Partisan "fact checking" sites are the axis of the media's effort to censor the political opposition with editorials disguised as some sort of impartial and objective public service. But, unsurprisingly, the sites that were supposed to expose "fake news" were actually cashing in on it.
With a little help from their social justice pals at Google.
The fake news plague has reportedly spread to fact-checking websites.
Fake news ads popped up as recently as last week on fact-checking pages like Snopes and PolitiFact, reported The New York Times. One ad falsely said that First Lady Melania Trump was leaving the White House, according to the report.
The fake news ads were served up by Google's AdWords system, which automatically places ads based on a target audience. The ads reportedly had enticing fake headlines, that once clicked, would take people to sites that mimicked legitimate publications like People or Vogue. "The fake stories began with headlines and large photos of the celebrities in question, but after a few sentences, they transitioned into an ad for an anti-aging skin cream," reported the Times.
But it did pay the bills.
Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact's executive director, said they were aware of the fake news ads on the website for days and believed Google's ad system was the cause.
"The revenue those advertisements provide is critical to funding a website like ours, but it's equally important that we do everything we can to make sure the advertisements appearing on our site are not deceptive or intentionally misleading," Sharockman said in a statement. He said they're working with Google to remove the advertisements.
Snopes didn't respond to a request for comment.
Of course not. Snopes is too busy with its own internal meltdown.
Now a DailyMail.com investigation reveals that Snopes.com's founders, former husband and wife David and Barbara Mikkelson, are embroiled in a lengthy and bitter legal dispute in the wake of their divorce.
He has since remarried, to a former escort and porn actress who is one of the site's staff members.
They are accusing each other of financial impropriety, with Barbara claiming her ex-husband is guilty of 'embezzlement' and suggesting he is attempting a 'boondoggle' to change tax arrangements, while David claims she took millions from their joint accounts and bought property in Las Vegas.
Anyway, Facebook and Google should continue to censor conservatives at the behest of "fact checks" from sites that cash in on fake news.