hillary and her being fired and by who and for what reason, detracts from the intent of what Snopes is supposed to be. Don't just disprove a MEME as incorrect. They also need to provide the truth about the subject of the MEME. We still need to know that Hillary was fired, why she was fired and by whom. That would provide a complete answer and dispel their liberal bias on this subject. JMHO
« Last Edit: June 14, 2016, 02:07:44 PM by Inspector »
SCIENCE THAT CAN’T BE QUESTIONED IS PROPAGANDA!!!

passivekinetic

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2016, 06:55:04 AM »
I agree that in many cases, Snopes does not do the due diligence that a truly NEUTRAL source would, in dispelling myths, if the further analysis would compromise a liberal position.

I don't have any examples off hand. This has been something I've noticed over the years, and it looks like I am not the only one.

Either they do not do the due diligence, or they deliberately omit additional context.
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous

passivekinetic

Re: She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life
« Reply #19 on: June 14, 2016, 07:14:35 AM »
Let's compare two SNOPES articles. You don't have to thoroughly read them to get my point, which I will make.


A) FACT CHECK: Did a 2007 Harvard University study prove that areas with higher rates of gun ownership have lower crime rates? (FALSE)

http://www.snopes.com/harvard-flaw-review/


B) Do statistics demonstrate that crime rates in Australia have increased substantially since the government there instituted a gun buy-back program in 1997? (MIXTURE OF TRUE AND FALSE)

http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp


In article A, Snopes (gleefully?) dispels the paper and says it is not a good paper showing more guns = less crime. That's all. It does not take the time to give further context with many OTHER studies that DO show a strong correlation of more guns = less crime.

In article B, Snopes (grudgingly?) has to first admit there is some evidence with the statistics (true) and then goes to great lengths to discredit those statistics (the false component). Noteworthy is that it did NOT do a follow up on the article to update it with the further 4 additional years of data that DO show this original meme is actually TRUE (this Australian data is a topic that we discussed in another post just recently here on 2A). In all the extra effort they did to further elaborate on this Australian gun situation, they did NOT further provide extra evidence that actually there is strong evidence, and even from the words of the government officials investigating the worthiness of the buyback program, that the buyback program backfired (at worse) or did nothing to prevent crime.

These are just two articles I managed to dig up and obviously I cannot reasonably do an exhaustive search of Snopes but I am fairly confident that if one were to do so, they would find similar evidence as I have shown here.

Also what I wrote comes to no surprise to many here, I'm sure. Just that now we have some evidence for the purposes of this discussion thread.
"The sheep fear sheepdogs, because they fail to see the wolves."
- Anonymous