How to Check an Item on Snopes for Veracity
We all get those crazy e-mails that claim that Mormons own the Coca-Cola Company or that Barack Obama is an illegal alien. Most of the time, the outrageous claims are too crazy to give a second thought. But you may occasionally stumble into an urban legend that seems half believable. Naturally, you want to see if it's true, or just another crazy e-mail from Uncle Ed. You can find out by using a website called Snopes.com.
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Instructions
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Type "snopes.com" into your web browser's address bar. Once loaded, the Snopes main screen features a categorical listing of urban legends, as well as a search engine at the top of the screen. You can use either function to find out the veracity of your rumor.
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Click the appropriate icon on the main page if your rumor falls neatly into one of the listed categories. For example, if you want to find out if former U.S. president George W. Bush really declared June 10, 2000, to be "Jesus Day" in Texas, click on the "Religion" button. You will then find a list of alleged rumors related to religion. If your story does not appear on the list, you'll have to use the search function.
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Insert as many key phrases from the urban legend as you can remember into the search bar on the main page. For instance, if you wish to check the veracity of an email offering a free laptop from Dell, insert "free laptop dell" into the search bar. Then click "Go!" to find out the results.
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Look for the color-coded button on the top of the rumor page to find out the truth of your urban legend. The results may surprise you. A green button indicates that the rumor is true, while a red button indicates that it is false. A green and red button means the rumor has multiple truth values. A yellow button claims that the truth of the rumor is yet undetermined. Finally, a white button indicates that the rumor is unverifiable.
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Tips & Warnings
You can submit a new rumor by clicking the "Submit a Rumor" button on the main page. You can also chat with fellow urban legend hunters by using the Snopes bulletin board. Just click "Message Board" in the upper right-hand corner.
