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  • Snopes Digest Issue #106: Covering Trump's inauguration, LA wildfires fact-checking highlight — and more

Snopes Digest Issue #106: Covering Trump's inauguration, LA wildfires fact-checking highlight — and more

Here's what's happening inside the Snopes newsroom

January 22, 2025

Jan. 22, 2025・Issue #106

1. Behind the Snopes: Covering Trump's Inauguration

Let's talk about what's going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people, and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. This week, Senior Assignments Editor Jessica Lee explains this week's efforts to fact check rumors related to Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration.

Heading into Inauguration Day, Snopes was prepared to jump on rumors surrounding events in Washington D.C.

Fact checkers and editors in the remote newsroom set up live streams of the inauguration ceremony from their desks, while keeping tabs on social media, news sites and our tip line.

As the day unfolded — marked by musical performances, speeches, and the formal swearing-in ceremony — staff investigated rumors in real time. For instance, people claimed that Elon Musk gave a "Nazi salute" (twice) while giving a speech, and rumors circulated about a series of pardons that Joe Biden issued in his final hours as president.

Whether related to the new presidential administration or something else, whenever you come across a suspicious claim, send it our way. We'll do our best to look into it.

Keep Snopes Debunking

We need your continued support to continue our fact-finding mission.

2. Fact-Checking Highlight: LA Fires

From Web Producer/Production Editor Izz Scott LaMagdeleine:

On the morning of Jan. 7, a fire began to spread through the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood located outside of Los Angeles. Snopes has been hard at work fact-checking rumors that have spread about the devastating wildfires since then. Here is a collection highlighting claims we've fact-checked about the fires so far. You can always reach out using our contact form if you have feedback or fact-checking ideas about the fires.

3. Overheard at Snopes

We look into a lot of weird stuff at Snopes. We imagine it's very interesting to be a fly on the wall, so we wanted to give you a look at some of the things we have to say when fact-checking.

Overheard: Stick a pony on for me mush

— Reporter Amelia Clarke

4. Snopesing 101: Not Every Claim Needs a Rating

Fact-check like a pro. Here, we’ll give you a peek behind the newsroom curtain by highlighting a recent fact check or sharing some of our tips and tricks for navigating the web. This week, Executive Editor/Managing Editor Doreen Marchionni shares why we’re starting to write more news stories in addition to our fact checks.

When I first arrived at Snopes more than six years ago, our audience traffic data was pretty clear: Readers loved our classic fact checks with ratings (like these), but not so much our traditional news stories without ratings. Times have changed. Depending on the topic/situation, audiences are increasingly drawn to those news explainers, sometimes even spending lengthier times to read them, such as this recent budget story from the L.A. wildfires. Since late 2024, we’ve been experimenting with doing more such deeper news explainers. Why the shift? We’re living in complex and politically divisive times, often where rumors can’t easily be boiled down to simple “true” or “false” labels. Those news stories give us a bit more flexibility in presenting nuanced research. We hope you find them informative.

Mental Health Break

Snopes investigates some grim and depressing claims, so we know how important it is to your mental health to see something silly, funny, or just plain heartwarming. Here are some links that made us smile.

5. Snopes-worthy Reads

What Snopes is reading across the web.

— Ananya Bhattacharya, Rest of World

— Katy Waldman, The New Yorker

— Tej Parikh & Keith Fray, the Financial Times

Thanks for reading this edition of the Snopes Digest. We send new issues of the newsletter every month, so please add this email address to your white list and keep an eye out for the next issue.

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