About Labels
Learn About Our Fact-Based Labeling System
The search results feature our proprietary bias labeling classification. We assign a political bias label to each publication. The publication's bias label is indicated next to its articles. When choosing a label for a publication, factors we take into consideration include, but are not limited to: ownership, funding, content, affiliations, and media freedom environment.
Left-wing
A decisive left-wing bias, supporting left-wing political groups and promoting left-wing issues, social liberalism, left wing economics, anti capitalism, anti-imperialism and nationalism in some instances. These include World Socialist Web Site or Greenpeace International.
Center-left
Moderate left-wing or liberal leanings, who despite some bias, still publish neutral or ‘opposing’ views; such as The Guardian or Le Monde.
Neutral
Generally balanced media sources which are transparent about their ownership and funding, give a space for different or opposing views or those which are not significantly politically biased, such as the Associated Press or Reuters.
Public Broadcaster
Public broadcasters and news agencies largely financed by the state but with editorial independence, such as the BBC or the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). These publishers should be neutral, governments should not exert editorial control over these broadcasters. Their content should not have a pro-government bias, otherwise they will be labeled as pro-government or government propaganda.
Gov't Institution
Official governmental bodies such as the U.S. Department of Education, and intergovernmental organizations such as the World Health Organization.
Center-right
Moderate right-wing or conservative leanings, who despite some bias, still publish neutral or ‘opposing’ views such as the National Post or the Boston Herald.
Right-wing
Decisive right-wing bias. They may support right-wing political groups and will promote right-wing issues including social conservatism, free market economics and nationalism in some instances. These include The Daily Mail and FOX News.
Pro-Government
Outlets displaying moderate pro-government bias, often found in limited media freedom environments. They can be under direct government’s influence or subject to interference in editorial policy and self-censorship, such as Al Jazeera or Hurriyet Daily News.
Gov't Propaganda
Directly or indirectly serve the interests of a specific government and spread overt pro-government propaganda, including false, radical, and hateful narratives, such as Xinhua or Fars News Agency.
Indeterminate
Publications which do not fit into the above category structure. They may be unreliable, conflicting, or not provide enough information about funding and ownership to verify their position.
(Note: Political labels represent the opinions of Newsmatics staff based on the facts available to us at the time of review; others may differ in their assessments. These opinions are protected by the First Amendment rights of Newsmatics as a U.S. corporation. We make every effort to accurately document other information from publicly available sources. We encourage users to report corrections or make suggestions to our staff.)