Snopes posted an emotionally charged garbage story on GoFundMe about how the company is having financial problems stemming from an “outside vendor”. They are seeking half a million dollars in donations.
Here’s the exact quote:
We had previously contracted with an outside vendor to provide certain services for Snopes.com. That contractual relationship ended earlier this year, but the vendor will not acknowledge the change in contractual status and continues to essentially hold the Snopes.com web site hostage.
Although we maintain editorial control (for now), the vendor will not relinquish the site’s hosting to our control, so we cannot modify the site, develop it, or — most crucially — place advertising on it. The vendor continues to insert their own ads and has been withholding the advertising revenue from us.
Our legal team is fighting hard for us, but, having been cut off from all revenue, we are facing the prospect of having no financial means to continue operating the site and paying our staff (not to mention covering our legal fees) in the meanwhile.
Pay special attention to this part of the quote for later in this article:
not to mention covering our legal fees
Snopes’ GoFundMe is a Lie
This “vendor” that they claim has taken their advertising revenue is not some malicious snake that just snuck in through a crack and took over.
It’s not “being held hostage” either. This was a deliberate move, as the CEO (David Mikkelson) recently got divorced.
Why’d he get divorced?
Oh, you know, because he embezzled tens of thousands of dollars to pay for prostitutes behind his wife’s back.
Barbara (his now ex-wife) owned half of Snopes.com. Thus, during the divorce proceedings, she took her 50% of the website from David.
Barbara’s side of the Snopes.com venture was sold to the company called “Proper Media”. So it was not some outside vendor, but his ex-wife’s half of the company.
This isn’t new. These two have been fighting each other for a while. The complaint by Proper Media states that:
Snopes alleges that Proper Media continues to control the advertising on Snopes.com, and is withholding revenue from those ads from the Snopes team.
Proper Media, meanwhile, alleges that David Mikkelson “has engaged in a lengthy scheme of concealment and subterfuge to gain control of the company and to drain its profits.”
Mikkelson was unhappy that Barbara maintained ownership of half of what he always considered to be his company after the divorce.
Thus, after Proper Media’s purchase of Barbara’s share, Mikkelson sought to finally gain control of Bardav by aligning and conspiring with (Vincent) Green.
The CEO of Snopes is facing accusations of fraud, embezzlement, and using money to hire prostitutes. Now, he can’t financially keep his company afloat, so he’s trying to get mercy-money from everyone else to weasel back the other 50% of Snopes.
And remember this from the GoFundMe page:
not to mention covering our legal fees
Yes, to cover the legal fees to sue Proper Media over their rightful ownership of half of Snopes.com.
This campaign isn’t even being used to keep Snopes afloat. It’s being used to drive Proper Media to court so the CEO can fight them for ownership.
Isn’t this entire spectacle just complete insanity?
But what can you expect from leftist fact-checker websites? Not much more than this, I suppose.