Snopes Raises Over $500,000 for Legal Dispute

The fact-checking website Snopes gathered more than half a million dollars in donations after launching a crowdfunding campaign to help fund their intensifying legal battle with an outside vendor.

On Monday, Snopes founder David Mikkelson published an announcement that his company was "in danger of closing its doors" thanks to a legal dispute with the web development company Proper Media, alleging the San Diego-based company was withholding all advertising revenue to starve the site of its only source of income. Additionally, Mikkelson set up the #SaveSnopes crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe with a set goal of $500,000. Within approximately 24 hours, donations skyrocketed to over $560,000.

Proper Media has disputed the allegations and filed a lawsuit claiming to be co-owner of Snopes' parent company Bardav. In their version of the events, Mikkelson's ex-wife Barbara Mikkelson sold 50 percent of Bardav to Proper Media in 2016 for $3.6 million after her divorce. The case is scheduled to be heard on August 4th.

This isn't the first time Mikkelson's divorce made it into the public eye. In December of last year, The Daily Mail published an investigative report claiming that Mikkelson married a former escort and adult film actress immediately after his divorce and subsequently hired his new wife as an administrative employee at the website. Additionally, The Daily Mail reported that Mikkelson's former wife Barbara accused him of embezzling $98,000 from their company to spend on exotic trips and prostitutes.

The article was published days after a major announcement by Facebook, who revealed that Snopes would provide fact-checking services to help curb the spread of fake news on the social networking site.

While the ultimate outcome of this long-running legal battle is far from clear, Snopes' loyal readers will be keeping the site running along for now.