Sept. 12, 2026・Issue #127
Let's talk about what's going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. Here's your exclusive behind-the-scenes look into what we do, available only for paying members of our fact-finding community:
Behind the Snopes: Alleged sale of wild horses to slaughterhouses
Our fact checkers come to work ready to investigate whatever is on readers’ minds, with a hint of skepticism and the highest degree of journalism ethics. From dangerous scientific falsehoods to celebrity conspiracy theories, the team scours niche corners of social media, conducts interviews, requests public records and more to set the record straight.
This month, reporter Laerke Christensen wrote about why we couldn’t rate her article examining claims that the Trump administration sent wild horses to slaughterhouses.
Snopes readers often come to us asking about the credibility of reports based on anonymous sources, whistleblowers or leaked documents. This work can sometimes appear to discredit other media publications. That is almost never the intention. In the business of fact-checking, the bar is incredibly (sometimes impossibly) high. That is reflected in whether we rate a rumor or not.
For example, readers contacted us in August about a New York Times investigation that found the Bureau of Land Management was selling wild horses it captured to regulate population sizes to private buyers — and that those animals eventually ended up in slaughterhouses.
The Times report was very thorough and had tracked animals from the BLM to auctions frequented by slaughter buyers with the help of a wild horse rescue. It showed beyond reasonable doubt — a legal standard that journalists also use to gauge their reporting — wild horses sold by the BLM to private buyers were likely ending up at slaughter, even though the BLM says that is against their policy and has certain safeguards in place to prevent it.
But what we did not have was documentation that followed one or more horses from the BLM, through various buyers to auction and then to the slaughterhouse. Neither the Times nor the rescue could produce that final link. These documents may be impossible to find at all. Getting them would rely on slaughterhouses being willing to admit they slaughtered protected wild horses, an unlikely scenario.
Because of this missing link, we were forced to leave the story unrated even though we had no reason to doubt the Times’ evidence or the animal rescue, which produced other documentation showing the first steps in the chain from BLM to buyer to slaughterhouse auction.
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Reporter’s notebook: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Sometimes our reporters come across interesting anecdotes we can‘t include in the final piece but still want to share with our members. Reporter Rae Deng has a story about how a New Hampshire librarian is keeping her local Imagination Library program going after the loss of federal grant funding.
While working on a story about funding cuts to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which puts free books in the hands of young kids, I came across an Instagram post from a New Hampshire radio station that caught my attention. It highlighted local efforts to keep an Imagination Library program going.
The post included a quote from Courtney Vashaw, director of Whitefield Public Library, which runs the program. Curious to hear more, I called Courtney, who was driving and warned me she was going through a bend in the road with terrible cell service. I asked her if I should call back later, but instead, she went around the bend and pulled off to the side. Then she started talking.
Whitefield Public Library’s program doesn’t just cover the kids in one town — it covers half of New Hampshire, in a rural area called North Country. Off the top of her head, Courtney knew details about the number of kids in her region, how many were receiving free books, how many had graduated from the Imagination Library, how much it cost to pay for the enrolled kids’ books, and so much more.
Courtney spent months securing funding for the Imagination Library in North Country. When federal grant cuts shut down Whitefield Public Library’s financial partner for the program, she had to scramble to figure out how to keep it going.
She reached out to both of her senators and her local representative. But they told her there was nothing they could do. It was a federal decision, and it was out of their control.
So Whitefield Public Library started fundraising in the community. Courtney heard from all kinds of donors, from “a grandma saying, ‘I want to contribute $32 because that’s what I have,’” to a business contributing $6,500.
Meanwhile, the folks at Imagination Library allowed Whitefield Public Library to pay their share of the costs month-to-month, even though the foundation usually requires local partners to show they’ve budgeted for 80% of the total number of kids in the region.
After the community came together, Whitefield Public Library was able to keep the program going. It’s fully funded through 2026.
“We did some really fast work and I am very so incredibly fortunate that people believe in what we do,” she said.
Courtney said fundraising isn’t on track for 2027. Still, she has faith, especially because New Hampshire lawmakers have proposed state funding for the program.
There are people like Courtney all across the country, working to get free books in the hands of kids near you. If you’re interested in learning what other communities have experienced funding cuts, take a look at our full story.
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: “anyone who says culs-de-sac over cul-de-sacs is in the pocket of Big Dictionary”
— Reporter Emery Winter
Since we last met: exclusive investigations for members
We want to keep you in the loop on Snopes‘ growth, from launching new features to expanding our reporting footprint. Below, editor and web producer Megan Loe highlights a new perk for our members.
Thanks to our growing community of members, we've been able to tackle deep investigations into complex claims you have sent our way.
Some of this reporting is available only to members as a perk. We published our first members-only report last month, unpacking a persistent rumor about Dr. Anthony Fauci allegedly funding research that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, we dug into claims suggesting Project 2025 called for changes to U.S. food safety policies that caused widespread outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.
We promoted these investigations in special newsletters to all of our subscribers. Those newsletters brought hundreds of new members into the fold. If you're one of them, welcome — and thank you.
Moving forward, you can expect these special newsletters with in-depth reporting in your inbox a couple of times per month. Keep an eye out for the next one soon. And, as always, reach out if you see a claim you want us to investigate. We love hearing from you.
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.
South African choir’s “Jolene” cover - YouTube channel Ndlovu Youth Choir
Cheetah purring - Facebook page Cheetah Experience
Kittens named “Hehe” and “Haha” - X user @seraphisonfire
Snopes-worthy media
What Snopes is paying attention to across the web.
Google’s new AI tool helps fact-checkers investigate AI fakes
— Andrew Deck, Nieman Lab
Karen Attiah Is Ready to Go Back to the Washington Post
— Riddhi Setty, Columbia Journalism Review
Social media goes into overdrive with Lindsay Clancy conspiracy theories
— Sara Braun, The Guardian
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