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David Mikkelson

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994 as a creative outgrowth of his wide-ranging interests in a variety of subjects (particularly folklore) and his professional expertise in the computer industry. Handling everything from researching and writing articles about urban legends to managing the site’s technical infrastructure, David saw snopes.com (which antedated the development of automated search engines) quickly become the go-to place for Internet users to query about anything questionable they encountered online, establishing it as the oldest and best known online fact-checking outlet operating today. David’s educational background includes a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas (San Antonio) and about a zillion course hours of post-graduate classes at California State University Northridge taken with no particular degree program in mind. His previous employment encompassed stints with the News-Chronicle (newspaper), Teledyne Electronics, USPS, JPL, Digital Equipment Corporation, Rocketdyne, and Health Net (HMO).

Are Texas Voting Machines Switching People's Votes?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 27, 2018

Social media rumors report that voting machines in Texas are changing voters' selections to the ...

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Did Joe Biden Say Vladimir Putin Wants to 'Destroy the New World Order'?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 15, 2018

The former American VP opined that the Russian president seeks to undermine NATO and the EU, not ...

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Machine Gun Kelly Death Hoax

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 15, 2018

Rumors swirled on Twitter that Rapper Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) had died from a ‘ligma overdose.’

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What Did Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thomas Jefferson Say About the Constitution?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 12, 2018

An out-of-context, incomplete sentence and an apocryphal quotation do not make for an informativ ...

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Does a Municipal Code Limit Trick-or-Treating to Children 12 and Younger?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 11, 2018

A viral image of one municipal ordinance regarding Halloween activities left viewers wondering w ...

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Is This a Photograph of Tom Hanks Wearing an Anti-Trump T-Shirt?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 10, 2018

Buy a fact check scorecard, because you can't always tell celebrities apart by the shirts they wear.

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Was a Tapeworm Found in Welch's Fruit Snacks?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 9, 2018

A viral Facebook claim about the supposed discovery of a parasite in a piece of Welch's Fruit Sn ...

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'Got Another Friend Request from You' Facebook Warning

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 7, 2018

A warning about a Facebook user's supposedly having received a second friend request from you is ...

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Did Brett Kavanaugh Rule That Employers Can Accept Polygraph Tests as 'Gospel'?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 2, 2018

A 2016 appeal for which Kavanaugh wrote the decision has no bearing on the use of polygraph test ...

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Are Dragon Soop Beverages Contaminated with HIV?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 1, 2018

A variant of a years-old rumor about a worker adding HIV-infected blood to foods or beverages ta ...

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Washington Times Retracts Statements on Seth Rich Murder

Written by: David Mikkelson

Oct. 1, 2018

The news outlet was sued for stating it was "well known in intelligence circles that Seth Rich ...

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American Bar Association President Says FBI Should Investigate Before Kavanaugh Vote

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 28, 2018

"Each appointment to our nation’s Highest Court is simply too important to rush to a vote."

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Is This a Photograph of Christine Blasey Ford with Bill Clinton?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 25, 2018

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is apparently a Zelig-like figure who has met and posed with every pro ...

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Is This a Photograph of Christine Blasey Ford Partying?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 23, 2018

Apparently any photograph of a woman semi-clothed and drinking can be used to smear the credibil ...

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Does This Photograph Show a Woman Abused by Keith Ellison?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 22, 2018

Rep. Keith Ellison's former girlfriend has leveled charges of "narcissist abuse" against him, bu ...

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Sexy 'Brave Red Maiden' Halloween Costume Prompts Social Media Outrage

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 21, 2018

Nothing says "Halloween fun" like a sexy rape victim.

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Publix Coupons Facebook Scam

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 19, 2018 (Updated: July 9, 2019)

A free Publix grocery coupon Facebook offer is just another version of the ubiquitous survey scam.

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Was the Appointment of Dr. Jerome Adams as Surgeon General Ignored by the Press?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 16, 2018

This meme is not only false, but it seemingly undermines the very point it's trying to make.

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Was President Trump's 9/11 'Fist Pump' a Greeting to a Cancer Victim?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 16, 2018

Deceptive memes purport to correct misinformation offered by other supposedly deceptive memes.

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Is This Anderson Cooper Standing in a Ditch While Reporting Hurricane Florence?

Written by: David Mikkelson

Sept. 16, 2018

It's not uncommon for reporters to call upon dramatic skills in the course of conveying the peri ...

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