Snopes co-founder caught plagiarizing articles

Page 1 of 2 [ 22 posts ] Go to page 1, 2 Next

Previous topic | Next topic

Brictoria
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Aug 2013
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,998
Location: Melbourne, Australia

13 Aug 2021, 10:01 pm

Quote:

David Mikkelson, the co-founder of the fact-checking website Snopes, has long presented himself as the arbiter of truth online, a bulwark in the fight against rumors and fake news. But he has been lying to the site's tens of millions of readers: A BuzzFeed News investigation has found that between 2015 and 2019, Mikkelson wrote and published dozens of articles containing material plagiarized from news outlets such as the Guardian and the LA Times.

After inquiries from BuzzFeed News, Snopes conducted an internal review and confirmed that under a pseudonym, the Snopes byline, and his own name, Mikkelson wrote and published 54 articles with plagiarized material. The articles include such topics as same-sex marriage licenses and the death of musician David Bowie.

Snopes VP of Editorial and Managing Editor Doreen Marchionni suspended Mikkelson from editorial duties pending “a comprehensive internal investigation.” He remains an officer and a 50% shareholder of the company.

“Our internal research so far has found a total of 54 stories Mikkelson published that used appropriated material, including all of the stories Buzzfeed shared with us,” Marchionni and Snopes Chief Operating Officer Vinny Green said in a statement.

Source: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/deansterlingjones/snopes-cofounder-plagiarism-mikkelson

funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 25,575
Location: Right over your left shoulder

13 Aug 2021, 10:03 pm

Was the accuracy compromised, or is it just a matter of ethics?

_________________
Watching liberals try to solve societal problems without a systemic critique/class consciousness is like watching someone in the dark try to flip on the light switch, but they keep turning on the garbage disposal instead.
戦争ではなく戦争と戦う

Brictoria
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Aug 2013
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,998
Location: Melbourne, Australia

13 Aug 2021, 10:16 pm

funeralxempire wrote:

Was the accuracy compromised, or is it just a matter of ethics?

From what I can tell, based on several reports, it seems to have been an ethics issue, rather than accuracy, but certainly doesn't reflect well on a person (as Buzzfeed says) who "has long presented himself as the arbiter of truth online" - If a person is willing to lie about something small like this, it could raise questions about what else they (and the association they did this on behalf of), have been less than honest about.

funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 25,575
Location: Right over your left shoulder

13 Aug 2021, 10:38 pm

Brictoria wrote:

funeralxempire wrote:

Was the accuracy compromised, or is it just a matter of ethics?

Not defending it, but it seems likely to be done out of personal laziness. They should probably audit his work to ensure no issues exist but it seems to be more of a matter of correctly attributing sources than intentionally misrepresenting the truth.

Dox47
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,577
Location: Seattle-ish

14 Aug 2021, 12:16 am

Better check Snopes to see if this story is legit :lol:

_________________
“The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.”
-- Robert Anton Wilson

funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 25,575
Location: Right over your left shoulder

14 Aug 2021, 12:25 am

https://www.snopes.com/2021/08/13/snope ... lagiarism/

League_Girl
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,205
Location: Pacific Northwest

14 Aug 2021, 12:35 am

I always had the impression they copied and paste stuff from other articles. It was always that obvious and they always linked to the sources where they got it from so this is plagiarism they are saying?

_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.

Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.

Dox47
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,577
Location: Seattle-ish

14 Aug 2021, 12:36 am

funeralxempire wrote:

https://www.snopes.com/2021/08/13/snopes-writers-condemn-plagiarism/

The Snopes paradox; do you trust fact checkers to fact check themselves?

_________________
“The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.”
-- Robert Anton Wilson

funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 25,575
Location: Right over your left shoulder

14 Aug 2021, 12:39 am

Dox47 wrote:

funeralxempire wrote:

https://www.snopes.com/2021/08/13/snopes-writers-condemn-plagiarism/

The Snopes paradox; do you trust fact checkers to fact check themselves?

I expect them to be as transparent as possible and I judge their trustworthiness based on that.
I'd hope for there to be a few competitors as well. Snopes is a decent resource but I'd always fact-check their articles as well.

Brictoria
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Aug 2013
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,998
Location: Melbourne, Australia

14 Aug 2021, 1:04 am

Dox47 wrote:

funeralxempire wrote:

https://www.snopes.com/2021/08/13/snopes-writers-condemn-plagiarism/

The Snopes paradox; do you trust fact checkers to fact check themselves?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 25,575
Location: Right over your left shoulder

14 Aug 2021, 1:07 am

I'unno, Coast Guard?

DW_a_mom
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,687
Location: Northern California

14 Aug 2021, 6:07 pm

Dox47 wrote:

funeralxempire wrote:

https://www.snopes.com/2021/08/13/snopes-writers-condemn-plagiarism/

The Snopes paradox; do you trust fact checkers to fact check themselves?

They have an article on their page that is an intentional diversion for the sole purpose of reminding readers that you can’t rely 100% on any source, including them. It’s a pretty amusing article to stumble onto.

_________________
Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).

Brictoria
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Aug 2013
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,998
Location: Melbourne, Australia

14 Aug 2021, 8:33 pm

Quote:

U.S.—Snopes has finally fact-checked the accusation that Snopes co-founder David Mikkelson plagiarized over 50 articles, finding the claim a "mixture" and saying that it is "lacking important context."

But oops! It looks like the Snopes fact-check on whether Snopes fact-checks are stolen was stolen entirely from PolitiFact! Oh no! It appears the article was copied word for word from competing fact-checker PolitiFact, causing more problems for Snopes.

"This is outrageous," said the site's other co-founder, Bob Snopes. "I trusted Mikkelson so much, I even put my name on the website. I now regret that decision. Mikkelson has dragged the name 'Snopes' through the mud."

Snopes has withdrawn the stolen article and is issuing a new fact-check on whether the previous fact-check on Snopes plagiarizing fact-checks was, in fact, plagiarized, though the new fact-check appears to have been stolen entirely from The Washington Post. Looks like this could go on for a while!

Source: https://babylonbee.com/news/snopes-publishes-fact-check-on-whether-snopes-plagiarized-but-oh-no-the-whole-article-seems-to-have-been-copied-from-politifact

Mr Reynholm
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 19 Feb 2019
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,363
Location: Tulsa, OK

15 Aug 2021, 6:07 pm

Well President Biden has a long history of plagiarism so maybe Mr Mikklson has a future in the DNC.

ezbzbfcg2
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 15 Feb 2013
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,936
Location: New Jersey, USA

15 Aug 2021, 6:23 pm

Their goal seemed noble. But whenever an institution is trusted not for its work but because it is the established institution, it's already grounds for disaster. May as well become a church at that point. And there are many who blindly follow because, "Hey, it's Snopes, they can't be wrong!" Really no different than medieval peasants never questioning the church friar.

SabbraCadabra
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,694
Location: Michigan

15 Aug 2021, 10:52 pm

Brictoria wrote:

Source: https://babylonbee.com/news/snopes-publishes-fact-check-on-whether-snopes-plagiarized-but-oh-no-the-whole-article-seems-to-have-been-copied-from-politifact

lol

(before people freak out, Babylon Bee is a satire news site, like The Onion)

_________________
I'm looking for Someone to change my life. I'm looking for a Miracle in my life.

Page 1 of 2 [ 22 posts ] Go to page 1, 2 Next

Jump to:

Snopes co-founder caught plagiarizing articles Post Reply New Topic

Snopes co-founder caught plagiarizing articles