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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteSnopes is controlled by Chris Richmond and Drew Schoentrup. On September 23, 2022, Snopes announced that the two had acquired all remaining shares, bringing their combined stake to 100%. David Mikkelson, who co-founded Snopes with Barbara Mikkelson, stepped down as CEO and left the board effective September 16, 2022.
The ownership fight that made headlines in 2017 began after Barbara Mikkelson sold her 50% interest in the business to individuals associated with Proper Media. The dispute was not simply about who hosted Snopes.com: it involved the company’s shares, advertising revenue, data, email, content systems and day-to-day operational control.
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The people and companies involved
| Party | Role in the dispute |
|---|---|
| David Mikkelson | Snopes co-founder, former 50% owner, former CEO and former board member |
| Barbara Mikkelson | Snopes co-founder who sold her 50% interest in 2016 |
| Proper Media | A separate media-services company involved in advertising, content systems and other operations |
| Chris Richmond | Proper Media-associated principal, current co-owner and CEO of Snopes |
| Drew Schoentrup | Proper Media-associated principal and current co-owner of Snopes |
Snopes was founded by David and Barbara Mikkelson as an online reference for urban legends. The exact founding date depends on what is being dated: Snopes’ 2022 ownership announcement refers to David’s co-founding role beginning in 1994, while court materials identify Bardav/Snopes Media—the corporate entity operating the site—as founded in 2003. Those dates describe the site’s origins and the later corporate structure, respectively.
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The Mikkelsons initially held the business equally. After their divorce, Barbara sought to sell her 50% interest. According to court materials, the transaction closed on July 1, 2016, and involved five individuals associated with Proper Media: Chris Richmond, Drew Schoentrup, Tyler Dunn, Vincent Green and Ryan Miller.
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The structure of that transaction became a central issue. Proper Media’s 2017 complaint alleged that its individual principals acquired the shares for Proper Media’s benefit. The complaint said the shares were placed in the individuals’ names because Bardav’s S-corporation status prevented an LLC such as Proper Media from directly owning them.
Snopes’ side disputed the implications of that arrangement. The parties differed over whether Proper Media itself owned the economic interest, whether the five individuals owned it personally, and what rights that gave them over Bardav and Snopes.
That is why the shorthand description that “Proper Media bought Snopes” is incomplete. Proper Media and its principals were deeply involved in the ownership structure, but the precise legal and economic ownership of Barbara’s former stake was contested.
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Why Proper Media had practical control over so much of Snopes
Proper Media was not merely a web-hosting provider. The 2017 complaint described a services agreement under which it handled important functions, including:
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- Managing content and advertising accounts;
- Accessing Snopes’ email hosting and content-management system;
- Managing information through tools such as Slack and Asana; and
- Procuring, placing and managing advertising.
As a result, the ownership fight became an operational fight. Whoever controlled the relevant accounts, advertising relationships, data and internal systems could exercise considerable practical influence over the website—even while the parties argued about the underlying share structure.
What each side alleged
Proper Media’s allegations
Proper Media alleged that David Mikkelson worked with at least one shareholder to block access to Snopes personnel, accounts, systems and data. Its complaint also alleged that Mikkelson tried to regain control of Bardav and that the company paid or reimbursed personal expenses, including alleged divorce-related legal bills and personal travel.
Those statements came from Proper Media’s complaint, which is a party’s pleading rather than a final judicial finding. They should not be treated as proven simply because they appear in a court filing. Read the 2017 complaint.
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Snopes and David Mikkelson’s position
Contemporaneous reporting described Mikkelson’s position that Proper Media and its principals had effectively held the website hostage by retaining data and advertising money that should have gone to Bardav. He also disputed whether the sale of Barbara’s interest created five individual owners or instead made Proper Media the owner.
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Ars Technica’s 2017 account covered those competing claims. The available materials do not justify presenting either side’s most serious allegations as established fact.
Why the dispute threatened Snopes’ operation
Advertising was a major source of Snopes’ revenue at the time, and Proper Media was involved in managing advertising. A fight over ad accounts and revenue therefore threatened the company’s ability to pay staff and keep operating.
In 2017, Snopes said it was facing severe financial difficulties and appealed to the public for donations. Contemporary coverage described the dispute as a threat to the future of the fact-checking site, not just a private disagreement between shareholders. The Los Angeles Times reported on the financial pressure, while the court record describes the competing corporate and operational claims.
How the legal fight ended
On September 23, 2022, Snopes announced that Chris Richmond and Drew Schoentrup had acquired all remaining shares, bringing their total stake to 100%. The announcement also said that the parties’ legal disputes had been amicably resolved and settled.
David Mikkelson had stepped down as CEO and from the board six days earlier, on September 16. Richmond became CEO. Snopes’ acquisition announcement is the clearest source for the final announced ownership and leadership change.
“Settled” does not mean that one side was found to have proved every allegation. The materials reviewed do not include the complete settlement agreement or its financial terms, so the resolution should be described as a settlement and change in ownership—not as a complete court victory for either side.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who runs Snopes now?
Richmond remained CEO in Snopes’ latest first-party update reviewed, dated June 18, 2026. That update said Snopes had more than 20,000 paying members and that memberships represented more than 60% of revenue. It also said the company was close to break-even or experiencing a small monthly loss and was targeting 30,000 members.
Those figures are company-reported, not independently audited figures in the materials reviewed. The update attributed financial pressure partly to declining traffic from platforms and the growth of AI-generated answers.
The best public ownership evidence identified is still the September 2022 announcement that Richmond and Schoentrup acquired 100% of Snopes. The 2026 update confirms Richmond’s continuing role as CEO but does not publish a new ownership table or separate the ownership percentages between Richmond and Schoentrup.
How Snopes is financed today
Snopes’ reported shift toward paid memberships helps explain how its business model has changed since the advertising-centered dispute. The company says memberships are now its primary revenue source, accounting for more than 60% of revenue as of its June 2026 update.
Readers who want to support the organization can review its official membership and contribution page. Benefits described by Snopes include ad-free browsing, access to its mobile app, member newsletters and participation in a tips dashboard. Contribution amounts and any standard subscription price can change, so readers should check the live page rather than rely on an old quoted price.
Does ownership prove whether Snopes is biased or accurate?
No. Ownership, editorial control, business incentives, reliability and perceived political bias are separate questions.
Richmond and Schoentrup’s ownership does not by itself prove that a particular Snopes fact check is correct, incorrect, politically biased or politically neutral. To evaluate an individual article, readers should examine its cited evidence, methodology, wording and distinction between what is known, disputed and unknown.
Likewise, describing Snopes as privately held should not be confused with calling it nonprofit, nonpartisan or editorially independent. The ownership records answer who controls the company; they do not settle every question about its editorial judgments.
Quick Recap
Timeline of the Snopes ownership fight
- 1994: Snopes’ 2022 announcement identifies David Mikkelson as a co-founder dating to this year.
- 2003: Court materials identify Bardav/Snopes Media as the corporate entity founded by David and Barbara Mikkelson.
- July 2016: Barbara Mikkelson’s 50% interest was sold to five individuals associated with Proper Media.
- 2017: The ownership, operational-control and financial dispute became public.
- May 3, 2022: A federal judge denied Barbara Mikkelson’s motion to dismiss in related litigation; the order recounted competing allegations but did not resolve every factual dispute.
- September 16, 2022: David Mikkelson stepped down as CEO and left the board.
- September 23, 2022: Richmond and Schoentrup announced that they had acquired 100% of Snopes and that the legal disputes had been settled.
- June 18, 2026: Snopes identified Richmond as CEO and reported more than 20,000 paying members.
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