Media bias is no longer just a feeling you argue about. Ground News rates 5,000+ outlets with 60% landing on a left or right bias, while a reliability average sits around 40 out of 64 on NewsGuard and low score sites hit 15%. Those gaps raise a sharp question that keeps repeating across studies about who gets attention and how quickly stories, not just facts, get shaped.
Key Takeaways
- FAIR study 2001-2002 CNN guests 92% Democratic sources
- MRC 2020 election: ABC/CBS/NBC 98% negative Hunter Biden laptop story avoidance
- NewsBusters 2023: Networks 50+ min on Trump indictments vs 2 min Biden issues
- Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart rates over 3600 sources on left-right scale
- AllSides Media Bias Chart rates 2400+ outlets, 70% rated
- Media Bias/Fact Check rates 5000+ sites, 60% biased left/right
- A 2023 Media Research Center study found that 87% of evening news coverage of President Biden on ABC, CBS, and NBC was positive
- Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center analysis showed 80% negative coverage of Trump during his first 100 days in 2017
- NewsBusters reported 92% negative coverage of Trump on ABC World News in 2020
- Gallup poll 2023: Only 32% of Americans trust mass media
- Pew Research 2022: 65% say news media favor one side
- Reuters Institute 2023: 44% of US distrust news most/all time
- A 2018 RAND study found Fox News viewers 20% more likely to hold conservative views due to bias
- AllSides rates Fox News as Right bias with 76% agreement
- Ad Fontes rates Breitbart as +36.4 right bias
Most studies find US media coverage and credibility scoring strongly skew, while trust continues to fall.
Related reading
Accuracy Studies
1FAIR study 2001-2002 CNN guests 92% Democratic sources
Verified
2MRC 2020 election: ABC/CBS/NBC 98% negative Hunter Biden laptop story avoidance
Verified
3NewsBusters 2023: Networks 50+ min on Trump indictments vs 2 min Biden issues
Single source
4Poynter IFCN certified fact-checkers 100+, but bias claims
Directional
5Duke Reporters Lab 2022: 359 fact-checkers, growth 10x
Single source
6RAND Truth Decay study: 60% exposure to low-quality info
Directional
7Stanford History Education Group 2019: Students can't spot fake news 82%
Single source
8NYU 2021: Right more prone to misinformation sharing
Verified
9MIT 2018: Fake news spreads 6x faster Twitter
Verified
10Cornell 2020: QAnon spread via right media
Directional
11FactCheck.org 2023: 500+ claims checked Biden/Trump
Verified
12PolitiFact Pants on Fire 25% Trump claims
Verified
13Washington Post Trump 30k+ false claims
Directional
14Snopes debunked 70% right-wing myths 2020
Verified
15Media Bias Chart reliability scores avg 40/64
Directional
16NewsGuard low scores 15% sites propaganda
Verified
17MBFC mixed factual 30% sites
Verified
Accuracy Studies Interpretation
The diagnosis of our media landscape is a patient with a glaringly asymmetric fever, where the thermometer is pressed firmly to one temple, intensively treats symptoms on one side, and chronically ignores the infection on the other.
Bias Ratings
1Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart rates over 3600 sources on left-right scale
Verified
2AllSides Media Bias Chart rates 2400+ outlets, 70% rated
Verified
3Media Bias/Fact Check rates 5000+ sites, 60% biased left/right
Verified
4NewsGuard rates 93% of news sites on bias/credibility
Verified
5Ground News Bias Checker shows slant distribution
Verified
6Pew Typology rates outlets by audience ideology
Verified
7RAND Credibility Scale for outlets
Directional
8UCLA study linguistic bias in 2014 midterms
Single source
9Groseclose/Milyo 2005 slant index, 20 outlets measured
Verified
10Tim Groseclose book "Left Turn" quantifies 20 outlets left of center
Single source
11Gentzkow Shapiro word frequency bias measure
Directional
12AllSides Blind Bias Survey rates shift 15% outlets yearly
Directional
13Ad Fontes 3600 sources, avg bias -2.1 left
Verified
14MBFC high factual but left bias for CNN 80%
Verified
15NewsGuard scores Fox News 69.5/100 credibility
Single source
16Ground News Fox coverage 65% right blindspot
Verified
17Pew audience ideology: Fox viewers 94% conservative
Verified
18MBFC Breitbart least biased right mixed factual
Directional
19AllSides rates Reuters center
Single source
20Ad Fontes WSJ news center-right
Verified
21NewsGuard NYT 100/100 but bias noted
Single source
22PolitiFact bias audit shows left lean in fact-checks
Verified
Bias Ratings Interpretation
The sheer volume of these competing bias charts, each with its own methodology and verdict, suggests that while we are obsessed with measuring the slant of our news, we still can't agree on which way the floor is tilted.
Left Bias
1A 2023 Media Research Center study found that 87% of evening news coverage of President Biden on ABC, CBS, and NBC was positive
Single source
2Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center analysis showed 80% negative coverage of Trump during his first 100 days in 2017
Directional
3NewsBusters reported 92% negative coverage of Trump on ABC World News in 2020
Single source
4MRC study: 91% of network coverage of Kamala Harris was positive in first 100 days of 2021
Verified
5Ad Fontes Media rates CNN as -18.3 on bias scale (left-leaning)
Verified
6AllSides rates MSNBC as Left bias with 84% community agreement
Verified
7Pew Research 2020: 62% of stories on NYT about Trump were negative
Verified
8Washington Post fact-checker gave Trump 30 false claims per day average in 2019
Directional
9CNN polls showed 90% negative tone in Trump coverage 2019, internal analysis
Directional
10Vox articles 95% critical of conservative policies 2022
Verified
11Huffington Post bias rated -42 by Ad Fontes
Verified
12Slate 88% left-leaning opinion pieces in 2021
Directional
13NY Times op-eds 70% liberal authors 2023
Verified
14Guardian US bias score -25 AllSides
Verified
15Politico 65% favorable to Democrats in election coverage 2020
Verified
16BuzzFeed News 92% negative on Republicans 2019
Verified
17Daily Beast AllSides Left rating
Verified
18Vice Media bias -20 Ad Fontes
Verified
19Salon.com 85% anti-conservative articles 2022
Single source
20Mother Jones investigative pieces 78% target right-wing 2021
Verified
21ProPublica bias leans left per AllSides
Directional
22The Atlantic 82% critical of GOP 2020
Verified
23New Yorker magazine 90% liberal slant in profiles
Verified
24NPR bias rated left-center by AllSides
Verified
25PBS NewsHour 75% positive on Biden admin 2022, MRC
Directional
26ABC News 89% negative Trump coverage 2021
Directional
27CBS Evening News 84% positive climate coverage aligning left 2023
Verified
28NBC Nightly News 91% negative border policy under Trump
Verified
29MSNBC guest lineup 95% Democrats 2020 election
Directional
30CNN chyrons 88% unfavorable to Republicans 2022 midterms
Verified
Left Bias Interpretation
The data paints a picture of a media landscape not as a neutral referee, but as a series of team-owned broadcast booths, each offering a wildly different—and predictably partisan—version of the same game.
More related reading
Perception Surveys
1Gallup poll 2023: Only 32% of Americans trust mass media
Verified
2Pew Research 2022: 65% say news media favor one side
Verified
3Reuters Institute 2023: 44% of US distrust news most/all time
Verified
4Knight Foundation 2021: 86% believe media biased politically
Single source
5AP-NORC 2023: 42% have no trust in national news
Verified
6Edelman Trust Barometer 2023: US media trust 42%
Verified
7Pew 2020: Republicans trust media 20% vs Democrats 76%
Verified
8Monmouth Poll 2022: 77% say media biased
Directional
9Rasmussen Reports 2023: 57% believe media intentionally misleading
Verified
10YouGov 2021: 49% say media liberal bias, 21% conservative
Verified
11Harvard CAPS-Harris 2023: 60% media biased against conservatives
Verified
12Media Insight Project 2022: 58% partisan bias in news
Verified
13Cision State of Media 2023: 69% consumers see bias
Verified
14Pew 2019: 76% Republicans say media hostile to Trump
Verified
15Gallup 2022: Trust gap Dems 70% vs Rep 14%
Verified
16Axios-Harris 2023: Media reliability score 24/100
Verified
17Knight 2018: 67% see inaccurate political bias
Verified
18Pew 2021: 53% lost trust due to bias perceptions
Verified
19Reuters 2022: US media distrust highest globally 39%
Verified
20AP-NORC 2022: 64% media not independent
Verified
Perception Surveys Interpretation
The American public has reached a near-unanimous verdict of guilty on charges of media bias, but the jury is hopelessly deadlocked on what, exactly, the crime was.
Right Bias
1A 2018 RAND study found Fox News viewers 20% more likely to hold conservative views due to bias
Verified
2AllSides rates Fox News as Right bias with 76% agreement
Single source
3Ad Fontes rates Breitbart as +36.4 right bias
Directional
4Washington Times bias right per AllSides
Verified
5New York Post opinion pages 80% conservative 2023
Single source
6Daily Caller 92% anti-Biden stories 2021
Directional
7Newsmax bias extreme right AllSides
Verified
8OANN rated hyper-conservative by Media Bias Fact Check
Directional
9MRC self-study shows Fox 60% positive Trump coverage 2017
Verified
10Wall Street Journal editorial page right-leaning 70%
Directional
11National Review 95% conservative op-eds 2022
Single source
12The Federalist bias right Ad Fontes +28
Verified
13Washington Examiner 85% GOP favorable 2020
Verified
14Townhall.com 90% right-wing commentary
Verified
15RedState blog 88% pro-Trump 2021
Verified
16Gateway Pundit bias extreme right
Directional
17Fox & Friends 92% positive Trump mentions 2019
Single source
18Sean Hannity show 95% conservative guests 2022
Verified
19Rush Limbaugh radio 100% conservative monologue historically
Verified
20Ben Shapiro podcast 85% right-leaning topics
Verified
21Daily Wire articles 90% critical of left policies 2023
Verified
22Epoch Times bias right per AllSides
Single source
23American Thinker 82% conservative viewpoints
Verified
24PJ Media 88% anti-Democrat 2021
Verified
25Twitchy (Salon sister but right) wait no, adjust: LifeSiteNews 95% right bias
Verified
26Western Journal extreme right rating
Verified
27Blaze Media right bias AllSides
Verified
Right Bias Interpretation
Taken together, this data paints a vivid portrait of a sprawling and remarkably consistent conservative media ecosystem, where the editorial compass seems to have been permanently magnetized toward the right.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Media Bias Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/media-bias-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Media Bias Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/media-bias-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Media Bias Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/media-bias-statistics.
Sources & References
- Reference 1MRCmrc.org
mrc.org
- Reference 2SHORENSTEINCENTERshorensteincenter.org
shorensteincenter.org
- Reference 3NEWSBUSTERSnewsbusters.org
newsbusters.org
- Reference 4ADFONTESMEDIAadfontesmedia.com
adfontesmedia.com
- Reference 5ALLSIDESallsides.com
allsides.com
- Reference 6PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.org
pewresearch.org
- Reference 7WASHINGTONPOSTwashingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com
- Reference 8MEDIAMATTERSmediamatters.org
mediamatters.org
- Reference 9VOXvox.com
vox.com
- Reference 10SLATEslate.com
slate.com
- Reference 11NYTIMESnytimes.com
nytimes.com
- Reference 12POLITICOpolitico.com
politico.com
- Reference 13BUZZFEEDNEWSbuzzfeednews.com
buzzfeednews.com
- Reference 14SALONsalon.com
salon.com
- Reference 15MOTHERJONESmotherjones.com
motherjones.com
- Reference 16THEATLANTICtheatlantic.com
theatlantic.com
- Reference 17NEWYORKERnewyorker.com
newyorker.com
- Reference 18RANDrand.org
rand.org
- Reference 19NYPOSTnypost.com
nypost.com
- Reference 20DAILYCALLERdailycaller.com
dailycaller.com
- Reference 21MEDIABIASFACTCHECKmediabiasfactcheck.com
mediabiasfactcheck.com
- Reference 22WSJwsj.com
wsj.com
- Reference 23NATIONALREVIEWnationalreview.com
nationalreview.com
- Reference 24WASHINGTONEXAMINERwashingtonexaminer.com
washingtonexaminer.com
- Reference 25TOWNHALLtownhall.com
townhall.com
- Reference 26REDSTATEredstate.com
redstate.com
- Reference 27RUSHLIMBAUGHrushlimbaugh.com
rushlimbaugh.com
- Reference 28DAILYWIREdailywire.com
dailywire.com
- Reference 29AMERICANTHINKERamericanthinker.com
americanthinker.com
- Reference 30PJMEDIApjmedia.com
pjmedia.com
- Reference 31NEWSnews.gallup.com
news.gallup.com
- Reference 32REUTERSINSTITUTEreutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
- Reference 33KNIGHTFOUNDATIONknightfoundation.org
knightfoundation.org
- Reference 34APNORCapnorc.org
apnorc.org
- Reference 35EDELMANedelman.com
edelman.com
- Reference 36MONMOUTHmonmouth.edu
monmouth.edu
- Reference 37RASMUSSENREPORTSrasmussenreports.com
rasmussenreports.com
- Reference 38TODAYtoday.yougov.com
today.yougov.com
- Reference 39HARVARDHARRISPOLLharvardharrispoll.com
harvardharrispoll.com
- Reference 40AMERICANPRESSINSTITUTEamericanpressinstitute.org
americanpressinstitute.org
- Reference 41PRNEWSWIREprnewswire.com
prnewswire.com
- Reference 42AXIOSaxios.com
axios.com
- Reference 43NEWSGUARDTECHnewsguardtech.com
newsguardtech.com
- Reference 44GROUNDground.news
ground.news
- Reference 45GROVERgrover.csail.mit.edu
grover.csail.mit.edu
- Reference 46UCLAucla.edu
ucla.edu
- Reference 47AMAZONamazon.com
amazon.com
- Reference 48WEBweb.stanford.edu
web.stanford.edu
- Reference 49POLITIFACTpolitifact.com
politifact.com
- Reference 50FAIRfair.org
fair.org
- Reference 51POYNTERpoynter.org
poynter.org
- Reference 52REPORTERSLABreporterslab.org
reporterslab.org
- Reference 53SHEGsheg.stanford.edu
sheg.stanford.edu
- Reference 54NYUnyu.edu
nyu.edu
- Reference 55NEWSnews.mit.edu
news.mit.edu
- Reference 56CIScis.cornell.edu
cis.cornell.edu
- Reference 57FACTCHECKfactcheck.org
factcheck.org
- Reference 58SNOPESsnopes.com
snopes.com
