Difference between revisions of "250: Snopes"

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| titletext = The MythBusters are even more sinister.
 
| titletext = The MythBusters are even more sinister.
 
}}
 
}}
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==Explanation==
 +
{{w|Snopes}} is a popular website for checking the validity of {{w|Urban legend|urban legends}}. Here, one [[Cueball]] asks the other to check before sending him urban legends. Cueball replies with another urban legend saying that Snopes, the website the first Cueball asks him to check, uses spam to keep their audience.
  
==Explanation==
+
Naturally, it didn't take long for an urban legend to suggest that the proprietors of Snopes also direct a spam operation to create more urban legends and disseminate them, just so they'll continue to have an audience. One of the Cueballs tries to come to Snopes' defense, only to realize that the debunking was done by Snopes itself, creating a circular, invalid argument.
{{w|Snopes}} is a popular website for checking the validity of urban legends. In the comic, an urban legend is introduced about Snopes running a spam operations. [[Cueball]] would like to disprove the urban legend, but realizes to do so he would need to quote Snopes.
+
 
 +
The title text suggests that {{w|MythBusters}}, another group that debunks myths, also participate in the practice of spreading misinformation for the opportunity to test it. Indeed, the show has occasionally been accused of spending undue attention on unnecessary filler "myths" just for the sake of filling out the season.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
 +
:[Two Cueballs sit at a table across from each other, typing on their laptops.]
 
:Cueball: Another urban legend? You should check out Snopes before sending me this stuff.
 
:Cueball: Another urban legend? You should check out Snopes before sending me this stuff.
 
:Friend: Oops; yeah.
 
:Friend: Oops; yeah.
 
:Cueball: Man, Snopes is really great--independent fact-checkers trawling our collective discourse, filtering out misinformation.
 
:Cueball: Man, Snopes is really great--independent fact-checkers trawling our collective discourse, filtering out misinformation.
 +
 +
:[The Cueballs are still sitting at the table across from each other, looking at each other.]
 
:Friend: Yeah, but they have their dark side. The couple that runs snopes.com also runs a network of spam servers that start many of those forwarded stories in the first place, ensuring they'll always have business.
 
:Friend: Yeah, but they have their dark side. The couple that runs snopes.com also runs a network of spam servers that start many of those forwarded stories in the first place, ensuring they'll always have business.
 +
 +
:[Cueball on the left is typing on his laptop, while the second Cueball is sitting, stunned.]
 
:Cueball: That's absurd. Plus, it's definitely not true--it was debunked by...
 
:Cueball: That's absurd. Plus, it's definitely not true--it was debunked by...
 
:Friend: Yes?
 
:Friend: Yes?
:Cueball: ... Oh my God.
+
:Cueball: ...Oh my God.
 +
 
 +
==Trivia==
 +
Snopes is also mentioned in the much later comic [[1081: Argument Victory]] in a much more positive light.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
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[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
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[[Category:Internet]]

Revision as of 23:56, 4 May 2022

Snopes
The MythBusters are even more sinister.
Title text: The MythBusters are even more sinister.

Explanation

Snopes is a popular website for checking the validity of urban legends. Here, one Cueball asks the other to check before sending him urban legends. Cueball replies with another urban legend saying that Snopes, the website the first Cueball asks him to check, uses spam to keep their audience.

Naturally, it didn't take long for an urban legend to suggest that the proprietors of Snopes also direct a spam operation to create more urban legends and disseminate them, just so they'll continue to have an audience. One of the Cueballs tries to come to Snopes' defense, only to realize that the debunking was done by Snopes itself, creating a circular, invalid argument.

The title text suggests that MythBusters, another group that debunks myths, also participate in the practice of spreading misinformation for the opportunity to test it. Indeed, the show has occasionally been accused of spending undue attention on unnecessary filler "myths" just for the sake of filling out the season.

Transcript

[Two Cueballs sit at a table across from each other, typing on their laptops.]
Cueball: Another urban legend? You should check out Snopes before sending me this stuff.
Friend: Oops; yeah.
Cueball: Man, Snopes is really great--independent fact-checkers trawling our collective discourse, filtering out misinformation.
[The Cueballs are still sitting at the table across from each other, looking at each other.]
Friend: Yeah, but they have their dark side. The couple that runs snopes.com also runs a network of spam servers that start many of those forwarded stories in the first place, ensuring they'll always have business.
[Cueball on the left is typing on his laptop, while the second Cueball is sitting, stunned.]
Cueball: That's absurd. Plus, it's definitely not true--it was debunked by...
Friend: Yes?
Cueball: ...Oh my God.

Trivia

Snopes is also mentioned in the much later comic 1081: Argument Victory in a much more positive light.


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Discussion

First!Unpopular Opinions (talk) 17:19, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Should it be mentioned that 509: Induced Current is related to the title text? 162.158.62.28 16:42, 23 January 2021 (UTC)