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David Emery
David Emery

David Emery is a West Coast-based writer and editor with 25 years of experience fact-checking rumors, hoaxes, and contemporary legends, first as a freelancer for About.com (1997-2016), and as a staff writer and editor for Snopes since July 2016. His varied media career has also included stints as a television writer, contributing editor of a (pre-internet) satirical newspaper, and newsroom librarian.
spanish dancer sea slug photographed in australia

Does This Photo Show a Real Sea Slug?

Written by:
David Emery
Feb. 18, 2023 Some have nicknamed this creature the "pizza of the sea," but we don't recommend eating it.
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rihanna super bowl halftime - was she wearing satanic pentagram symbol?

Did Rihanna Wear a 'Satanic' Pentagram During Her Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Written by:
David Emery
Feb. 13, 2023 Last we checked, a pentagram was a five-pointed star.
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Mozart

Did Mozart Write an Aria To Lampoon a Head-Bobbing Soprano?

Written by:
David Emery
Feb. 13, 2023 Legend has it Mozart so disliked a singer whose head bobbed up and down when she sang that he wr ...
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mandatory penis inspection

'Mandatory Penis Inspection' Prank Keeps on Giving

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 29, 2023 Suspicions were aroused when it was claimed that said inspections would be conducted by one "Ric ...
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dolly parton to record album with heavy metal band slipknot?

Is Dolly Parton Recording an Album with Heavy Metal Band Slipknot?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 27, 2023 Stranger musical collaborations have happened!
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Sophia Loren: Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.

Did Sophia Loren Really Say 'Everything You See I Owe to Spaghetti'?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 25, 2023 The quote first appeared in the Aug. 11, 1961, issue of LIFE magazine.
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praying hands in clouds fake video

Is This Video of a 'Praying Hands' Cloud Formation Real?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 22, 2023 Photoshop works in mysterious ways.
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Mark Twain quote on patriotism

Did Mark Twain Say, 'In the Beginning of a Change, the Patriot Is a Scarce Man'?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 21, 2023 We're happy to report that not all of the quotes attributed to Mark Twain on the internet are bogus.
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Dr. Walter Freeman performs a lobotomy using an instrument resembling an ice pick.

Were Lobotomies Performed with Ice Picks in the 1950s?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 21, 2023 No matter how you slice it, this obsolete form of "psychiatric treatment" was a horror.
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was robin williams considered for role of jack torrance in the shining?

Was Robin Williams Considered for the Role of Jack Torrance in 'The Shining'?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 20, 2023 (Updated: Jan. 23, 2023) Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film "The Shining" starred Jack Nicholson as the menacing Jack Torrance.
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At the Iowa State Fair in 2019, former Vice President Joe Biden said, 'We choose truth over facts.'

Did Biden Say 'We Choose Truth Over Facts'?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 16, 2023 U.S. President Joe Biden once called himself a "gaffe machine," and the description is accurate.
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Is this the most detail image of a human cell to date?

Is This the 'Most Detailed Image of a Human Cell to Date'?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 15, 2023 For starters, it isn't even, strictly speaking, a human cell.
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The Times on the odious creep of the nanny state

Did London Times Editorialize Against Being 'Bullied into Health' in 1800s?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 15, 2023 "We prefer to take our chance with cholera and the rest than be bullied into health," a mid-19th ...
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Did Morgan Freeman say 'Don't take criticism from people you wouldn't go to for advice'?

Did Morgan Freeman Say 'Don't Take Criticism from People You'd Never Go to for Advice'?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 14, 2023 For some reason, people like putting pithy sayings in Morgan Freeman's mouth. Is it because of h ...
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When Martin Luther King encouraged me to run for Congress I didn't think much of it. But over time I've realized he was right. And now that I've been elected, I refuse to spit on his grave and resign.

No, George Santos Didn't Tweet That MLK Encouraged Him To Run for Congress

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 13, 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, 20 years before Rep. George Santos was born.
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Osiris and Isis, ancient gods of Egypt

Did Scientists Find Tomb of Egyptian God Osiris in 2022?

Written by:
David Emery
Jan. 10, 2023 In ancient Egyptian mythology, Osiris was the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld.
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Attributed to Albert Einstein: 'The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.'

Did Einstein Say 'The Only Thing More Dangerous than Ignorance Is Arrogance'?

Written by:
David Emery
Dec. 29, 2022 One can't help but wonder what the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, who died in 1955, would say ab ...
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Greta Thunberg

Did Greta Thunberg Mock a Twitter Troll with 'Small Dick Energy' Joke?

Written by:
David Emery
Dec. 28, 2022 Formerly banned Twitter influencer Andrew Tate tagged Thunberg in a tweet in which he bragged of ...
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Did Greg Abbott tweet on Christmas Eve about putting migrants on a bus and kicking them out into the freezing cold?

Did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Tweet About 'Putting Migrants on a Bus' on Christmas Eve?

Written by:
David Emery
Dec. 28, 2022 Twitter users shared a fake tweet about celebrating Christmas Eve by "putting migrants on a bus ...
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Benjamin Franklin: A penny saved is a penny earned.

Did Ben Franklin Say 'A Penny Saved Is a Penny Earned'?

Written by:
David Emery
Dec. 27, 2022 Versions of what is probably Benjamin Franklin's most famous saying were in print years before h ...
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