Sources

News aggregators

In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, feed reader, news reader, RSS reader or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates syndicated web content such as online newspapers, blogs, podcasts, and video blogs (vlogs) in one location for easy viewing. The updates distributed may include journal tables of contents, podcasts, videos, and news items.

19th, The

The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

• Bias Rating: LEFT  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 2020 by Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora, The 19th News is a nonprofit organization and website that serves women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. According to their About page they state "We're an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy." The name of the organization is based on the 19th Amendment  [Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution], which gave women the right to vote. They add an asterisk at the end to indicate that work still needs to be done, as women and minorities continue to be disenfranchised at the ballot box.

Both Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora were formerly on staff at the left-leaning Texas Tribune.

Funded by / Ownership

The 19th is a nonprofit that was initially funded with 5 million dollars provided by Craig Newmark ($500,000), Kathryn Murdoch ($1 million), Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors  [Rockefeller Foundation]'s  Reproductive Health and Women's Rights Collaborative ($1 million) - and various amounts from The Ford Foundation, the Emerson Collective  [see also: Axios  |  The Atlantic], the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation,   Abigail Disney,   Arnold Ventures, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Revenue is currently derived through donations and membership fees.

Analysis / Bias

In review, The 19th primarily reports news and commentary on government and politics as it relates to women, the LGBTQ community, and people of color. The 19th publishes original news reporting and often with minimally loaded wording such as "Law enforcement officers keep arresting Black women elected officials." This story like all the rest is properly sourced to credible media and information outlets such as The Associated Press, Rutgers.edu, PBS, and The Washington Post. Story selection favors the left covering topics such as climate change, human rights, and inequality.

Editorially, The 19th aligns with the Left as they frequently publish negative articles concerning conservatives and in particular former President Donald Trump such as "Trump wielded toxic masculinity as a weapon. It hurt America." In 2020 and 2021, The 19th reported on the coronavirus  [COVID-19 pandemic] as it relates to women, persons of color, and the LGBTQ always taking a pro-science approach: "CDC study shows gender, racial gaps in COVID cases among young people." Further, The 19th support the consensus of science when it comes to climate change. In general, The 19th reports the news factually and with a consistent left-leaning progressive bias.

Failed Fact Checks

None in the Last 5 years.

Agence France Presse (AFP)

⚠️ CAUTION: potentially questionable content; carefully scrutinize due to ties to and funding from the French government.

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 1835, Agence France Presse (AFP) is an international French news agency headquartered in Paris, France. French writer and translator Charles-Louis Havas founded Agence France Presse (AFP) as Agency Havas. In the early days, Charles-Louis Havas translated articles from foreign papers, selling the translations to bankers, traders, and politicians using carrier pigeons to dispatch news. Agence Havas was the first to start using the Morse Telegraph, which enabled them to transmit news quickly and became a primary means of distribution throughout France and Europe. Subsequently, Charles-Louis Havas transformed his company into a multinational advertising and public relations company.

Two of his employees, Paul Julius Reuter and Bernard Wolff, later founded their own news agencies, Reuters in London and Wolff in Germany. Following the liberation of Paris in 1944, Journalists of the French Resistance established AFP (Agence France Presse) as a wire service. The French government gave AFP the assets of Agence Havas, including the Paris building that became its headquarters.

As of April 2018, The Chairman & Chief Executive Officer is Fabrice Fries. Agence France Presse's Global Editor in Chief is Philip Chetwynd  [local copy].

Funded by / Ownership

In 1981, the New Internationalist published an article called "The Big Four" (referring to the 'big four' news agencies United Press International,  The Associated Press,   Reuters, and Agence France Presse) in which they described Agence France Presse as "AFP is the only one which depends on subsidy from the government of its company - usually through official subscriptions by government offices. As a result, it is often regarded as the voice of the French government."

Currently, Agence France Presse (AFP) is still supported financially by the French state and gets up to 40 percent of its funding from the French government but maintains its editorial independence by parliament. In April 2018, AFP's chairman and CEO Emmanuel Hoog stepped down after failing to secure government support. The French state only controls three of the 18 seats on AFP's board; however, a CEO can't operate without its confidence since the French government, through its various agencies, is AFP's principal source of revenue.

Analysis / Bias

In review, AFP delivers news in video, text, photographs, multimedia, graphics, and video graphics. Agence France Presse (AFP) utilizes neutral headlines such as "Poland's Supreme Court top judge defies retirement law," and "Waves of strikes pound south Syria after talks fail." All information contained in news articles is sourced through quotations, links, and the use of field journalists covering stories. A factual search reveals that AFP has not failed any fact checks. In fact, AFP is considered a credible fact-checker in itself.

According to a Slate Magazine article, AFP first distributed and then tried to retract an unflattering photo of French President Francois Hollande, but this caused criticism as Slate states, "AFP had bowed to political pressure, thus causing some people to call into question the agency's credibility." Further, some organizations, such as the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), claim that AFP has an anti-Israel bias. However, The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is a powerful Boston-based lobby group that tries to curb criticism of Israel in U.S. media. In other words, CAMERA has a strong pro-Israel bias.

Although we did not find substantial evidence of State bias in our review, it must be considered that 40% of their funding comes from the French government, which may influence reporting.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date. They are an IFCN fact-checker.

AlterNet

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources. AlterNet.org often lifts articles from Daily Kos and The New Civil Rights Movement - which due to questionable content is excluded from sources. Alternet also frequently lifts articles from Salon (and sometimes vice versa). While MediaBiasFactCheck.com rates Salon.com as "mostly factual," due to the overlap between content posted, shared, and reposted on DailyKos.com, AlterNet.org, The New Civil Rights Movement, Salon.com, ... I am excluding these three sources.

Alternet is a politically left-leaning website that was launched in 1998 by the non-profit now known as the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of The Raw Story. Some Alternet content is republished on Salon.

• The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies  [founded in 1987; now: Association of Alternative Newsmedia] founded the Institute for Alternative Journalism, which was incorporated in 1983-12.

• The Institute for Alternative Journalism became the Independent Media Institute some time before December 1999.

• AlterNet was founded in the fall of 1987 by the Institute for Alternative Journalism.

• On 2018-04-09, it was announced that AlterNet was acquired by owners of The Raw Story, an online news organization, under the newly created company AlterNet Media. In an online statement, Raw Story founder John K. Byrne stated, "AlterNet will continue to carry content from the Independent Media Institute, its prior owner. Thus, much of the content you expect will remain the same. You will see articles by former AlterNet writers appearing with the Independent Media Institute byline."  [Source: Wikipedia.]

• Salon

• Raw Story

• Independent Media Institute

Funded by / Ownership. Alternet is owned by the owners of The Raw Story under the name Alternet Media. The website is funded through online advertising.

Analysis / Bias.Overall, we rate Alternet far Left Biased based on story selection and wording that always favors the left. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to a few failed fact checks as well as the promotion of pseudoscience.

In review, Alternet publishes news with a far left bias through story selection and the use of emotionally loaded words such as these: "Trump goes off in an all-caps New Year's Eve Twitter meltdown: 'MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL,' and "The F Word: The Craven Right Wing Is Now Smearing Teenage School Shooting Survivors." The website also features a separate news category that focuses on negative reports about Donald Trump. When it comes to sourcing, Alternet typically uses known mainstream sources such as the New York Daily News and NBC News.

Alternet also frequently delves into pseudoscience with the promotion of anti-GMO propaganda, which is not consistent with the consensus of science. Alternet has consistently reported on the connection between cell phones and cancer, which is misleading as there is not a scientific consensus on whether radiation for cell phones causes cancer or not.

In general, Alternet consistently publishes pro-Left news stories and those that denigrate the right.

A factual search reveals that Alternet has a Mixed claim via Snopes and false claim from Check Your Fact.

Overall, we rate Alternet far Left Biased based on story selection and wording that always favors the left. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to a few failed fact checks as well as the promotion of pseudoscience. (5/13/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 12/30/2019)

Bauman Foundation: Grants, by Fiscal Year (July 01 - June 30)
Data captured 2020-09-11.
Grantee	Fiscal Year	Amount	Cumulative Amount
AlterNet	2008-09	$25,000	$25,000

American Conservative, The

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources: donor / funding information not disclosed; concerns over conservatism bias; Advisory Board includes the reprehensible Tucker Carlson  [FOX News shill, conspiracy theorist, disinformationist]; ...

The American Conservative is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. The publication states that it exists to promote a conservatism that opposes unchecked power in government and business alike; promote the flourishing of families and communities through vibrant markets and free people; and embrace realism and restraint in foreign affairs based on America's national interests, otherwise known as paleoconservative. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has been bi-monthly.

The American Conservative was founded by Pat Buchanan,   Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos in 2002 in opposition to the Iraq War. Daniel Strauss wrote:

Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 2002 and published by the American Ideas Institute,  The American Conservative is a bi-monthly journal of right-leaning opinion. According to their About page, they state "The American Conservative exists to promote a "Main Street" conservatism that opposes unchecked power in government and business; promotes the flourishing of families and communities through vibrant markets and free people; and embraces realism and restraint in foreign affairs based on America's vital national interests."

The American Conservative was founded by Pat Buchanan,   Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos in 2002 in opposition to the Iraq War. The current editor is W. James Antle III.

Funded by / Ownership

The American Conservative is owned by the American Ideas Institute, a nonprofit organization that advances political conservationism. Sponsored content, advertising, and subscription fees generate revenue. The website does not disclose donor information.

Analysis / Bias

In review, The American Conservative has argued against American interventionism, against a debt-based fiscal policy, and against the intrusions on Americans' private lives by the institutions and mores that exist and the wisdom that underlies them. The American Conservative is a very well-written source with a libertarian perspective.

The American Conservative presents news and opinions with moderately loaded language: "What Happens When Kim Stands Trump Up at the Altar?" This story is very well sourced to Reuters and the National Interest. Although they are always opposed to Democratic Socialism, they also frequently report negatively on President Trump, especially as it relates to foreign policy. When it comes to science, The American Conservative supports the consensus of science with articles such as this: "A Judgement By Fire."

While they do not support the progressive agenda of a New Green Deal, they do acknowledge that action must be taken, albeit with a more free-market approach. Regardless of solutions, The American Conservative supports the consensus of science. However, during the 2020 United States presidential election, they have promoted election fraud information contrary to the findings of election experts. The article "Memorandum: How The 2020 Election Could Have Been Stolen" does not produce a single link to outside sources to verify the author's opinions.

Editorially, they support limited government, limited military presence in other countries, and general nationalism. In other words, this is a libertarian / paleoconservative organization. In general, they publish mostly opinion-based content that is mostly factual but sometimes uses poor sourcing techniques.

Failed Fact Checks

None in the Last 5 years.

American Prospect, The

Bias Rating: LEFT  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 1990, The American Prospect is a quarterly American political magazine and website dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, D.C., The American Prospect says it aims "to advance liberal and progressive goals through reporting, analysis, and debate about today's realities and tomorrow's possibilities." The magazine was founded by Robert Kuttner,   Robert Reich, and Paul Starr, with Kuttner and Starr currently serving as editors.

Funded by / Ownership

The nonprofit The American Prospect Inc. owns The American Prospect. Donations, advertising, and subscription fees generate revenue. The website does not disclose donors.

Analysis / Bias

In review, The American Prospect reports original political news from a liberal perspective. Stories are well written, and headlines contain moderately loaded language that favors the left, such as this: ...

Editorially, The American Prospect favors liberal positions; however, they present factual and evidence-based information.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

American Public Media

American Public Media is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. American Public Media's non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota and California.  American Public Media's station brands include Minnesota Public Radio and Southern California Public Radio. Based in St. Paul,   Minnesota,  American Public Media is best known for distribution of the national financial news program Marketplace.

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 2004, American Public Media is the second-largest producer and distributor of public radio programs in the United States after NPR. American Public Media produces content for NPR.

Funded by / Ownership

American Public Media Group is the parent company of American Public Media, Minnesota Public Radio, and Southern California Public Radio. American Public Media Group operates Public Radio Market under license from American Public Media.

Analysis / Bias

In review, like NPR, American Public Media does not use loaded words, and all information is sourced correctly. Specifically, they use BBC as their primary news source, which is highly credible with a slight leftward bias in story selection.

Failed Fact Checks

None in the Last 5 years.

Associated Press, The (AP)

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED  |  Factual Reporting: VERY HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

Funded by / Ownership

The Associated Press (AP) is a nonprofit news cooperative with a profit of $1.6 million in 2016. It also sells content to other media organizations. According to an article titled "AP reports loss on one-time accounting charges,"  The Associated Press lost $74 million in 2017, and it states the reason as "mostly due to one-time accounting charges related to the federal tax overhaul passed late last year." AP's Chief Financial Officer is Ken Dale.

Analysis / Bias

AP utilizes moderate-loaded language in their headlines in their political coverage, such as "AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin." However, the articles are always well-sourced. When it comes to their economic coverage, they maintain neutral language and least biased coverage: "U.S.-China tariffs: What's behind them, who stands to be hurt?" The AP also publishes well-researched and sourced articles such as "Science Says: How family separation may affect kids' brains," utilizing pro-science sources such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

When it comes to reporting on the Trump administration, The Associated Press usually maintains a neutral voice. However, in some articles, the author demonstrates bias through loaded emotional language such as this: "PUSHED Ukrainian officials to investigate BASELESS corruption allegations against the Bidens." While this statement is factual, using "Pushed" and "Baseless" conveys Rudy Giuliani's negative emotions. In general, The Associated Press publishes low-biased, highly factual news and, in some cases, left-biased editorializing by their authors.

Failed Fact Checks

They are a certified IFCN fact-checker.

Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Association of Alternative Newsmedia
Sources (Wikipedia): • Association of Alternative Newsmedia • Independent Media Institute
Name	Association of Alternative Newsmedia
Former name	Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
Abbreviation	ANN
Founded	1978
Type	501(c)(6) nonprofit organization
Mission	Clearinghouse for stories generated by Association of Alternative Newsweeklies members
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Region served	Metropolitan areas in 42 states  |  Washington D.C.  |  4 Canadian Provinces
President	Graham Jarrett (Orlando Weekly)
Former President	Molly Willmott (current Association Manager)
Executive Director	Jason Zaragoza
Membership	Alternative weekly newspapers
Affiliations	Alternative Newsweekly Foundation
Derivatives:	Institute for Alternative Journalism (IAJ): incorporated 1983-12; by 1999-12 became the Independent Media Institute AlterNet: founded 1987 by IAJ
Revenue	2014: $556,323
Expenses	2014: $796,491
Website	AAN.org

The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (ANN), formerly known as the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, is a trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. It was founded in 1978 in Seattle, Washington, with 30 newspapers from America's largest cities. Today, it provides services to many generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada. The association is made up of 131 newspapers which are published in 42 states, Washington D.C., and four Canadian provinces. States not represented are Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

In July 2011, the organization's name was changed from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies to the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, by a vote of members attending the group's annual meeting.

The Association of Alternative Newsmedia also operates AltWeeklies.com  [2021: now redirects to main landing page AAN.org] - a Web portal that highlights the best news stories, features, arts criticism and political commentary from its member newspapers.

Members

Independent Media Institute

• The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies  [founded in 1987; now: Association of Alternative Newsmedia] founded the Institute for Alternative Journalism, which was incorporated in 1983-12.

• The Institute for Alternative Journalism became the Independent Media Institute some time before December 1999.

• AlterNet was founded in the fall of 1987 by the Institute for Alternative Journalism.

• 2018-04-09, it was announced that AlterNet was acquired by owners of The Raw Story, an online news organization, under the newly created company AlterNet Media.

AlterNet was founded in the fall of 1987 by the Institute for Alternative Journalism, which was incorporated in December 1983 with a mission to serve as a clearinghouse for important local stories generated by the members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies  [now: Association of Alternative Newsmedia]. The founding editor of AlterNet was Alan Green, who with his deputy, Margaret Engle, created print and electronic mechanisms to syndicate both the works of Association of Alternative Newsweeklies papers and freelance contributors, among them Michael Moore and Abbie Hoffman. Margaret Engle took over for Alan Green in 1989 and ran the news service until 1993, in that time dramatically expanding AlterNet's base of contributors and client newspapers. Upon her resignation, Engle was succeeded by Don Hazen, who had been hired by the Institute for Alternative Journalism in 1991 to be its first executive director. AlterNet publishes a combination of policy critiques, investigative reports and analysis, grassroots success stories, and personal narratives.

Christine Triano was Associate Director of the Institute for Alternative Journalism, in 1996.

Media Heroes are annual awards by the Institute for Alternative Journalism. Frederick Clarkson was named among the "Media Heroes of 1992" James Danky was named a Media Hero in 1993.

In 1995, Media Heroes awards went to Public Media Center,  Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting,  Institute for Global Communications, Janine Jackson, Laura Flanders,   CounterSpin, Gary Delgado, David Barsamian,  Alternative Radio,  Haiti Truth Team, Salim Muwakkil, John Schwartz, and Artists for a Hate Free America were presented in MediaCulture Review  (January/February 1995).

In 1996, Leslie Savan was named one of "The Top Ten Media Heroes". Patricia Scott, and Julie Drizin were named to the "Top Ten Media Heroes of 1996" Paul Klite, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Media Watch, received a Media Hero Award from the Institute for Alternative Journalism in 1996. Amy Goodman,   Bob Herbert,   Detroit Sunday Journal,   Gary Webb,   Herbert Schiller,   James Ridgeway,   Karl Grossman,   Mumia Abu-Jamal,   Norman Solomon, and Urvashi Vaid received the 1997 Media Hero Award.

In 1997, Media Heroes awards were presented at the second Media & Democracy Congress. The Institute for Alternative Journalism named David Barsamian one of its Top Ten Media Heroes.

The Institute for Alternative Journalism became the Independent Media Institute some time before December 1999. After the sale of AlterNet to the new company - AlterNet Media in April 2018 - the Independent Media Institute launched a series of new programs including the Make It Right Project.

Atlantic, The

The Atlantic is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. ... After experiencing financial hardship and undergoing several ownership changes in the late 20th century, The Atlantic was purchased by businessman David G. Bradley, who refashioned it as a general editorial magazine primarily aimed at serious national readers and "thought leaders". In 2010, The Atlantic posted its first profit in a decade. In 2016, the periodical was named Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors. In 2017-07, David Bradley sold a majority interest in the publication to Laurene Powell Jobs's  Emerson Collective  [see also: Axios  |  The 19th].

TheAtlantic.com, provides daily coverage and analysis of breaking news, politics and international affairs, education, technology, health, science, and culture. TheAtlantic.com's executive editor is Adrienne LaFrance, and the editor-in-chief is Israeli-American Jeffrey Goldberg.

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

LEFT-CENTER BIAS: these media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information but may require further investigation. See all Left-Center sources. Overall, we rate The Atlantic Left-Center Biased due to editorial positions and High for factual reporting based on excellent sourcing of information and a clean fact check record.

Axios

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources due to tampering of associated Wikipedia entry, founders' associations with { BuzzFeed  |  The Huffington Post  |  ... }, financial controversies; paid advertisers from neoliberal disinformationists { ExxonMobil  |  Koch Industries  |  ... }; ...

Axios is an American news website based in Arlington County, Virginia. It was founded in 2016 and launched the following year by former Politico journalists Jim VandeHei,   Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz. The site's name is based on the Greek: "ἄξιος" ("áxios"), meaning "worthy".

Axios' articles are typically brief and matter-of-fact; most are shorter than 300 words and use bullet points so they are easier to scan. In addition to news articles, Axios produces daily and weekly industry-specific newsletters (including Mike Allen's Axios AM, a successor to his popular Playbook newsletter for Politico), two daily podcasts and a documentary news series on HBO.

History

Jim VandeHei said he wanted Axios to be a "mix between The Economist and Twitter". The company initially covered a mix of business, politics, technology, health care, and media. Jim VandeHei said Axios would focus on the "collision between tech and areas such as bureaucracy, healthcare, energy, and the transportation infrastructure". At launch, Nicholas Johnston, a former managing editor at Bloomberg L.P., was named editor-in-chief.

In the summer of 2016, Axios secured $10 million in a round of financing led by Lerer Hippeau  [see also: BuzzFeed discussion]. Backers include media-partner NBC News,   Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective  [see also: The 19th  |  The Atlantic],  Greycroft Partners, and David Bradley and Katherine Bradley - owners of Atlantic Media.

Axios had raised $30 million as of 2017-11. Axios planned to focus on "business, technology, politics, and media trends". Axios generates revenue through short-form native advertising and sponsored newsletters. It earned more than $10 million in revenue in its first seven months. Its advertisers include ExxonMobil and Koch Industries.

In 2017-01 Axios hired as an executive vice president Evan Ryan, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs and a former staffer for Vice President Joe Biden. As of 2017-03, the company said it had 60 employees with 40 working in editorial. Axios had 6 million visitors in 2017-09, according to Comscore. As of 2017-11, Axios said it had 200,000 subscribers to 11 newsletters, with an average open rate of 52%. The same month [2017-11], Axios said it would use a new $20 million investment to expand data analysis, product development, fund audience growth, and increase staff to 150, up from 89.

In 2019-03 and 2019-04, HuffPost and Wired reported that Axios had paid a firm to improve its reputation by lobbying for changes to the Wikipedia articles on Axios and Jonathan Swan (an Australian journalist who works as a political reporter for Axios  |  Jonathan Swan: controversy).

In July 2020, Axios received $4.8 million in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program for salary replacement during the COVID-19 pandemic. It later returned the money, with Politico journalists Jim VandeHei explaining that the loans had become "politically polarizing". In 2020-09, The Wall Street Journal reported that Axios was on track to be profitable in 2020 "despite the economic turmoil stemming from the COVID-19 coronavirus [COVID-19 pandemic] that led to broad layoffs and pay cuts at many media outlets."

In 2021-05 The Wall Street Journal reported that merger discussions between Axios and The Athletic had ended, with The Athletic opting to pursue a deal with The New York Times.

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Axios Media or Axios is a news and information company started in 2016 by Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, former Chief White House correspondent at Politico, Mike Allen, and former Politico Chief Revenue Officer Roy Schwartz.

Funded by / Ownership

In the summer of 2016, Axios secured $10 million in financing led by Lerer Hippeau  [see also: BuzzFeed discussion]. Backers include media-partner NBC News; Laurene Powell Jobs (the widow of Steve Jobs)'s investment vehicle the Emerson Collective  [see also: The 19th  |  The Atlantic]; Greycroft Partners; and David Bradley and Katherine Bradley - owners of Atlantic Media. 2017-11, Axios said that it had raised an additional $20 million. WndrCo, a media-and-technology firm founded by DreamWorks Pictures CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, is a new investor in the round. Axios Media Group owns Axios.

Analysis / Bias

In review, Axios covers news and mostly American politics. There is minimal use of loaded language in headlines such as this: "Go deeper: How the NRA's spending shows the shifting midterms landscape." Further, all articles are well sourced to credible media outlets and/or quotes people making official statements. An analysis of news stories reveals that more favor the left through wording and volume of stories.

Failed Fact Checks

None in the Last 5 years.

BBC

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

Funded by / Ownership

The BBC operates under a Royal Charter, which is renewed every 10 years. The Royal Charter abolished the BBC Trust, and the regulatory functions of the BBC Trust were transferred to The Office of Communications or Ofcom in 2017. The operations of the BBC are governed by a board of directors consisting of thirteen people. Currently, the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England David Clementi is the Chairman of the BBC, and Tony Hall is the Director-General of the BBC (Editor-in-Chief ). The BBC is financed by consumer license fees on broadcasting receivers (1947 Wireless and Telegraphy Act) which enables BBC's U.K. services to be free of advertisements and independent of shareholder and political interests.

Analysis

In review, both sides of the political spectrum have accused the BBC of either having a liberal or conservative bias. For example, an Evening Standard article based on an interview with a former BBC employee describes the BBC as a "Nest of Lefties promoting a progressive agenda and political correctness." According to a Times of London article, the BBC is biased against Israel; therefore, it has a left bias. The BBC states in their editorial guidelines that they are impartial and free from both political and commercial influence.

The BBC also has an Executive Complaints Unit in which the Daily Mail published an article regarding how the complaints unit works. The article states, "There was also a sharp increase in accusations of political bias and religious prejudice." The BBC then wrote a response to the Daily Mail article: "The Mail also said that the figures 'showed the level of dissatisfaction over issues such as left-wing bias, offensive content, and inaccuracy'. In fact, there is an extensive range of reasons why people complain. For example, we often get complaints of 'bias' about the same program from two or more opposing sides of the many issues we cover, not just 'left-wing'."

Bias

According to the New Statesman's research, examining the impartiality of the BBC's reporting shows that they lean right in certain areas, such as business, immigration, and religion. Examples of right bias include the BBC being accused of doctoring Jeremy Corbyn's image, who serves as Leader of the Labour Party (Corbyn identifies as a democratic socialist) wearing a Russian-style cap in front of a Moscow skyline to make him look more Russian. BBC rejected the complaints by claiming the decision to publish Corbyn in a "Lenin-style cap in front of the Moscow skyline was not designed to convey an impression of pro-Russian sympathy on Corbyn's part but was in keeping; with an editorial decision made based on sound news judgment."

A 2014 Pew Research Survey found that 60% of BBC's audience is consistently or mostly liberal, 26% Mixed, and 13% consistently or mostly conservative. This indicates that a more liberal audience prefers BBC News.

When reporting general news, the BBC always sources its information and uses minimal loaded words in headlines such as this: "Trump chief of staff John Kelly to leave White House job." When it comes to reporting on the USA and, in particular, former President Donald Trump, there is a negative tone directed at Trump and his policies. In general, the BBC covers both sides of stories, with a slight bias in favor of the left.

Failed Fact Checks

A group of puppies transported more than 100 miles died with COVID-19. - False (Corrected).

Bloomberg News

⚠️ CAUTION: potentially questionable content; carefully scrutinize. The main concern - like Jeff Bezos' ownership of the The Washington Post - is ownership of influential news /mass media by multibillionaires.

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Bloomberg or Bloomberg News was founded in 1981 by businessman and the former three-term (2002-2013) mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg. It is a business-focused news organization headquartered in New York City. Bloomberg News is a division of Bloomberg L.P., including a global television network (Bloomberg Television), digital websites, radio stations (Bloomberg Radio), subscription-only newsletters, and three magazines: Bloomberg Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Bloomberg Markets.

Bloomberg News delivers business and markets news, data, and analysis to its readers. Further, they also have a section under politics called "Trump Tracker," which tracks the latest news and reports on Donald Trump. Former editor of The Economist,   John Micklethwait is the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News since 2015. Michael R. Bloomberg is the President & CEO.

On November 24, 2019, majority owner Michael Bloomberg announced he is running for President of the United States as a Democratic Party Candidate. We will monitor Bloomberg News for changes in reporting and editorial bias based on this decision. Further, they announced they would not cover Michael Bloomberg or his Democratic rivals because the primary Bloomberg News will not investigate Mike Bloomberg or his Democratic rivals during the primary.

Funded by / Ownership

Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (the parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. Bloomberg News started to charge visitors for its content with a metered paywall in 2018, limiting users to view 10 articles per month and 30 minutes of Bloomberg TV Livestream daily. After 10 articles, readers have to become digital subscribers to have full access.

Analysis / Bias

Michael R. Bloomberg Philanthropies' five focus areas are public health, arts and culture, the environment, education, and government innovation. As a philanthropist, Michael Bloomberg has given over $3.3 billion in support of education, public health, government innovation, the arts, and the environment. Michael R. Bloomberg is the president of the C40 Climate Leadership Group. Further, Michael R. Bloomberg endorsed Hillary Clinton for the 2020 United States presidential election.

In review, Bloomberg News publishes stories with moderately loaded emotional headlines such as this editorial: ...

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Boston Globe, The

History

Founded in 1872, The Boston Globe is an American daily broadsheet newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been awarded 23 Pulitzer Prizes since 1966. The current editor is Brain McGrory. The Boston Globe is one of the largest newspapers in the USA.

Funded by / Ownership

Analysis / Bias

In review, The Boston Globe covers local news via journalists in the greater Boston area. The national news is also derived from journalists and republished from other sources such as the The Associated Press. There is minimal use of loaded language in headlines such as this: "Trump says he will end birthright citizenship via executive order." Editorially, The Boston Globe favors the left in both story selection and consistent Democratic Party candidate endorsements.

Failed Fact Checks

Breitbart  |  Breitbart News

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources: founded by Andrew Breitbart (Founder of Breitbart News: note association with Steve Bannon), ...

• Wikipedia: Breitbart News.
• Note also close association with Steve Bannon.

• Andrew Breitbart also founded HuffPost (The Huffington Post).

QUESTIONABLE SOURCE. A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda / conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source.

Reasoning: Extreme Right, Propaganda, Conspiracy, Failed Fact Checks  |  Bias Rating: RIGHT  |  Factual Reporting: MIXED  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY.

History

Breitbart News is a conservative news and opinion website founded in 2007 by Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012). Andrew Breitbart was a conservative commentator and entrepreneur, "a former liberal from Los Angeles who became a conservative," wrote Jonah Engel Bromwich of The New York Times. Breitbart News, under Andrew Breitbart's leadership, generated news coverage that was praised by the right for its populist, anti-establishment voice on the left; however, Breitbart was also accused of being a provocateur and misleading. Andrew Breitbart also co-founded the Huffington Post.

After Andrew Breitbart died in 2012, a former investment banker for Goldman Sachs,   Steve Bannon became the Breitbart executive chairman. Under Bannon, the website became more nationalist and a vocal outlet of the alt-rightalt-right movement. According to Sarah Posner from Mother JonesSteve Bannon, he described Breitbart News as "a platform to the alt-right." Steve Bannon - who was chief executive of the Trump campaign, and then-White House chief strategist for the Trump administration for seven months before returning to Breitbart News - had stepped down from his position at Breitbart in 2018.

Larry Solov is the co-founder and CEO of Breitbart News, and Alex Marlow serves as editor-in-chief.

In 2018-10, Breitbart was banned as a reliable source in Wikipedia. However, Breitbart was added as a reliable news source to Facebook's new news initiative. This decision was met with harsh criticism by several media outlets, including Media Bias Fact Check.

On 2020-07-27, America's Frontline Doctors released a video claiming that hydroxychloroquine   cures COVID-19 and that masks are unnecessary. Conservative news outlet Breitbart published a story and their video that went viral, reaching millions. On 2020-07-28 Facebook,   Twitter, and YouTube removed the video due to the "doctors making false and dubious claims related to the coronavirus."

Funded by / Ownership

After the death of Andrew Breitbart in 2012, Larry Solov became CEO and president of Breitbart News. In 2017, according to Politico, Larry Solov revealed the owner of Breitbart as "himself, founder Andrew Breitbart's widow Susie Breitbart, and the Republican Party mega-donor the Mercer family." Further, Larry Solov also stated that he wants "to disclose as little as possible about financial and ownership structure."

Analysis / Bias

Breitbart consists of various sections called Big Government, Big Journalism, Big Hollywood, National Security, Tech, Sports, and Wired.

Breitbart< uses sensational, emotionally loaded language in their headlines, such as "Obama Loses 2 Million+ Followers During Twitter Fake Account Purge." They utilize sources such as tabloid entertainment magazine Variety, and credible sources such as Bloomberg News, and factually mixed sources such as the Daily Mail. Under the Big Hollywood section, they publish tabloid stories such as "Fashion Notes: Melania Trump is Posh and Proper for Final Day in England" utilizing fashion sources such as Farfetch.com.

A 2014 Pew Research Survey found that 7% of Breitbart's audience is consistently or mostly liberal, 14% Mixed, and 79% consistently or mostly conservative. This indicates that a more conservative audience heavily prefers Breitbart.

In general, most published stories favor the right and are highly pro-Donald Trump in tone and story selection. Many stories also promote anti-science propaganda as it pertains to climate change denial, and COVID-19 mask effectiveness.

Failed Fact Checks

Breitbart News / Breitbart has numerous failed fact checks - refer to the MediaBiasFactCheck.com entry.

BuzzFeed (web)  |  BuzzFeed News (investigative reporting)

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources. Concerns include the following items (chiefly: news aggregation rather than investigative journalism; preoccupation with wealth, growth and acquisition; focus on digital arts and trending / viral content; questionable business practices (staff terminations; anti-union stance; native advertising; ...); associations with known disinformationists; self-promotion; promotion of consumerism; ...

Ownership { Jonah H. Peretti  |  John Seward Johnson III } and Associations

• Circa 2004 Fundrace.org (a site which allows visitors to track campaign contributions through geocoding) was developed by Jonah Peretti, then-director of Research and Development at Eyebeam - later adapted into a permanent feature on The Huffington Post.

• Jonah H. Peretti is an internet entrepreneur, a co-founder and the CEO of BuzzFeed, co-founder of The Huffington Post, and developer of reblogging under the project "Reblog."

• The Huffington Post cofounder Andrew Breitbart was the founder of the notorious disinformation source Breitbart News - notably associated with the notorious disinformationist Steve Bannon. Andrew Breitbart conceived of Breitbart News as "the Huffington Post of the right."

• Commenters such as Nick Gillespie and Conor Friedersdorf have credited Andrew Breitbart with changing how people wrote about politics by "showing how the internet could be used to route around information bottlenecks imposed by official spokesmen and legacy news outlets".

• Andrew Breitbart was a Lincoln Fellow at The Claremont Institute - a conservative American think tank - in 2009.

• The conservative National Review said in 2020 that "Claremont stands out for beclowning itself with this embrace of the smarmy underside of American politics," although it noted that "many conservative institutions and individuals have adjusted their standards and long-proclaimed principles to accommodate Trump and Trumpism."

• Slate Magazine in 2020 called The Claremont Institute "a racist fever swamp with deep connections to the conspiratorial alt-right," citing as examples a 2019 fellowship granted by Claremont to Pizzagate conspiracy theory enthusiast Jack Posobiec. and the publication of a 2020 "birther" essay by The Claremont Institute Senior Fellow John C. Eastman  [local copy].

• The Claremont Institute was an early defender of then-candidate Donald Trump; The Daily Beast stated The Claremont Institute has "arguably has done more than any other group to build a philosophical case for Trump's brand of conservatism."

• In 2021 at a virtual company meeting, Jonah Peretti - as BuzzFeed's chief executive officer - fired 47 employees at The Huffington Post in a controversial manner, sending a virtual meeting password "spr!ngisH3r3" to laid-off employees.

BuzzFeed News employees on Thursday [2021-12-02] walked off the job as the company plans to trade on the stock market. The union said 61 employees participated in the 24-hour walkout to push for better wages and working conditions at the digital media company. Several are based in Los Angeles. The union said its employer is offering only a 1% annual guaranteed raise and a minimum salary floor of $50,000, which the guild believes is too low for people living in such cities as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. The walkout is intended to "send a reminder that there's no BuzzFeed News without us as we fight for our first collective bargaining agreement," the union said on Twitter. The group, which is part of the News Guild of New York, said it has been bargaining for a contract for nearly two years. BuzzFeed News workers who participated in the walkout represent about 6% of the company's total employees.

The protest came on the same day [2021-12-02] as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), 890 Fifth Avenue Partners Inc., is set to vote on a merger with BuzzFeed. The deal announced earlier this year is expected to close in the fourth quarter, giving BuzzFeed a valuation of $1.5 billion. Some investors are pulling out their money in the SPAC, reducing BuzzFeed's cash proceeds, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday [2021-12-02].

BuzzFeed, a New York-based news and entertainment media company, said it employs 1,100 workers and will grow to 1,400 employees next week after it acquires Complex Networks  [Complex Networks], a youth network that features fashion, food, music and sports content, in a $300-million deal.

[ ... snip ... ]

• BuzzFeed

• Eyebeam

• HuffPost  (The Huffington Post)

• Andrew James Breitbart

• John Seward Johnson III

• Jonah H. Peretti

BuzzFeed - Recent News

The transformation from startup to public company is supposed to be a very big deal. So let's start by acknowledging that BuzzFeed, which started 15 years ago as an internet experiment, has hit a milestone: 2021-12-06 is the day you will be able to buy and sell shares of BZFD on the Nasdaq.

We can also acknowledge that BuzzFeed's transformation has been much rockier than it would have liked. Last week, when it formally morphed from a private company into a public one (using a "SPAC" [Special-purpose acquisition company] - a bit of financial engineering that was very popular a year ago and has now fallen out of favor), investors gave the company a thumbs down. That meant it only raised $16 million instead of the $250 million it had hoped to raise earlier this year. On top of that, 61 of the employees in its BuzzFeed News operation - about 5 percent of the company's overall workforce - walked off the job last Thursday [2021-12-02] to protest the state of their negotiations for a union contract.

But step back a bit further. The fact that BuzzFeed is around at all - let alone publicly traded, with all of the financial transparency and investor expectations that come with that - is worth noting.

BuzzFeed is perhaps the best-known member of a cohort of digital publishers that launched in the last decade, and for a time looked like they might usurp conventional media companies. Their ascent freaked out incumbent publishers, and briefly convinced investors to throw billions of dollars their way.

Then their main strategy - latch on to Facebook, and profit when the social network put their stuff in front of a gazillion eyeballs - collapsed about four years ago when it became clear that Facebook was more competitor than partner. And then many of them shrank   dramatically or disappeared altogether.

So the fact that BuzzFeed is still around, and big enough to plausibly exist as a public company, is ... something.

It's not nearly as sexy a story as it was six or seven years ago, when BuzzFeed's existence - along with other publishers like The Huffington Post and my employer, Vox Media - worried The New York Times enough that the paper created a what-do-we-do-now internal report dedicated to fending off the insurgents. Or when BuzzFeed seemed to have such deep insight into digital culture that Ben Smith, then its editor-in-chief, could boast that "the world has moved toward us." Or when it was telling the world that it was going to take what it had learned making viral content and use those insights to upend Hollywood.

Flash-forward to now, and BuzzFeed's ambitions are considerably scaled back: Like everyone else in media, it is trying to sell projects to studios and streamers that need content. But the idea of a BuzzFeed Motion Pictures unit seems like a stretch, which seems to be why the company no longer has a unit called that anymore. The New York Times, it turns out, didn't really need to copy the viral content strategy that BuzzFeed helped pioneer. Instead, it has flourished by producing excellent journalism and asking its readers to pay for it, which they seem happy to do. And it's been able to use that money to hire stars from digital competitors like Vox and BuzzFeed. Including Ben Smith.

A more concrete way of putting it: As of last week, BuzzFeed was valued at $1.5 billion - less than the $1.7 billion investors thought it was worth back in 2016, even though it has since acquired both HuffPost and Complex Networks, both big publishers in their own right.

Or, another, more practical way of underlining BuzzFeed's reined-in expectations: For years, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said he was fine with the fact that his BuzzFeed News unit was a money-loser because it did important work that he was happy to subsidize. But that has changed in recent years. In 2019, BuzzFeed had major layoffs in that group for the first time, and now Jonah Peretti says he wants BuzzFeed News to lose less money. Hence contract negotiations that have run more than two years.

[ ... snip ... ]

Potential BuzzFeed - Vox Media Connections (Ken Lerer, son Ben Lerer, ...)

Background

---

• At the beginning of 2021, Group Nine created a blank-check SPAC company - the same mechanism BuzzFeed used to go public and buy Complex Networks. Monday [2021-12-13]'s news seems to be an admission that Group Nine couldn't find a company it wanted to buy, or that wanted to be acquired. (Group Nine's ownership stake in that SPAC will transfer over to Vox Media.)

• As mentioned above, in 2005 Jonah Peretti and Ken Lerer co-founded The Huffington Post.

• At the time of the 2016 merger of Group Nine holdings, Discovery Communications  [Discovery Channel, etc.] announced a $100 million minority investment in the collective organization, becoming the biggest shareholder before Axel Springer.

• Relevant to this file (Persagen.com sources), Axel Springer acquired Business Insider in 2015, and Politico in 2021-10.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, the combined company [Vox Media - Group Nine] is expected to generate more than $700 million in revenue in 2022 and more than $100 million in profit, making it one of the biggest players in the sector. "The business rationale behind this merger is to grow revenue, increase scale, and combine these incredibly powerful and complementary portfolios," said Vox Mediaco-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer James Philip Bankoff.

---

Lerer Hippeau

• Kenneth Lerer is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. Kenneth Lerer cofounded The Huffington Post and was the longtime Chairman of BuzzFeed. Ken Lerer serves as the Chairman of Blade  [BLADE Urban Air Mobility, Inc. jet aircraft service], and sits on the Board of Directors of Group Nine Media, Inc.. Kenneth Lerer is also on the Board of nonprofits Bank Street College of Education, and the Association to Benefit Children  [ex officio member].  |  local copy

• Ben Lerer is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau and the CEO of Group Nine Media, Inc., a digital media holding company consisting of Thrillist,   NowThis News,   The Dodo,   Seeker, and PopSugar Inc.. Ben Lerer is the cofounder and former CEO of Thrillist. Ben Lerer chairs the Board of Directors for Urban Upbound, and is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Ben Lerer sits on the Board of Directors for Casper Sleep Inc.  [Wikipedia: Casper Sleep Inc.], and the Board of RaisedByUs  [RaisedBy.Us].  |  local copy

• Eric Hippeau is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. Previously, Eric Hippeau was the CEO of The Huffington Post, in which he had invested as a Managing Partner at Softbank Capital. Eric Hippeau has also served as Chairman and CEO of Ziff-Davis, Inc., former top publisher of computer magazines. Eric Hippeau sits on the board of BuzzFeed, a portfolio company, and Marriott International. Eric Hippeau was educated at the Sorbonne University in Paris,   France.

   |  local copy

• [ ... snip ... ]

---

Two weeks, two deals. And now four digital media companies are turning into two. Get ready for more of that. That's the takeaway from Monday [2021-12-13]'s news that Vox Media - my [Peter Kafka's] employer - is close to acquiring Group Nine, the publisher behind outlets like The Dodo and NowThis News. That deal announcement, first reported in the Wall Street Journal and then confirmed via a companywide email shortly after, comes days after BuzzFeed finished up buying Complex Networks, the publisher aimed at dudes who like hip-hop and sneakers.

The BuzzFeed - Complex Group deal came as BuzzFeed went public, a move its CEO Jonah Peretti said he wanted to make because it would help him acquire more media companies. The new deal shows that you don't have to be public to buy a media company: Vox is private, and so is Group Nine.

[ ... snip ... ]

And now the mashups are happening, one way or another. BuzzFeed, for instance, had already acquired HuffPost, the digital publisher Jonah Peretti had co-founded before launching his own company; he and Group Nine CEO Ben Lerer had previously talked about combining their two companies. Two years ago, Vox Media bought New York Magazine, and has been periodically picking up small media companies - last month [2021-11], for instance, it picked up podcast studio Criminal Productions.   Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc, who bought Refinery29 in 2019, has also made it clear that she thinks her industry should consolidate. And Dotdash, the digital publishing arm owned by Barry Diller's  IAC holding company, just swallowed magazine publisher Meredith and its library of titles, including much of what used to be called Time Inc.

[ ... snip ... ]

Beyond sheer bulk, the eventual pitch to investors would be the one the company [Vox Media] wants to start making to advertisers as soon as possible: We've got stuff for everybody. I surveyed some of Vox's competitors on Monday [2021-12-13] and heard more than a bit of shit-talking about the assets the company [Vox Media] is about to acquire: "You're buying a pet site," sniffed one executive. But if people want to buy ads on that pet site  [The Dodo], and that pet site's revenues help keep me employed, I'm not going to complain.

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York, BuzzFeed is a media news company delivering social news and entertainment. They provide a mix of breaking news, entertainment, and shareable content. Jonah Peretti and John Johnson are the founders of BuzzFeed, and the editor-in-chief was Ben Smith. In 2016, BuzzFeed split the news operation off from the BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, focusing more on BuzzFeed's video unit.

In 2018, BuzzFeed.com became a separate website, with Mark Schoofs serving as editor-in-chief. BuzzFeed News has been nominated for several Pulitzer Prizes and Webby Awards.

[Comment: Mark Schoofs' entry on Wikipedia indicates a thorough, Pulitzer Prize-winning accomplishment.]

Funded by / Ownership

Numerous investors funded BuzzFeed. New Enterprise Associates, New York-based venture capital firm RRE Ventures and Hearst Ventures were the early investors of BuzzFeed. In 2015, NBC (owned by Comcast Corporation; see also Vox) invested $200 million in BuzzFeed, and in 2016 they invested another $200 million. BuzzFeed also raised 50 million dollars from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. BuzzFeed is privately owned and does not disclose financial results to the public. However, BuzzFeed missed its revenue target in 2017 by 15%-20%. According to a New York Times article by Edmund Lee, founder Jonah Peretti says his company could eventually merge with rival online publishers to negotiate better terms with Facebook.

BuzzFeed's business model relies primarily on native advertising in the form of quizzes and videos sponsored by companies, which also goes by the name sponsored content or advertorial - which is advertising content that looks like an editorial. BuzzFeed News also solicits membership fees.

BuzzFeed News is currently owned by Verizon Media [now Yahoo], who recently acquired HuffPost.

Yahoo is an American multinational technology company that focuses on media and online business. Verizon Communications acquired AOL in 2015. When Verizon Communications purchased Yahoo! in 2017, it merged AOL and Yahoo! into a subsidiary named Oath Inc.

Analysis / Bias

In review, BuzzFeed News primarily publishes original reported news and investigations. News is broken down into sections such as Arts & Entertainment, Inequality, LGBTQ, Opinion, and Politics. BuzzFeed News is completely different from their parent site, which generally produces clickbait-type stores shared on Social Media. On the other hand, BuzzFeed News produces quality news reporting that is often investigative such as ...

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)  |  CBC News  |  CBC.ca [Canada]

Wikipedia: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian federal Crown corporation funded by the Government of Canada that serves as the national public broadcaster for both radio and television. ...  |  Controversies

Ombudsman

The CBC sets out to maintain its accuracy, integrity and fairness in its journalism. As a Canadian institution and a press undertaking, CBC set out the Journalistic Standards and Practices and works in compliance with these principles. Balanced viewpoints must be presented through on-the-air discussions. As it is with other public and private journalistic undertakings, credibility in the eyes of the general population is seen as the corporation's most valuable asset. The CBC Ombudsman is completely independent of CBC program staff and management, reporting directly to the President of the CBC and, through the President, to the corporation's board of directors.

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 1936 by an Act of Parliament, Canada's public broadcaster, CBC is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which replaced the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. CBC presents news, talk, music, and entertainment programs in English, French, and Aboriginal languages. The CBC is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 2009, CBC's Television News, Radio News, and Digital News departments merged with CBC News. Michael Goldbloom is the Chairman, and Catherine Tait is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Funded by / Ownership

The CBC Board of Directors previously consisted of 12 members, all appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada. For example, former conservative prime minister Stephen Harper was accused of appointing the board with members that were also conservative donors. In 2016, Brian Mitchell (who was appointed to the CBC board by then prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008) resigned to seek the Conservative Party of Canada's presidency. However, recently this structure has changed, and now the non-partisan Independent Advisory Committee makes "merit-based" appointments. According to a The Globe and Mail article, "A government source said the board would comprise nine 'experts in broadcasting and digital technology, representatives of cultural sectors from across Canada,' as well as 'Indigenous peoples, official-language communities and youth,' who will be charged with compiling a list of candidates whose names will be submitted to the government."

Management

As a crown corporation, the CBC operates at arm's length (autonomously) from the government in its day-to-day business. The corporation is governed by the Broadcasting Act of 1991, under a board of directors and is directly responsible to the Parliament of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage. General management of the organization is in the hands of a president, who is appointed by the Governor General of Canada   in Council, on the advice of the Prime Minister.

According to The Hill Times, a clause in Bill C-60 - an omnibus budget implementation bill introduced by the government of Stephen Joseph Harper in 2013 - "appears to contradict a longstanding arm's-length relationship between the independent CBC and any government in power." The clause allows the "prime minister's cabinet to approve salaries, working conditions and collective bargaining positions for the CBC."

The CBC's main revenue comes from government funding (66%); other sources of revenue include advertising revenue (18%), subscriber fees (8%), and other sources. You can also view CBC business model details here.

Analysis / Bias

In review, when it comes to world news, CBC re-publishes stories from credible sources such as The Associated Press and Reuters: "U.S. stock markets flirt with end of historic rise," and "Indonesian rescuers struggle against heavy rain to reach tsunami-hit villages."

CBC reports Canadian national news with neutral headlines such as: "The 5 most dramatic moments of the year in Ontario politics". When it comes to sourcing, the CBC typically sources other CBC articles. This is acceptable as CBC produces and reports its own national news.

CBC's straight news reporting is consistently low biased, factual, and covers both sides of issues. Editorially, the opinion pages tend to be balanced with some stories slightly left-leaning such as this: "Doug Ford's 'efficiencies' seem to be costing taxpayers an awful lot of money: Robyn Urback and right-leaning: Why low-income earners should actually welcome Ontario's reversal on rent control." Opinion pieces have also been critical of liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. On the whole, slightly more opinion pieces favor the left. Further, the right-leaning National Post has accused the CBC of liberal bias.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Comment: Although I regard the CBC as being generally trustworthy, I nonetheless have some significant concerns and criticisms with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - a Canadian federal Crown corporation that serves ostensively as the national public broadcaster for both radio and television.

Rex Murphy

The CBC is a longtime supporter | employer | enabler of Rex Murphy, a notable climate change denialist.

• [NationalObserver.com, 2021-02-19] Really, Rex Murphy?

A Toronto journalist with deep roots in Vancouver has written an incendiary post explaining why she resigned from the public broadcaster [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation].

Tara Henley opened her piece on the Substack platform  [Wikipedia: Substack, an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription newsletters] by revealing that she's been hearing complaints about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where she worked for several years. "People want to know why, for example, non-binary Filipinos concerned about a lack of LGBT terms in Tagalog  [Tagalog language] is an editorial priority for the CBC, when local issues of broad concern go unreported," she wrote. "Or why our pop culture radio show's coverage of the Dave Chappelle's  Netflix special [note also: Transphobia: Dave Chappelle] failed to include any of the legions of fans, or comics, that did not find it offensive. Or why, exactly, taxpayers should be funding articles that scold Canadians for using words such as 'brainstorm' and "lame.'"

The answer, according to Tara Henley, is that working at CBC now "is to accept the idea that race is the most significant thing about a person, and that some races are more relevant to the public conversation than others". "It is, in my newsroom, to fill out racial profile forms for every guest you book; to actively book more people of some races and less of others," she added.

Tara Henley suggested that the focus on racial issues is resulting in less scrutiny of other issues that affect large numbers of people, such as the housing crisis, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, COVID-19 vaccine mandates, accumulation of wealth by billionaires and power by bureaucrats, and the rising total of overdose deaths. She linked the CBC's current approach to "a radical political agenda that originated on Ivy League campuses in the United States and spread through American social media platforms that monetize outrage and stoke societal division". "It used to be that I was the one furthest to the left in any newsroom, occasionally causing strain in story meetings with my views on issues like the housing crisis," Henley wrote. "I am now easily the most conservative, frequently sparking tension by questioning identity politics. This happened in the span of about 18 months. My own politics did not change."

Over the years, Tara Henley has contributed many articles to the Georgia Straight, some of which are available here. Tara Henley is one of many journalists who've left mainstream media outlets in recent years to share their work in newsletters that readers can subscribe to through the Substack platform.

Canadian Dimension

⚠️ CAUTION: potentially questionable content; carefully scrutinize.

Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL.

History

Founded in 1963, Canadian Dimension is described as a magazine "for people who want to change the world," Canadian Dimension is a forum for left-wing political thought that ranges from New Democratic Party-style social democracy to libertarian socialism. According to their about page "Canadian Dimension is the longest-standing voice of the left in Canada. For more than half a century, Canadian Dimension has provided a forum for lively and radical debate where red meets green, socialists take on social democrats, Indigenous voices are heard, activists report from every corner of the country, and the latest books and films are critically reviewed."

Funded by / Ownership

Canadian Dimension is owned by Dimension Publishing LLC. Revenue is generated through advertising, donations, and subscription fees.

Analysis / Bias

In review, Canadian Dimension publishes news from an anti-capitalist, pro-socialist perspective such as this: "Red Flags: Reflections on racism and radicalism." A quote from the article reads "Capitalism lives and breathes racism. It can't survive without it. It picks it up, cultivates it, and injects it into everything." Canadian Dimension focuses on topics that are associated with the political left such as climate change, Feminism, Labour, and LGBTQ rights. However, many stories do not contain hyperlinked sourcing. When it comes to science, Canadian Dimension typically aligns with the consensus, though when it comes to GMOs they offer more negative reporting. Editorially, Canadian Dimension is far left in support of socialism as they often criticize liberal politicians such as Justin Trudeau for their pro-corporate policies.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Canadian Press

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto. It was established in 1917 as a vehicle to permit Canadian newspapers to exchange their news and information. It currently offers a wide variety of text, audio, photographic, video, and graphic content to websites, radio, television, and commercial clients in addition to newspapers and its long-standing ally, The Associated Press, a global news service based in the United States.

Funded by / Ownership

The Globe and Mail, Square Victoria Communications, Group Torstar own the Canadian Press. Licensing fees for news content generates revenue.

Analysis / Bias

In review, The Canadian Press is similar to Reuters and The Associated Press in that they report the news with minimal bias and excellent sourcing. The website does not publish news but instead sells its news stories to other media outlets.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Capital Research Center  |  InfluenceWatch.org

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources.  See also (this file):

While providing detailed reports with apparently factual financial data (spot fact-checked, e.g., against IRS Form 990 filings), content from Capital Research Center is strongly biased against left-wing ideology (politics and policies).

The Capital Research Center (CRC) was founded in 1984 by Willa Johnson, former senior vice president of The Heritage Foundation. Donors to the Capital Research Center have included foundations run by the Koch family, the Scaife Foundations, and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. As of 2017, CRC had received more than $265,000 from ExxonMobil.

In 2017, the CRC launched the website "Influence Watch" [InfluenceWatch.org], which focuses on identifying funding sources of progressive organizations and initiatives. In Wikipedia, a search for "InfluenceWatch" redirects to the Capital Research Center.

CNN

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources due to biases and multiple failed fact checks.

... CNN is known for its dramatic live coverage of breaking news, some of which has drawn criticism as overly sensationalistic, and for its efforts to be nonpartisan, which have led to accusations of false balance. ...

... The presidency of Donald Trump has led to many prominent controversies involving CNN. The network was accused by critics of giving disproportionate amounts of coverage to Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. CNN president Jeff Zucker defended CNN against the criticism, commenting that out of the Republican Party candidates, Trump was the most willing to give on-air interviews. Trump commented upon the allegations during his speech at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), jokingly referring to CNN as the "Clinton News Network". ...

CNN Bias Rating: LEFT  |  Factual Reporting: MIXED  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY.

Funded by / Ownership

The Cable News Network is owned by WarnerMedia, which is a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by AT&T. CNN's television stations and website are funded through cable subscriptions and an advertising model.

CommonDreams.org

Common Dreams NewsCenter, often referred to simply as Common Dreams, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, U.S.-based news website that declares itself as serving the progressive community. Common Dreams publishes news stories, editorials, and a newswire of current, breaking news. Common Dreams also re-publishes relevant content from numerous other sources such as The Associated Press and had published left-wing writers such as Robert Reich and Molly Ivins. The website also provides links to other relevant columnists, periodicals, radio outlets, news services, and websites.

Factual Reporting: HIGH.

MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

Chronicle Herald, The

⚠️ CAUTION: potentially questionable content; carefully scrutinize, particularly sources.

Factual Reporting: MIXED.

History

Founded in 1874 as The Morning Herald, The Chronicle Herald is a newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Funded by / Ownership

The paper is owned by a Canadian newspaper publishing company, SaltWire Network, and is funded through subscriptions and advertising.

Analysis / Bias

The Chronicle Herald delivers breaking news, opinion, sports, lifestyles, and more. In review, The Chronicle Herald has a right-center bias in reporting as many stories slightly favor the right. When reporting world news they typically use The Associated Press and with national news, they use the Canadian Press, which is similar to The Associated Press. Opinion and editorial pieces also slightly favor the right and typically are light on sourcing. The Chronicle Herald also had to apologize and retract a story about immigrants that was unverified and subsequently picked up by numerous far-right websites and reported as factual news.

Overall, we rate The Chronicle Herald as Right-Center biased in reporting and Mixed factually due to publishing an unverified claim and poor sourcing. (M. Huitsing 9/15/2017) Updated (9/14/2018)

Conversation, The

Operating model

Format

The Conversation articles are written by academics, based on their area of research. The Conversation's editors commission and edit these articles, with stated aims of no jargon and accessibility to a wide audience. Topics include politics, culture, health, science, and the environment. All stories are published under a Creative Commons Attribution/No derivatives licence. The site operates as a not-for-profit, supported by collaborative frameworks for academic institutions.

FactCheck

In 2016, the FactCheck unit of The Conversation became the first fact-checking team in Australia and one of only two worldwide units accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network, which is an alliance of fact-checkers hosted at the Poynter Institute in the United States. The assessment criteria require non-partisanship, fairness, transparency of funding, sources, and methods, and a commitment to open and honest corrections.

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED  |  Factual Reporting: VERY HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

Carbon Brief

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 2010, Carbon Brief describes itself as a "U.K.-based website" that publishes articles on the latest developments about climate science and climate policy. According to their "About Page," Carbon Brief, specializes in "clear, data-driven articles and graphics to help improve the understanding of climate change, both in terms of the science and the policy response."

Carbon Brief's Editor and Director is journalist Leo Hickman. All staff can be found on their about page.

Funded by / Ownership

Carbon Brief states that European Climate Foundation provides their funding. They report on their about page funding totaled £597,888 for the financial year of 2019.

Analysis / Bias

In review, Carbon Brief publishes articles related to climate change, including fact-checking articles in which headlines are generally low-biased "Factcheck: Did climate change contribute to India's catastrophic 'glacial flood'?" Information is usually properly sourced to credible media outlets such as the BBC,   Reuters,   The Associated Press,   CNN,   The New York Times, IPCC, and always factual.

Carbon Brief leans left politically in their concern for climate change, as evidenced by this article "U.S. election: Climate experts react to Joe Biden's victory." A quote from the article concerning the general reaction of scientists is positive as the former president had a climate skeptic view and acted accordingly, the quote reads "I find myself filled with relief and hope after what has been a nightmarish four years of the Trump administration reversing or halting numerous federal climate policies, sidelining and silencing scientists and trying to tamper with scientific reports." In general, they are pro-science in their publications and approach and hold a left-leaning political bias.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date. Carbon Brief is a resource for IFCN fact-checker Climate Feedback.

C-SPAN

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED  |  Factual Reporting: VERY HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Launched in 1979, C-SPAN offers live, unfiltered access to the congress and straightforward government news. C-SPAN also offers a morning call-in talk show called Washington Journal that discusses government and political issues. The C-SPAN network includes three television channels (C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, and C-SPAN3), one radio station (WCSP-FM), and a group of websites that provide streaming media and archives of C-SPAN programs.

According to the website, the mission is to "provide C-SPAN's audience access to the live gavel-to-gavel proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and to other forums where public policy is discussed, debated and decided--all without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view."

Funded by / Ownership

C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit organization owned by the National Cable Satellite Corporation, "funded by a 6¢ per subscriber affiliate fee paid by its cable and satellite affiliates, and does not have advertisements on any of its networks, radio stations, or websites, nor does it ever solicit donations or pledges. The network operates independently, and neither the cable industry nor Congress has control of the content of its programming."

Analysis / Bias

In review, C-SPAN programming is quite literally a camera pointed at congressional events. Headlines on the website using straightforward, non-biased language such as this: "Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Testifies on President's 2020 Budget Request." The website also provides video clips and transcripts from the morning call-in show, Washington Journal, which we have rated as Least Biased. In general, C-SPAN is unfiltered and minimally biased.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

CTV News [Canada]

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED  |  Factual Reporting: HIGH  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY.

History

Established in 1961 and based in Canada, CTV News is the news division of CTV Television Network. The CTV News website features Canada and world news, politics, sports, entertainment, and more. CTV News's parent company BCE Inc. (formerly: Bell Canada Enterprises), was founded by Charles Fleetford Sise in 1880. Charles Fleetford Sise was the second president of Bell Canada (formerly: The Bell Telephone Company of Canada).

Funded by / Ownership

CTV Inc. owns CTV News, a subdivision of Bell Media Inc., a subsidiary of BCE Inc. (formerly: Bell Canada Enterprises), a holding company for Bell Canada.   Bell Media is headquartered in East Toronto, Ontario. Gordon M. Nixon is Chair of the Board of both BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. George Cope is the President & Chief Executive Officer of BCE Inc. and bell canada

CTV News revenue is based on advertising and can find financial reports here.

Analysis / Bias

In review, CTV News republishes articles from The Associated Press,   Agence France-Presse, and their national news agency, the Canadian Press.

Further, CTV News publishes its own articles written by journalists such as "Truth Tracker: No, Justin Trudeau isn't converting from Christianity to Islam." Justin Trudeau is the current Prime Minister of Canada. He is also the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (Center-Left). When publishing articles regarding conservative Doug Ford, there is slightly loaded language such as this: "Doug Ford's chief of staff resigns one day after appointment controversy." This story is sourced from the right-leaning   The Globe and Mail.

Editorially, CTV News does not endorse political candidates. Further, they do not publish opinion content; however, the website does publish the political blog of Don Martin, who tends to lean right with his posts.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Daily Beast, The

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources due to controversies and multiple failed fact checks.

Bias Rating: LEFT  |  Factual Reporting: MIXED  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY.

History

According to its about page, The Daily Beast is a news and opinion website focusing on politics, power, and pop culture headquartered in New York City. The Daily Beast was founded in 2008 by magazine editor, columnist, and talk-show host Tina Brown. In 2010, The Daily Beast and Newsweek merged in a joint venture named The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, which lasted for 2 years. In 2013, Editor-in-Chief and founder Tina Brown announced her departure. John Avlon then became Editor-in-Chief. He was the former associate editor for The New York Sun and speechwriter for former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani. In May of 2018, Avlon announced his departure from The Daily Beast.  Noah Shachtman, co-founder and editor of Wired magazine's national security blog Danger Room serves as the new Editor-in-Chief. Heather Dietrick serves as the CEO. You can view the masthead here.

Funded by / Ownership

The Daily Beast's parent company is IAC (InterActiveCorp). which is run by Barry Diller, who had led the creation of the Fox network. IAC's CEO is Joey Levin. IAC (InterActiveCorp) is a media and internet company comprised of some of the world's well-known brands such as HomeAdvisor, Vimeo, About.com, Dictionary.com, Investopedia, and more. The Daily Beast is primarily funded through online advertising.

Analysis / Bias

According to a Washington Post article, Editor-in-Chief Noah Shachtman describes how he will improve the The Daily Beast. He states, "I want us to lean harder into who we are," explaining further, "That means that if The Daily Beast is in the business of scoops - more scoops. "If we're painting in bright colors now, I want to paint even brighter."

In review, The Daily Beast tends to publish left-leaning stories utilizing sensationalized headlines with emotionally loaded words such as ...

Failed Fact Checks

Fact Check: Was A 'Huge Percentage' of Deported Salvadorans Killed or Harmed Upon Return To El Salvador? - False

"Stephen Paddock used guns that are more powerful and accurate than what Marine infantry carry - and they're totally legal to buy," - False

Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner expressed genuine concern over "tracking devices" when he asked a health official about their potential presence in COVID-19 vaccines during a county board meeting. - False

Daily Caller

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources due to founding and association with disinformationist Tucker Carlson.

The Daily Caller is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel  [disambiguation: not Nilay Patel] in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to The Huffington Post", the Daily Caller quadrupled its audience and became profitable by 2012, surpassing several rival websites by 2013. The Daily Caller is a member of the White House press pool.

The Daily Caller has published false stories on multiple occasions. The website publishes articles that dispute the scientific consensus on climate change  [climate change denial]. Until 2018, the website had also published articles by white supremacists such as Jason Kessler and Peter Brimelow.html. Scott Greer was deputy editor at the Daily Caller. After his departure in June 2018, it was revealed that Scott Greer published articles espousing white nationalists,  racist anti-Black and antisemitic views under a pseudonym in white supremacist publications.

In June 2020, Tucker Carlson left the Daily Caller. Neil Patel confirmed that he had bought out Tucker Carlson's stake and brought in Omeed Malik, a Muslim American - Democrat - as a new partner. The Daily Caller became a minority-owned and minority-run company thereafter.

Bias Rating: RIGHT  |  Factual Reporting: MIXED  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY.

History

Founded in 2010, the Daily Caller is an American news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a paleoconservative political pundit, and Neil Patel  [disambiguation: not Nilay Patel, a former adviser to former Vice President Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney. The current editor-in-chief is Geoff Ingersol.

Funded by / Ownership

The Daily Caller is owned by the Daily Caller, Inc., which does not list its owners or members. The website was initially launched after raising $3 million in funding from businessman Foster Friess. Currently, the Daily Caller is funded through native online advertising, averaging 30 million+ page views per month.  [Aside: BuzzFeed's business model also relies primarily on native advertising.]

Analysis / Bias

In review, the Daily Caller is a strongly conservative news and opinion website involved in publishing controversial stories and false stories. For example, they routinely publish misleading or false information regarding climate change [i.e.; climate change] that goes against the consensus of science  [anthropogenic climate change]. The Daily Caller has also published articles by Jason Kessler, a white supremacist who organized a rally of hundreds of white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia  [Unite the Right rally, 2017-08-{11-12}]. The Daily Caller subsequently scrubbed those articles after the Charlottesville vehicular homicide incident.

The Daily Caller frequently uses loaded emotional language that favors the right: "DEM NOMINEE FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR IS PROGRESSIVE MAYOR WITH CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION SWIRLING AROUND HIM." The Daily Caller usually sources their information to credible media outlets. Still, sometimes they utilize factually mixed sources, such as The Daily Wire, and questionable sources, such as Judicial Watch. In reviewing story content, virtually all content favored the right in story selection and wording, while denigrating the left. The Daily Caller also promotes a favorable view of former President Donald Trump by promoting his policies.

Failed Fact Checks

Daily Dot, The

History

Founded in 2011 by Nicholas White, who is also the current editor, The Daily Dot is a digital media company covering internet culture, politics, and life on the web. According to their about page "In 2011, he launched The Daily Dot as a paper of record for the Web, utilizing little more than Google docs, a newsletter, and a small editorial team."

Funded by / Ownership

The Daily Dot is owned by Daily Dot, LLC, which is based in Austin, Texas. Revenue is primarily derived from advertising.

Analysis / Bias

In review, The Daily Dot mostly covers technology news but also covers culture and politics. For the purpose of this review we will focus on politics. The Daily Dot, at worst uses moderately loaded language in headlines with most being minimal such as this: "MAGA bomber sentenced to 20 years in prison." This story is properly sourced. When reporting on President Trump The Daily Dot does not have a favorable view, with articles such as this: "WTF was Donald Trump doing with his hand at last night's rally?" and this: "The latest terrifying deepfake combines Donald Trump and Mr. Bean." This story is also appropriately sourced to credible left-leaning sources such as Vox and The Washington Post.

When it comes to science, they support the consensus across the board such as this on GMOs: "Nobel laureates urge Greenpeace to drop its crusade against GMOs." In general, The Daily Dot holds a strong left-leaning editorial position, while reporting news factually and with evidence.

Failed Fact Checks

None to date.

Daily Kos

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources.

Daily Kos is a group blog and internet forum focused on the Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site includes glossaries and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of "netroots" activism. Daily Kos was founded in 2002 by Markos Moulitsas and takes the name Kos from the last syllable of his first name, his nickname while in the military.

Overall, we rate the Daily Kos strongly Left Biased based on story selection that almost exclusively favors the left. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to non-vetted content and a few failed fact check and misleading claims.

Factual Reporting: MIXED.

Daily Mail

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources due to tabloid journalism, and other concerns (below).

• Questionable Reasoning: Right, Propaganda, Conspiracy, Some Fake News, Numerous Failed Fact Checks

• Bias Rating: RIGHT

• Factual Reporting: LOW

• Country: United Kingdom (35/180 Press Freedom)

• Media Type: Newspaper

• Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic

• MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY.

---

History

"Established in 1896 by Harold and Alfred Harmsworth and Kennedy Jones, The Daily Mail is a tabloid newspaper in the U.K.. It is edited by Geordie Greig, who took over as editor in November 2018 from Paul Dacre, who had been the editor since 1992. The Daily Mail's parent company is DMGT, which owns newspapers including the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, and The Metro. The chairman is Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere, who inherited the media empire founded by his great-grandfather Harold and his brother Alfred a century earlier. Harold Sidney Harmsworth is also known to be an admirer of Mussolini and a supporter of Nazi Germany."

• [MediaBiasFactCheck] Read our profile on U.K. government influence on media.

Funded by / Ownership

"The Daily Mail's parent company is Daily Mail, and General Trust or DMGT and its chairman are Jonathan Harmsworth who inherited the media empire founded by his great-grandfather Harold Sidney Harmsworth. The Executive Committee is listed on their about page."

"DMGT also publishes the Mail on Sunday and Metro titles. Besides journalism, DMGT includes risk management, event organization such as conferences, training sessions, seminars and is the largest shareholder in property portal Zoopla, sold to Silver Lake. The main revenue of the Daily Mail is digital advertising, print ads, and subscription fees. You can find their 2018 assets report here."

Analysis / Bias

"The Daily Mail is a known supporter of the Conservatives. They are also one of the pro-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit tabloids. According to a Reuters article, the Daily Mail published a controversial headline in response to a Brexit Court ruling criticizing the judges by branding them as 'enemies of the people.' According to CNBC, the Daily Mail has also been criticized by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales to publish fake news articles and "hyped up" headlines and "mastered the art of running stories that aren't true." Further, CNBC reported that DMG media responded by saying, 'DailyMail.com is the very antithesis of click-bait and hype headlines. We just tell stories better than anyone else.'"

"In review, the Daily Mail tends to publish stories utilizing sensationalized headlines with emotionally loaded wordings such as "Woman, 63, 'becomes PREGNANT in the mouth' with baby squid after eating calamari", which is a misleading headline. In 2017, Wikipedia banned the Daily Mail as an 'unreliable' source. When it comes to sourcing information, they use minimal hyperlinked sourcing as well as sourcing to themselves. In general, most stories favor the right; however, the Daily Mail will report either side of the story is sensational enough."

Failed Fact Checks

• [ ... snip ... ]

Conclusion

"Overall, we rate Daily Mail Right Biased and Questionable due to numerous failed fact checks and poor information sourcing." (7/19/2016) Updated (M. Huitsing 3/10/2021)

Daily Telegraph, The ["The Telegraph"]

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources due to tabloid journalism, and other concerns (below).

Bias Rating: RIGHT  |  Factual Reporting: MIXED  |  MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY.

History

... in 1969, it became The Daily Telegraph, sometimes referred to as The Telegraph.  The Telegraph covers news, politics, sports, technology, business, money, opinion, lifestyle, and travel. Chris Evans is the editor, Nick Hugh is the CEO of The Telegraph, and David King is the Executive Director at Telegraph Media Group (TMG).

Funded by / Ownership

Telegraph Media Group (TMG) owns The Telegraph, which is owned by Press Acquisitions Ltd., which in turn is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. In 2004, Twin Brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay acquired The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph from the Canadian media company Hollinger Inc.  [Conrad Black] for £665 million. For a complete list of Board members, see here. The Telegraph Media Group's 2017 Financial results can be found here. The Telegraph is subscription-based, and only subscribers have unlimited access to Premium articles. They also rely on advertising to generate revenue.

Analysis / Bias

According to the Financial Times, in 2015, The Telegraph urged its readers to vote Conservative via email from its editor Chris Evans. As a result, the paper was fined £30,000 by the data regulator, the independent office that regulates the organization's data use. Further, The Telegraph is strongly biased in favor of the Conservative party, earning the nickname "Daily Torygraph."

During the 2017 elections, The Telegraph backed Theresa May ( Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016): "Vote Conservative for an independent, prosperous Britain." Here is a quote from the article demonstrating conservative bias "Only Theresa May has the attitude and the experience necessary to get the job done - and to get it done in the cleanest, most comprehensive way. Jeremy Corbyn is not only incompetent and wrongheaded but dangerous." They also publish articles strongly biased against the Labor party such as this: "A Corbyn government would be a calamity - everything else is just noise."

The Telegraph also republishes stories from credible news media such as Reuters and The Associated Press.

The Telegraph regularly utilizes emotionally loaded language in their headlines and source poorly, either through quotations or self-referral sourcing to themselves. They also routinely publish clickbait tabloid-style news such as "Is this workout the secret to Jennifer Aniston's youthful physique at 50?" and crime stories in their News section: "Libby Squire suspect charged with stealing sex toys and knickers from other women months before the disappearance of student."

Recently, The Telegraph issued an apology letter to Melania Trump for publishing false statements regarding her family and her modeling career and also agreed to pay substantial damages' over the article they published about the First Lady.

Failed Fact Checks

The U.K's independent fact-checker, Full Fact, has found several false claims by The Telegraph. Climate Feedback has also found misleading information regarding human-influenced climate change [i.e.; climate change].

Daily Wire, The

🛑 STOP! Excluded from sources.

The Daily Wire is an American conservative news website and media company founded in 2015 by political commentator Ben Shapiro and director Jeremy Boreing.

History

The Daily Wire was conceived by Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing, who both worked for TruthRevolt, a news website that was formerly funded by the David Horowitz Freedom Center. After the Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing secured several million dollars in seed funding from the billionaire brothers Dan Howard Wilks and Farris Cullen Wilks, The Daily Wire was launched in 2015. Farris Wilks manages Forward Publishing LLC, which publishes The Daily Wire. The website's headquarters were in Los Angeles, California. In September 2020, Shapiro announced that The Daily Wire headquarters would move to Nashville, Tennessee.

---

Dan and Farris Wilks

Dan Howard Wilks and Farris Cullen Wilks, also known as the Wilks Brothers, are American petroleum industry businessmen. Sons of a bricklayer, the Wilks brothers established Wilks Masonry in 1995. The Wilks brothers went on to found an early hydraulic fracking company, Frac Tech, in 2002, and eventually became billionaires. In 2011 the Wilks brothers sold their 70% interest in Frac Tech for $3.5 billion. The Wilks brothers reside in Cisco, Texas.

The Wilks brothers are major funders of conservative causes, including The Daily Wire,  PragerU (a recipient of funding from DonorsTrust), and the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Ted Cruz.

[ ... snip ... ]

The Wilks brothers -- along with political commentator Ben Shapiro - helped launch and fund The Daily Wire, a conservative news and opinion website in 2015. Additionally, the Wilks Brothers provided early stage funding to PragerU, a conservative YouTube channel and media company started by Dennis Prager to further conservative causes. The Wilks brothers are major donors to conservative advocacy group Empower Texans.

---

[ ... snip ... ]

Criticism & controversies

According to Snopes, "DailyWire.com has a tendency to share stories that are taken out of context or not verified", including reports on protesters digging up Confederate graves, Democratic congresspeople refusing to stand for a fallen Navy SEAL's widow, and Harvard University holding segregated commencement ceremonies. The credibility checker NewsGuard assessed that The Daily Wire "severely violates basic standards of credibility and transparency", "often misstates facts to advance partisan opinion" and "frequently publishes false and misleading information, particularly in stories about abortion".

The Daily Wire published articles expressing skepticism that climate change is occurring and that humans contribute to climate change. Climate scientists have described the articles as being inaccurate and misleading.

The Daily Wire incorrectly credited the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary, Ben Carson, with finding over $500 billion in accounting errors made by the Obama administration. FactCheck.org reported that the errors were discovered and published by HUD's independent inspector general before Ben Carson became secretary.

The investigative website Popular Information accused The Daily Wire in October 2019 of violating Facebook's policies by creating 14 anonymous pages promoting The Daily Wire's content, exclusively to boost engagement. A new Facebook policy might force them to add their ownership to The Daily Wire's pages. Facebook told Popular Information that Facebook would take no action against The Daily Wire.

"A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources."

"Overall, we rate The Daily Wire Right Biased based on story selection and editorial positions that align with the conservative right. We also rate Questionable due to the promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and numerous failed fact checks."

• Questionable Reasoning: Conspiracy Theories, Propaganda, Failed Fact Checks

• Bias Rating: RIGHT

• Factual Reporting: MIXED

• Country: USA (45/180 Press Freedom)

• Media Type: Website

• Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic

• MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY.

---

History

"The Daily Wire is a politically conservative American news and opinion website founded in 2015 by conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, who currently serves as Editor-in-Chief. Michael Knowles is managing editor, and Jeremy Boreing is Chief Operating Officer."

• "Read our profile on the United States government and media."

Funded by / Ownership

"Forward Publishing LLC owns The Daily Wire. Forward Publishing is owned and managed by the billionaire Wilks Brothers, who made their money through the fossil fuel industry with their company Frac Tech. The Wilks brothers are also a part of the extreme Christian Right who interpret the bible literally. The website is funded through a subscription and advertising model."

Analysis / Bias

"The Daily Wire presents news with a hyper-partisan conservative bias in reporting and wording. For example, headlines are usually sensational and utilize strong emotional language such as this: "Democrats Boo God. Then They Quote The Bible To Attack Trump." Virtually every story favors the right and denigrates the left. However, The Daily Wire does not always report favorably on President Trump and his policies. When it comes to science, they often do not align with climate scientists' consensus that humans are a significant factor in climate change. See the fact checks below."

Failed Fact Checks

[ ... snip ... ]

Conclusions

"Overall, we rate The Daily Wire Right Biased based on story selection and editorial positions that align with the conservative right. We also rate The Daily Wire Questionable due to The Daily Wire's promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and numerous failed fact checks. (9/2/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 04/17/2021)"

DCReport.org

Factual Reporting: HIGH.

DeBrief, The

⚠️ CAUTION: potentially questionable content; carefully scrutinize. Concerns include the continual shilling of the U.S. Navy / TTSA / Luis Elizondo / Chris Mellon / ... Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) "threat" trope. The Debrief cofounder MJ Banias  [local copy] is an author and freelance journalist who specializes in paranormal culture and other pseudoscientific interests.

Rebelliously Curious in Exploring Frontier Science and Innovative Technology. The Debrief is a news site providing a public venue for credible reporting on science, tech, and defense news, with an eye for the cutting edge science and technology of tomorrow.

Who we are

• Micah Hanks: Co-Founder/Creator, Editor-in-Chief

• Tim McMillan: Co-Founder, Executive Director

• MJ Banias: Co-Founder, Content Director

• Steve McDaniel: IT Infrastructure, Developer

Our Story

The Debrief was born out of the rebelliously curious minds of Micah Hanks, Tim McMillan, and MJ Banias. Our fundamental belief is that the world of tomorrow is built on the progress and imagination of today. Noticing a significant gap in rigorous reporting on frontier technology, future science, the world of defense, and knowledge on the periphery of human understanding, we aspire to raise the bar on the discussion of these issues, always with a mind for fairness in reporting, a respect for national security, and the hope for a bright future for humankind.

Our Mission

The Debrief was launched to explore and report on developments in science, defense and intelligence, frontier technology, and knowledge that exists on the periphery of human understanding. We operate under the core belief that the novel frontiers in science and technology are the incubator from which transformative and non-linear innovation is born. We aspire to bring attention to innovations in a number of fields and disciplines through informed-and fair-reporting and media coverage. Where warranted, we also believe phenomena in nature that approaches areas where scientific paradigms currently do not extend must also be examined, and discussed with journalistic integrity and rigor.

Transparency

Transparency, whether in areas of government or media and journalism, is of great importance to us. The Debrief was launched as an independent endeavor, homebuilt and self-funded at the time of its launch by us, and aimed at exploring the concepts that fascinate us with journalistic integrity and rigor.

Direction

The Debrief is centered on the core belief that the novel frontiers of science and technology is the incubator from which transformative and non-linear innovation is born. It is our view that a focus must be placed on today's cutting-edge science and technology, and that unconventional approaches to problems our world faces must be considered. We aspire to bring attention to innovations in a number of fields and disciplines through informed-and fair-reporting and media coverage. Where warranted, we believe phenomena in nature that approaches areas where scientific paradigms currently do not extend must also be examined.

Mission Statement

Our complete Mission Statement, which covers many of our goals and interests, can be read online here.

Democracy Now!  |  DemocracyNow.org

Amy Goodman

Democracy Now! is an hour-long American TV, radio and internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman - who also acts as the show's executive producer - and Juan González. ...

Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Amy Goodman's investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement and Chevron Corporation's role in Nigeria. Since 1996, Amy Goodman has been the main host of Democracy Now!, a progressive global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet. Amy Goodman has received awards for her work, including the Thomas Merton Award in 2004, a Right Livelihood Award in 2008, and an Izzy Award in 2009 for "special achievement in independent media". ... In 2014 Amy Goodman was awarded the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence by Harvard University's Nieman Foundation for Journalism.