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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Friend of a Friend » » Snopes.com -- How accurate are they? (17 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

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Bill Palmer
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If you are "into" urban legends, you have probably visited the snopes.com web site.

Have you ever found an item on their site that you know for a fact is untrue.

I have, and I'll reveal what it is later on in this thread.
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magicianinja
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I haven't. Everything I've seen there has been backed up by evidence.
Bill Palmer
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The question is how accurate the evidence is. In the particular case I am familiar with, eyewitness testimony is denied by a major television network. Snopes sides with the network.
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Dave V
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Snopes is one of my favorite sites. I don't know the accuracy of their claims, but I'm guessing they're more correct than not. I wonder what would happen if they heard one of their articles is wrong? Would they update it? Or simply ignore it?
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stoneunhinged
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I'm pretty sure that if you had persuasive evidence, they would update the site.

They are folklorists with solid academic credentials. Academics sometimes make mistakes. Sometimes they make mistakes in evaluating the evidence. But I would be surprised if anything at Snopes was somehow not in good faith.

Bill, don't keep us waiting. Out with it!
Bill Nuvo
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I know they even did an experiment to let people know not to take their word on things. It was the Blackbeard/Sing a Song of Sixpence legend that they totally made up (and did a good job making it sound plausible).
stoneunhinged
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Well, they also used to have something about Mr. Ed (the talking horse), but I don't think that's what Bill Palmer is talking about.
Mark Ennis
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Quote:
On 2008-06-02 14:22, Bill Palmer wrote:
If you are "into" urban legends, you have probably visited the snopes.com web site.

Have you ever found an item on their site that you know FOR A FACT is untrue.

I have, and I'll reveal what it is later on in this thread.


There was an item that used to be listed as false until someone finally proved it true. It had to do with a very risque answer on the TV Game Show "The Newlywed Game". Even Bob Eubanks denied it and supposedly offered money to anyone that could produce footage of it.
ME
Scott Cram
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Image


The Mythbusters are even more sinister!
EsnRedshirt
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Bill, you're still leaving us hanging here; which case are you talking about?

As for eyewitness testimony, well, I withhold judgement without knowing the details. As magicians, we do know that eyewitness testimony is sometimes very inaccurate- but then again, so are news networks. (How many times has the media over-simplified a story to the point where it's useless for real information?)
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jfquackenbush
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I do know that snopes has been critical of news media picking up on old urban legends from time to time, so I think your comment that they "sided with the network" bringing along sinister connotations is a bit unfair.

that said, I wouldn't be surprised if they said something was false that later turned out to be true. I doubt that they'd be all that surprised either.
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darrylasher
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Here's something fun about Snopes. Read this:
http://www.snopes.com/lost/mobile.asp

Note at the bottom of the page, there is a More Info link that takes you here:
http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.asp
tom_stamm
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I used to love Snopes, but then they started with the pop-under ads and drove me away. With Firefox and the Ad blocker extension I suppose I could start reading it, bit I just never got around to going back.
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Jimeh
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So Bill, just how long are going to have to wait?? lol
stoneunhinged
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At least a month.

We need to give Bill a shout out.

BILL! BIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Chris Henderson
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Quote:
On 2008-06-02 14:22, Bill Palmer wrote:
Have you ever found an item on...[the Snopes] site that you know FOR A FACT is untrue.

I have, and I'll reveal what it is later on in this thread.

Reminds me of a funny (and unfortunately true) line from the Simpsons regarding "teases"...

"I'm Kent Brockman, on the eleven o'clock news tonight, a certain kind of soft drink has been found to be lethal, we won't tell you which one until after sports and the weather with funny Sonny Storm."
:)
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Drew Manning
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Quote:
On 2008-06-12 17:18, Mark Ennis wrote:
Quote:
On 2008-06-02 14:22, Bill Palmer wrote:
If you are "into" urban legends, you have probably visited the snopes.com web site.

Have you ever found an item on their site that you know FOR A FACT is untrue.

I have, and I'll reveal what it is later on in this thread.


There was an item that used to be listed as false until someone finally proved it true. It had to do with a very risque answer on the TV Game Show "The Newlywed Game". Even Bob Eubanks denied it and supposedly offered money to anyone that could produce footage of it.


I saw a clip from the episode in question and Bob talking about it on a show on VH1 (?) a while back. It was quite amusing nad the response was too risque for even today's TV as it still had to be censored LOL
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ed rhodes
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Well, here it is three months later and nothing from Bill.


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J Hanes
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Quote:
On 2008-06-02 16:06, Bill Palmer wrote:
The question is how accurate the evidence is. In the particular case I am familiar with, eyewitness testimony is denied by a major television network. Snopes sides with the network.


please explain further mister palmer
critter
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I have yet to see a website that has 0 errors.
Then again, Wikipedia has a statistical accuracy comparable to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
So... Meh.
"The fool is one who doesn't know what you have just found out."
~Will Rogers
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