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Snopes Digest Issue #107: Trump's first month in office, Debunker newsletter growth — and more

Here's what's happening inside the Snopes newsroom

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
February 19, 2025

Feb. 19, 2025・Issue #107

1. Behind the Snopes: Fact-checking Trump's first month

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 reflects on the newsroom's efforts to analyze statements and policies coming from Donald Trump's second presidential administration.

It's been 30 days since President Donald Trump took the oath of office. The Snopes newsroom has been busy fact-checking the new administration's various claims about federal spending, as well as breaking down its new policy directives.

We have documented Trump's efforts to shape his inner circle, with billionaire Elon Musk as a leading figure.

Several popular rumors have had some truth to them — like the claim that Trump revoked a federal directive imposing nondiscrimination requirements on businesses with government contracts.

Meanwhile, others have been flat-out false. For instance, fake images claiming to show an executive order prohibiting the word "felon" on White House grounds and a Truth Social post by Trump calling teachers "ugly" have circulated. They were in company with digitally edited videos supposedly showing Trump doing things as president that he actually hasn't.

Whenever you come across a questionable piece of media or rumor about the new presidential administration, send it our way.

Keep Snopes Debunking

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

2. Fact-Checking Highlight: Trump-related rumors

From Web Producer/Production Editor Izz Scott LaMagdeleine:

As we noted above, Snopes has been hard at work fact-checking rumors related to Trump that have spread over the past month. Here is a short collection highlighting some of our most popular claims about Trump since his inauguration, according to our site’s traffic analytics: 

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: And menty b for a mental breakdown. Completely undersells it in a classic British way

— Assignments Editor Nick Hardinges

4. Since We Last Met: Debunker newsletter growth

From executive editor/managing editor Doreen Marchionni:

For most of Snopes' existence, the website has relied on ad revenue from pageviews. When a reader clicks, we earn a bit of money that helps keep us running. That's pretty typical for most news orgs.

But in 2025, Snopes is devoting big brain power to growing the number of paid members, such as yourselves, via Debunker newsletter sign-ups. Memberships are a far more predictable source of income than relying on random readers. With that predictability, we can take on more special projects, such as podcasting, and hire new people with greater financial confidence.

Here's the really good news: We're already at 250,000 Debunker subscribers — half of our goal for the entire year! Three cheers to that — clink! — and onward ho. Thank you for your continued support.

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.

— McKay Coppins, The Atlantic

— Gene Maddaus, Variety

— Noor Al-Sibai, Futurism

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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