Snopes is raising funds ahead of 2020 avalanche of misinformation

Fact-checking operation Snopes has launched a crowdfunding campaign ahead of 2020, likely to be a bumper year for online misinformation due to the US presidential election.

Snopes launched in 1994 and has funded its work through advertising and the occasional partnership. But the company says demands on its services are greater than ever, and attempts to work with social media giants have failed. Earlier this year the company walked away from a funded partnership with Facebook following reports that the Silicon Valley giant was forcing unfair and opaque working condition onto its partners.

“Facebook has more people on their PR staff than there are formal fact checkers in the world”

In an interview with TechCrunch, Snopes’ vice president of operations Vinny Green said the fact-checking efforts of big tech amount to little more than “credibility theater,” and the site decided that if it wants to make a difference to online misinformation, it needs to do so under its own terms.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/snopes-is-raising-funds-ahead-of-2020-avalanche-of-misinformation/ar-BBYgKVI?ocid=msn360