Editorial Process

Question 1

Why do you cover satire?

Accepted Answer

The short answer is, "Because readers ask about it." But of course we have given the topic more consideration than that answer would indicate. Read this note from our founder to learn more.

Question 2

May I submit items to be fact-checked?

Accepted Answer

Yes! We always welcome reader tips and queries. Send us links to articles, social media posts, or images using our contact form. If you have screenshots or other relevant attachments, use the “Add File” button on the contact form. Include as much information as possible, including when and where you found the item you hope to see fact-checked. Due to the volume of correspondence we receive every day, we regret that we may not be able to respond to your request personally. Curious if we have already fact-checked the claim in question? Type in one or two keywords into our site search. Searches that are too lengthy or specific tend to produce fewer results. To keep up with the latest fact-checking on Snopes.com, subscribe to our newsletter.

Question 3

Do you accept guest posts?

Accepted Answer

The notion of inviting guest writers and experts to research for Snopes on special topics outside our regular writers’ beats is intriguing; however, we have to be extremely careful to protect the trust we have built with our readers. Properly verifying the credibility of myriad guest writers and their sources requires time and resources we just don’t have.

Question 4

Why do you sometimes analyze the content of political pieces, but other times you only verify who wrote them?

Accepted Answer

In general, when a political piece is primarily an editorial or other expression of opinion, we tag it as such and attempt to verify only whether the attribution is correct (since opinions are not falsifiable, the attribution is the sole aspect of the piece that may be objectively determined as being true or false). When a political piece purports to offer facts, we place it in a relevant category and analyze the factual claims made within for veracity.

Question 5

What tips is Snopes looking for?

Accepted Answer

Snopes cannot fact-check every dubious claim ever published, so we try to tackle what seems most prominent each day. In other words, we write about whatever the greatest number of readers are asking about or fact-checking at any given time, without any partisan considerations. The items we address include (but are not limited to):

text circulated online
social media posts
images or memes
photographs and videos
printed material
articles from other sites and publications

If any questionable materials come across your screen that you cannot fact-check or debunk yourself, let us know. Include a link or a screenshot if you can. We don’t fact-check, without exception, every single item that comes our way. For example, we may decline to undertake a given topic because it is beyond our scope (e.g., answering the question “Does God exist?”) or represents a subject that is not relevant or appropriate for our site (e.g., speculating about a given celebrity’s sexual orientation). Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we regret that we may not be able to respond to your request personally. Know that we are very appreciative of you taking the time to engage with Snopes.

Question 6

What is your fact-checking process?

Accepted Answer

Since the material we fact-check can range from everything to analyzing whether an image has been digitally manipulated to explicating the text of a Congressional bill, we can’t describe any single method that applies to all our fact-checking efforts.

In general, each entry is assigned to one of the members of our editorial staff who undertakes the preliminary research and writes the first draft of the fact check.

Our research generally begins with (whenever possible) attempting to contact the source of the claim for elaboration and supporting information. We also attempt to contact individuals and organizations who would be knowledgeable about, or have relevant expertise in, the subject at hand, as well as searching out printed information (news articles, scientific and medical journal articles, books, interview transcripts, statistical sources) with bearing on the topic.

We attempt to use non-partisan information and data sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journals, government agency statistics) as much as possible, and to alert readers that information and data from sources such as political advocacy organizations and partisan think tanks should be regarded with skepticism.

Depending upon the nature and complexity of the topic, other members of the editorial staff may contribute additional research (or their own personal expertise) and editing. The final product will pass through the hands of at least one editor. Any piece that is not deemed up to our standards by one or more editors is subject to further revision and review before being released for publication.

Question 7

How do you decide what to write about?

Accepted Answer

We have long observed the principle that we fact-check whatever items the greatest number of readers are asking about or searching for at any given time, without any partisan considerations.

We don’t choose (or exclude) items for coverage based on whether they deal with Republican/Democratic, conservative/liberal, or religious/secular issues. We also don’t impose our own judgments about whether a given item’s perceived importance, controversiality, obviousness, or superficiality (or lack thereof) merit our addressing it. (We are, of course, limited in how much we can cover by our available resources and staffing.)

The inputs we use to determine reader interest include the tabulation of terms entered into our search engine, reader email submissions, comments and items posted to our Twitter and Facebook accounts, external social media posts, as well as what’s trending on Google and other social media sites.

Question 8

What is your corrections policy?

Accepted Answer

Our policy is to promptly correct errors of fact and to clarify any potentially confusing or ambiguous statements in our articles and fact checks. Readers can submit potential corrections through our Contact Form. Whenever we change the rating of a fact check (for any reason), correct or modify a substantive supporting fact (even if it does not affect the item’s overall rating), or add substantial new information to an existing article, those changes are noted and explained in an Update box at the foot of the article. Corrections of typographical errors, misspellings, or other minor revisions not deemed substantive by our editors are not noted. Please keep in mind that text appearing inside a box with a colored background is either an example of collected folklore or a quotation from another source, not our own writing. We reproduce these items exactly as we find them and do not edit them to correct orthographical errors.

Information Desk