(xxxxxxxxxxx), Snopes, In Legal Battle. Asks Readers for Money to Survive....NYT

[Stuart G]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/media/snopes-crowdfunding-proper-media.html?module=WatchingPortal®ion=c-column-middle-span- _________________________________________________________________________________________


Snopes, the fact-checking website that once focused on debunking flimsy internet rumors but has expanded into a 16-person operation that calls out political leaders for dishonesty, is locked in a legal battle that it says has drained the money it needs to survive.

The site, which gets all of its revenue from advertising, created a crowdfunding page on Monday, raising $500,000 from readers in one day to remain operational indefinitely. It says that Proper Media, the vendor that runs its advertising services, has withheld the site’s revenue and has refused to relinquish control of the site. That leaves Bardav — the company that owns and operates Snopes — with no way of moving the site to a new host or installing its own ads, said David Mikkelson, a founder of the site.

“We have had no income whatsoever for the last several months,” Mr. Mikkelson said in an interview on Monday.

When asked how long the site could last without a successful fund-raising drive or legal victory, Mr. Mikkelson responded: “Not a whole lot longer.”

Proper Media and its lawyers tell a starkly different story. They say that Snopes employees will continue to be paid from the advertising revenue, and that Mr. Mikkelson should be removed from the company because of wasteful spending.

The two sides, which have sued each other in separate claims, present entirely conflicting descriptions of who owns the company and what is being withheld from whom. The earliest chance for resolution appears to be a court hearing scheduled for next week.

Whether the squabbling will affect Snopes’s ability to produce its popular mythbusting remains to be seen, but the disputes are unlikely to be settled until there is legal clarity on the underlying structure of the company.

rest of story at link:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________So, this is far more complicated that I thought.. Legal battles continue for a while. Sometimes a long while. Therefore, Snoops raised enough to survive, but how this is settled is to be determined.

[Hoyt]

1. Glad to see they got funding for awhile. I hope they straighten out the ownership issue.

I saw one successful organization -- started by a husband and wife team -- that was destroyed when they divorced. Hope that is not the case here.

With so much Fake News nowadays, fact-checkers are critical.

[Demit]

2. Why do you call it Snoops?

[Stuart G]

3. The name of the site is ...."Snoops"

Hit this link and you will see the site....It is a fact checking site.
.Originally set up to verify rumors, fraud and common questions that people are talking about. This site is very popular

http://www.snopes.com/

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. Wait, let me check on Snoops.com to see if you're correct. Nt

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. "Snopes" not "Snoops". Maybe autocorrect is changing it for you. nt

[Stuart G]

7. OK...well, I will admit that I cannot spell..."Snopes" not "Snoops" But I have a question for you..

Does this..autocorrect thing, mean that a young person going to grammar school, grades 1 through 8, doesn't need to take spelling in a class?

I remember spelling and I didn't do to well. I tried and tried, but most of the time, I was ok, but there are/were times that I got the words wrong. But at least I had to learn "spelling".. So, what is the scoop on that one???

I got a good brain, but it does not "autocorrect"....but back then, I did learn something called .."typing" so I memorized the keyboard, and can type pretty fast..whatever good that does..cause the fingers can't spell...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

8. My girlfriend's kid is going into 6th grade this fall. They emphasize spelling

Last edited Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:13 PM - Edit history (1)

at her school. And we try drilling it in so she's aware that autocorrect shouldn't be relied on. But to answer your question. I'm sure most of the new generation relies on it since it's almost unavoidable with current technology.

I learned English as my second language. It was always one of the subjects where I did well. But reading many people's writing online. I find their spelling and grammar atrocious.

[Stuart G]

9. Oh well..........I can't do it..no I can't....ok..ok.but you may, just may have typed a wrong word

in your last sentence...a typing error, .....not a spelling error....but..let's see if you can correct it..

Yes, I used to be a teacher..sorry about that

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

16. Duh! Got it.... I think. That's what I get for talking shit about other's writing skills. nt

[snooper2]

10. I remember spelling and I didn't do to well.

should be-

I remember spelling and I didn't do too well.

[Stuart G]

12. neither did I.. 2 for the same game..

but, the computer will fix it, and here at DU..we have spell check. It says, Check Spelling...then gives you choices. What the hell...????

You don't have to look in a dictionary?...What about sales of dictionaries?...I have 4 or 5 sitting around my place. ...

[tblue37]

15. Actually, Snooper2 was correcting your spelling in that sentence, because you wrote "to well"

instead of "too well."

[Demit]

6. I am very familiar with Snopes. I spell it the way they do, lol.

[cwydro]

11. I think you mean Snopes.

Lol, I had a cat called Snoops.

[Stuart G]

13. Oh My...are you a "spelling policeman?...Are you going to write a ticket???

Where do I send the money??? I xxxed out the bad word, and put in a new one..

[cwydro]

14. Lol.