Fact-checking website Snopes says it may be forced to close down

Fact-checking website Snopes said it may be forced to close down due to a dispute with a vendor.

In a post on Monday, the 23-year-old site said it was "in danger of closing its doors" over a dispute with a former vendor whom the site claims does not allow Snopes to modify the site or place ads on it.

Snopes has for long focused on fact-checking urban rumours. Since inception in 1994, the site has grown to become one of the most prominent websites that fact-checked conspiracy theories and "fake news" online. It entered into a partnership with Facebook last year for vetting some viral news stories to ensure accuracy of Facebook's newsfeed.

The site saw an expansion of its readership during the 2016 election, as it delved deep into conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton.

"The fake news wasn't from Trump so much. It was from people who hated Hillary Clinton," managing editor Brooke Binkowski told The New York Times. "Once the election was over we figured it would go away."

Meanwhile, Snopes.com said on its web site, "Snopes.com, which began as a small one-person effort in 1994 and has since become one of the Internet's oldest and most popular fact-checking sites, is in danger of closing its doors. So, for the first time in our history, we are turning to you, our readership, for help.

"Since our inception, we have always been a self-sustaining site that provides a free service to the online world: we've had no sponsors, no outside investors or funding, and no source of revenue other than that provided by online advertising. Unfortunately, we have been cut off from our historic source of advertising income.

"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."

As misinformation has increasingly threatened democracies around the world (including our own), Snopes.com has stood in the forefront of fighting for truth and dispelling misinformation online. It is vital that these efforts continue, so we are asking the Snopes.com community to donate what they can. (Our suggested donation is $10, but if you can give more please consider doing so - every little bit helps.)

We need our community now more than ever, as it is only through your support that Snopes.com can remain the community and resource we all know and love.