Snopes

The first place to look for the forwarded email, the too-good photo or the rumor your aunt shared. Snopes started in 1994 as David and Barbara Mikkelson's urban legends reference site, and that habit of tracing a story to its origin still sets it apart from sites built around politicians' statements. It will mark a claim undetermined when the evidence runs out, and a "Labeled Satire" rating flags jokes that escaped their context. Its record has a real blemish. In 2021 BuzzFeed News found co-founder David Mikkelson had plagiarized news sources in 54 articles; Snopes retracted 60 of his pieces and removed him from editorial duties. Its satire ratings also led to a long public dispute with The Babylon Bee.