A Message From The Before Times

I got an unexpected package in the mail today. I had completely forgotten that, back in December, I had donated money to Snopes.com — a website devoted to sorting out internet myths and rumors and debunking urban legends.

I first started following it back in the 1990s, when I was a fact-checker myself. In the early days of Facebook, I found myself replying to spurious claims with a link to Snopes. So last year, when they started a fund raising campaign I figured I should kick in some dough as payback for all the times I’ve used the site as a resource (or just plain ol’ entertainment.

I forgot that as part of my donation to the membership drive, I would receive a Swag bag. Which is what arrived today. It contained three of my favourite things: stickers, a pin and two pens. The pens are particularly sexy as they are matte black and minimalist.

Swag aside, Snopes’ devotion to truth and accuracy is going to be essentially in the next nine months. They also relay on advertising to cover costs, so go visit the site today and get the facts!