Skip to main content

Media Bias Chart

Where do news sources fall on the political spectrum? This chart plots 54 news outlets by their political leaning (left to right) and factual reliability (top to bottom).

Bias ratings are based on assessments from AllSides, Ad Fontes Media, and Media Bias/Fact Check. Credibility ratings reflect factual reporting reliability as evaluated by MBFC.

LEFT CENTER RIGHT
High Factuality (A) (10 sources)
New York Times NPR Politico The Guardian Washington Post Associated Press Axios BBC News Reuters Reason
Mostly Factual (B) (20 sources)
ABC News CBS News CNN Democracy Docket Mother Jones NBC News Slate Talking Points Memo The Intercept The Nation The New Republic The Verge Vox Al Jazeera Newsweek The Hill USA Today National Review RealClearPolitics The American Conservative
Mixed Factuality (C) (17 sources)
Common Dreams HuffPost Jacobin MSNBC Raw Story Salon The Daily Beast Daily Signal Daily Wire Fox News Free Beacon Just the News NY Post The Blaze The Federalist Washington Examiner Washington Times
Low Factuality (D) (7 sources)
Breitbart Daily Caller PJ Media RedState The Gateway Pundit Townhall Twitchy

All Sources by Political Leaning

Click any column header to understand how we categorize sources. Each source is rated for both political bias direction and factual reliability.

LEFT 25
ABC News B
CBS News B
CNN B
Common Dreams C
Democracy Docket B
HuffPost C
Jacobin C
Mother Jones B
MSNBC C
NBC News B
New York Times A
NPR A
Politico A
Raw Story C
Salon C
Slate B
Talking Points Memo B
The Daily Beast C
The Guardian A
The Intercept B
The Nation B
The New Republic B
The Verge B
Vox B
Washington Post A
CENTER 8
Al Jazeera B
Associated Press A
Axios A
BBC News A
Newsweek B
Reuters A
The Hill B
USA Today B
RIGHT 21
Breitbart D
Daily Caller D
Daily Signal C
Daily Wire C
Fox News C
Free Beacon C
Just the News C
National Review B
NY Post C
PJ Media D
RealClearPolitics B
Reason A
RedState D
The American Conservative B
The Blaze C
The Federalist C
The Gateway Pundit D
Townhall D
Twitchy D
Washington Examiner C
Washington Times C

Credibility Rating Scale

A
High Factuality
Consistently accurate, strong sourcing
B
Mostly Factual
Generally accurate, occasional lapses
C
Mixed Factuality
May include misleading framing
D
Low Factuality
Frequent inaccuracies or propaganda

How We Rate News Source Bias

Political bias ratings on this chart are derived from three independent media bias assessment organizations:

AllSides

Uses blind surveys, editorial reviews, and community feedback to rate media bias on a Left-to-Right scale.

Ad Fontes Media

Analysts across the political spectrum rate individual articles for reliability and bias, producing the well-known Media Bias Chart.

MBFC

Evaluates sources on biased wording, factual accuracy, sourcing quality, and story selection patterns.

We synthesize these assessments into three categories — Left-Leaning, Center, and Right-Leaning — for clarity. No bias rating system is perfect. Individual articles from any source may vary in perspective. We encourage readers to consult multiple sources and form their own assessments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a media bias chart?
A media bias chart is a visual tool that maps news sources along a political spectrum from left to right, often combined with a reliability or factual accuracy axis. It helps readers understand the editorial leanings of different news outlets and make more informed choices about their news consumption. Our chart plots 54 sources using ratings from three independent bias assessment organizations.
How is political bias determined?
We aggregate ratings from AllSides, Ad Fontes Media, and Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC). These organizations use different methodologies — including blind surveys, content analysis by panelists across the political spectrum, and editorial reviews — to independently assess each source's political lean. We synthesize their findings into three categories: Left-Leaning, Center, and Right-Leaning.
What do the credibility ratings mean?
Credibility ratings (A through D) reflect how factually reliable a source's reporting tends to be, based on MBFC's assessments. An "A" rating means the source is consistently accurate with strong sourcing, while a "D" indicates frequent inaccuracies or low editorial standards. These ratings measure factual reliability, not political bias — a source can be politically biased but still factually reliable, or vice versa.
Why should I read news from different perspectives?
Every news source makes editorial choices about which stories to cover and how to frame them. By reading across the political spectrum, you can identify which facts are universally reported versus which details are emphasized by one side and downplayed by another. This practice — sometimes called "lateral reading" — helps you develop a more complete understanding of complex issues and resist the filter bubbles that algorithms create.

See the Bias in Action

Compare how these sources actually cover today's headlines. Our homepage shows the same stories from left, center, and right sources side by side.

Compare Today's Coverage
Full Source Directory · Methodology · About Extra Extra · Back to Headlines