Scams, Hoaxes, Urban Legends and Their Busters - Comments Page 2

"I said, Bob, you're going to drive me to drinkin'
If you don't stop quoting that Hot Rod Lincoln"

Love your stuff.

Very good article, Bob!

Why some people think that Snopes.com is so far left is because the "right" is easier to catch with their pants down around their ankles. Every time someone calls Snopes "left", it's proof they are doing a great job providing facts and truth. (Just like Bob Rankin presents facts and truth!)

I'll trust Snopes loooong before I'll trust many others.

I am not surprised that so many people believe the unbelievable.
As a Australian with a science degree I am stunned at the number of Americans who apparently believe in Creationism.

Here is the part of Hoaxbusters.org's goodbye message that had a separate link marked "this":

"People that have a hard time accepting the truth have a hard time accepting the findings of Snopes.com. The main reason that Snopes is accused of bias by some folks is that facts have a notoriously liberal bias. The attacks against Snopes are prompted by the religious and political leanings of the attackers. A large number of hoaxes are aimed at (appealing to) people of the religious and political right. Then, when the hoax has been exposed, they become upset and defensive, attacking the messenger, not the message.

Snopes is officially known as the "Urban Legends Reference Pages." That's "reference," as in they research stuff and list their reference material for all the world to see. They have, through the years, become the "tell-all final word" in the hoax-debunking world. That is because of their ability to thoroughly research and document most hoax questions sent their way. The Snopes story is not a secret and has always been available to the public. The story about how the Mikkelsons met and founded their site jibes with interviews seen in other print media. Plus, through the years, they have been vetted by just about every form of major media (press, radio and TV).

Folks that question Snopes generally lean to the conservative side ideologically. Getting at the truth is not something reserved for the right or the left, though. Being apolitical is exactly what has made Snopes the respected source for hoax debunking that it is today."

Rick wrote: "Hoax Busters
After 17 years of hoax-busting, the time has come to call it a day. It has been our pleasure to serve you since 1999, and we are honored to have been one of the trusted sources that you chose for hoax debunking. But all good things must come to an end, and Hoax Busters is no different. As of January 1, 2017, we are officially retired."

Rick, your post is so unlike 99% of the posts here that it caused me to wonder if you and/or your post might be a hoax.

I admit that I have never heard of "Hoax Busters" - probably because I can generally tell when some self-serving idiots are promoting mis-information. My "default" belief about people and websites who promise to tell you the "TRUTH" is the same as it is with religion... most are barefaced liars (with the exception of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The Economist (UK).
OK, I do enjoy reading Mother Jones too, but I take it with a grain of salt!

As far as Bob Rankin's website... every so often I read an article that seems to be the result of financial patronage, but I have also found some valuable info here too, so I keep coming back!

My personal experience since the early days of the Internet is that the most outrageous and most harmful fake news and hoaxes in English are not published on some marginal websites but on the websites of major American publications such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine and the CNN.

The persistent barrage of fake news in the so-called “mainstream media" is motivated by political and racist bias.

These fake news are particularly injurious because even intelligent people tend to believe malicious fabrications when they read them in an article written by, e.g., Thomas Freedman and published in the “prestigious” New York Times.

Alt.folklore.urban was an early newsgroup devoted to disproving a lot of junk on the internet. To be a valid proof you had to post supporting evidence and facts. Sadly, this is lacking in the world today.

Neville wrote.
I am not surprised that so many people believe the unbelievable.
As a Australian with a science degree I am stunned at the number of Americans who apparently believe in Creationism. Does Giving you a Science Degree give you the right to debunk Creationism?
Albert Einstein is far more qualified than you in regard to science and one of his well known Statements is, "God does not play dice with the Universe." Actually he was not very religious but inferred that God left the Universe to develop itself. If God Created the Universe, then let it develop, everything since the big bang is Creationism, including yourself,

Fake news, is that another democratic way to say its a dam lie

Of course some people will believe anything. Kyle Irving of the NBA thinks the earth is flat, even though he has flown all over the US for games. People usually believe what they want to believe (as long as they agree with it) and will not even look at the facts if spoon fed to them.