--- title: "How Snopes Grew the Debunker Newsletter to 100,000 Readers With beehiiv" canonical: https://www.beehiiv.com/case-studies/snopes description: "How a legacy fact-checking brand used data, curation, and email ownership to scale engagement and revenue" source: live-converter generated: 2026-05-18T04:10:37.442Z --- # How Snopes Grew the Debunker Newsletter to 100,000 Readers With beehiiv # How Snopes Grew the Debunker Newsletter to 100,000 Readers With beehiiv ## How a legacy fact-checking brand used data, curation, and email ownership to scale engagement and revenue ![How Snopes Grew the Debunker Newsletter to 100,000 Readers With beehiiv](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aXcNBQIvOtkhB7Df_Untitleddesign-15-.png?auto=format,compress) Written by Kanishka Kumawat Published on 07 Apr 2025 [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fsnopes&title=How%20Snopes%20Grew%20the%20Debunker%20Newsletter%20to%20100%2C000%20Readers%20With%20beehiiv&summary=How%20a%20legacy%20fact-checking%20brand%20used%20data%2C%20curation%2C%20and%20email%20ownership%20to%20scale%20engagement%20and%20revenue)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fsnopes&text=How%20Snopes%20Grew%20the%20Debunker%20Newsletter%20to%20100%2C000%20Readers%20With%20beehiiv)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fsnopes)[](https://www.threads.net/intent/post?text=How%20Snopes%20Grew%20the%20Debunker%20Newsletter%20to%20100%2C000%20Readers%20With%20beehiiv%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fsnopes) ### Table of contents ### **Situation:** Snopes has been fighting misinformation online since 1994. As social media algorithms and search traffic became less predictable, the team faced a familiar publisher challenge: how to maintain a direct, reliable connection with readers in an increasingly volatile digital landscape. While Snopes’ website remained a trusted destination, distribution via platforms they didn’t control limited consistency and visibility. The team needed a channel that could cut through algorithmic noise and keep their audience regularly engaged with verified, fact-checked reporting. That channel became **Debunker**, Snopes’ flagship newsletter. ### **Challenge:** Snopes faced several constraints as it scaled Debunker: - **Algorithm dependency:** Social and search traffic fluctuated unpredictably. - **Platform limitations:** Previous email tools lacked strong analytics and growth support. - **Content overload risk:** Publishing too much could dilute impact and engagement. - **Monetization uncertainty:** The newsletter was not originally built as a revenue product. To grow sustainably, Snopes needed a newsletter platform that supported data-driven decisions, audience growth, and future monetization without adding operational complexity. ### **Solution:** Snopes partnered with **beehiiv** to power Debunker as a core engagement and growth channel. With beehiiv, the team implemented a focused newsletter strategy: - **Strategic curation:** Each issue features five carefully selected stories from roughly 11 weekly fact-checks, balancing performance data with editorial judgment. - **Consistent formats:** Wednesday and Saturday sends follow standardized templates for clarity and reliability. - **Analytics-first decisions:** beehiiv’s built-in analytics gave both editorial and business teams clear insight into opens, clicks, and subscriber behavior. - **Audience growth tooling:** Improved signup flows and newsletter promotion accelerated list growth. - **Monetization readiness:** beehiiv enabled newsletter-specific advertising and experimentation with CPM ads and future premium plans. The platform gave Snopes control over distribution while keeping the workflow simple for a newsroom environment. ### **Results:** Since launching Debunker on beehiiv, Snopes has: - Grown the newsletter to **100,000+ subscribers** - Achieved strong open and click-through rates - Added **tens of thousands of subscribers** after switching platforms - Run A/B tests to optimize newsletter formats and drive site traffic - Introduced newsletter-specific advertising partnerships - Turned Debunker from a pure engagement tool into a **revenue-generating channel** With a clearer understanding of audience behavior, the team now sees email as a central pillar of its growth strategy. ### Takeaway Debunker shows how newsletters can anchor trust and scale engagement for established media brands. By focusing on clarity, consistency, and data-backed curation, Snopes turned email into a direct line with readers—independent of algorithms—and a foundation for future monetization. beehiiv provided the infrastructure to support that shift, making analytics, growth, and revenue accessible in one place. **Start using beehiiv** if you want to grow an owned audience, strengthen engagement, and turn newsletters into a scalable business channel. ## Related Case Studies ![How AdQuick Scaled Industry Sponsorships with beehiiv's Ad Network](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/Z_VpXHdAxsiBwdKG_adquick.png?auto=format,compress) ### How AdQuick Scaled Industry Sponsorships with beehiiv's Ad Network Solving scale and visibility challenges in B2B marketing [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/adquick) ![How Particle for Men Generated a 1.73 ROAS Through Newsletter Ads](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/abfLOrbci2UF6CEY_Untitleddesign-34-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How Particle for Men Generated a 1.73 ROAS Through Newsletter Ads Scaling newsletter advertising to 8.3M readers while achieving 809 conversions with beehiiv [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/particle-for-men) ![The Founder Who Turned His 400k+ Newsletter Into a Negative CAC Machine](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/afL59cBOoF08xfCT_Untitleddesign-36-.png?auto=format,compress) ### The Founder Who Turned His 400k+ Newsletter Into a Negative CAC Machine How Open Source CEO pioneered model where newsletter ad revenue offsets customer acquisition costs with beehiiv. 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