University of Kwazulu-Natal

35 Major Us News Sources Ranked By Trustworthiness

Bonisiwe Shabane
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35 major us news sources ranked by trustworthiness

Vote up the American media news sources you find most trustworthy. Every person, no matter how smart, wise, or educated, will have inherent biases. It's not just that we have a "right" or “left” politics bias, but rather that we bring prejudice, feelings, and inclinations to everything life has to offer. Bias is influenced by experiences we've had, the social circles we associate with, and what we know (or more often what we don't know). Bias is unavoidable; being aware of one's biases is difficult; and eliminating all bias is impossible. With all that said, we do have expectations for our news media to be bias free.

That's why many newspapers, programs, and channels have had slogans that emphasize how unbiased, truthful, and trustworthy they are or claim to be: “All the News That's Fit to Print.” “The Most Trusted Name... Yet, even though there is social expectation for news to be impartial, that doesn't mean every source is, nor does it mean every individual wants objective reporting. The United States is becoming more politically polarized, as has been the general trend for the last few decades. American citizens have grown more ideological in their positions, our politicians more partisan, and news media reflect and feed that polarization. For all the claims that “Americans want unbiased news,” ratings and readership prove otherwise, which has led a few experts and correspondents to believe there is some discrepancy over what “biased” and “unbiased” really... A few quick notes about the construction of this list: Every news source listed is produced in the United States.

The descriptions of each news source are based solely upon facts about their founding, certain specific familiar shows or columns, and descriptions the sources claim about themselves to prevent any further bias from the... Explore data on 30 major news sources with our interactive tool Americans now navigate a quickly changing information environment, with a wide variety of news sources across many different platforms and channels. We asked Americans about 30 specific news sources – whether they are aware of each one, whether they regularly get news there and whether they trust or distrust it. Select from the buttons below to explore different questions by age and political party. Read more in the accompanying report.

Refer to the methodology and frequently asked questions for more details, including how we chose these 30 sources. The American news landscape remains polarized by political party identification, and to some extent age, with few news sources both used and trusted widely among Democrats and Republicans. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to trust the news in general, as well as to trust most specific major outlets included in YouGov's 2025 poll of trust in media. Democrats and Republicans find common ground on sources for financial news, but hold vastly different opinions on most other news sources, including the two used by the most Americans: CNN and Fox News. In our latest poll, we ask Americans about each of 52 news sources, including their use of it in the past month and its trustworthiness. In doing so, we revisit questions asked on similar surveys in 2024, 2023, and 2022.

The results reflect American views on the news media and on specific outlets — including opinions of many people who haven't gotten news from the outlets any time recently. Some news organizations are used more heavily or elicit opinions from more Americans, and these outlets are more likely to sit at the top and bottom of these charts. Like in last year's survey, we asked Americans in 2025 whether they find news from each of 52 outlets very trustworthy, trustworthy, untrustworthy, very untrustworthy, or neither trustworthy nor untrustworthy. Using these results, we calculate each outlet's net trust score – that is, how much more likely Americans are to say the outlet's news is trustworthy or very trustworthy than untrustworthy or very untrustworthy. The Media Bias Chart at Biasly offers a rating of various news agencies. Biasly is an independent news and bias rating agency and is dedicated to Fighting Fear with Facts.

How it Works Government/Non-Profit/Education News Chart Biasly’s Media Bias Chart is an interactive, two-dimensional visual tool that maps hundreds of news sources based on their political bias (x-axis) and reliability (y-axis). What sets the chart apart is its AI-powered Bias Meter, which combines machine learning with human analyst input to generate objective bias and reliability scores for each outlet. It enables users to quickly see where a source falls on the political spectrum — from Very Left to Very Right — while also evaluating the overall trustworthiness of its reporting. Biasly rates news sources using a methodology that blends artificial intelligence with human analyst review.

Each article is scanned for linguistic markers like word choice, tone, framing, headline structure, and source selection — all of which may indicate political leanings. These are then analyzed using Biasly’s proprietary algorithms to assign a bias score and reliability score. Analysts further validate AI assessments by checking for factual accuracy, source credibility, and patterns in story selection or omission. This combined process ensures the bias ratings are not only data-driven but also contextually sound. Absolutely. Educators frequently use Biasly’s Media Bias Chart as a powerful visual aid to better understand and explain the complex landscape of media bias.

It’s an ideal tool for integrating into media literacy curricula, helping students grasp how political leanings and framing influence news coverage. To support classroom and newsroom use, Biasly also offers a downloadable and printable version of the Media Bias Chart, which educators can display during lessons or distribute in workshops. In addition, Biasly’s Media Literacy Education Platform offers structured courses and resources for both students and professionals to deepen their understanding of bias and media literacy. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to trust the news in general, as well as to trust most of the specific outlets included in YouGov’s 2025 poll. Democrats and Republicans find common ground on sources for financial news, but hold vastly different opinions on most other news sources, including the two used by the most Americans: CNN and Fox News. Like in last year’s survey, YouGov asked Americans in 2025 whether they find news from each of 52 outlets very trustworthy, trustworthy, untrustworthy, very untrustworthy, or neither trustworthy nor untrustworthy.

Using these results, researchers calculated each outlet’s net trust score — that is, how much more likely Americans are to say the outlet’s news is trustworthy or very trustworthy than untrustworthy or very untrustworthy. By this measure, The Weather Channel remains top ranked as the most trusted news source, as it was in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Americans are 49 percentage points more likely to call The Weather Channel trustworthy than they are to call it untrustworthy — up from +43 last year. Like last year, The Weather Channel is followed by two public broadcasters: the BBC (+26) and PBS (+25). By far the least-trusted outlet included in the YouGov poll is the National Enquirer (-37, better than -44 last year, when it also ranked last for trust). The outlets trusted least besides the Enquirer are, like last year, Infowars (-15) and Breitbart News (-7).

Average net trust in news outlets increased slightly this year — to +8 from +4 in 2024 — after a move in the opposite direction last year from 2023. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say they trust the news in general. For 44 of the 52 outlets asked about (85%), a greater share of Democrats trust than distrust them. That’s true for only 21 outlets among Republicans (40%). See this visualization first on the Voronoi app. This was originally posted on our Voronoi app.

Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. America’s trust in the media has plateaued over the last few years with only around one-in-three Americans saying they trust the news. We visualize the percentage of Americans who trust (or distrust) various news organizations. Importantly, this is not an exhaustive list of media brands. Data is sourced from a 2024 YouGov survey commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Local TV stations and newspapers are still Americans’ most trusted news organizations, despite the gutting of local news outlets over the last decade.

The data presented below reflects Media Bias/Fact Check’s (MBFC) longstanding commitment to objectively rating media sources based on factual reporting and political bias. All evaluations are conducted using a consistent and structured methodology developed to reduce subjective influence. The numbers in the table represent live totals that evolve as new sources are added or re-evaluated, but the principles behind those ratings remain constant. MBFC uses a composite scoring system that rates each source on a scale from −10 (Extreme Left) to +10 (Extreme Right). This score is derived from four weighted categories: Economic Policy (35%), Social Values (35%), Straight News Balance (15%), and Editorial Bias (15%). The intent is to assess the ideological character of the content, not the publisher’s intent or ownership.

Scores are based on actual content and sourcing, not affiliation. A left or right-leaning outlet is rated as such only when its output consistently reflects those leanings. Factual reporting is rated using a weighted formula based on four criteria: The average bias rating of +1.12 reflects a volume effect, not methodological bias. Several interconnected factors contribute to this outcome: In this article, we will take a look at the 15 Most Trusted News Publications in the US, along with a snapshot of the US news industry.

Journalism is an industry heavily dependent on consumer trust, but where does the US stand in that environment? According to the 2024 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, only 32% of Americans express trust in ‘most news most of the time.’ Among the news brands included in this survey, the highest trust levels... Other news channels fared pretty low in comparison. ABC News, BBC News, and CBS News emerged as the most trustworthy, with 52% of survey responders expressing trust in them. Meanwhile, the highest levels of distrust were received by Fox News (43%) and CNN (37%). Despite the trust in local newspapers, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University reported that in 2023, 2.5 local newspapers closed every week.

This left more than half of US counties without reliable access to local news. Trust in the media also ties in with press freedom, as a lack of censorship allows news channels to paint an unbiased picture of current events. The 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also painted a grim picture of the United States, which ranked 55th out of 180 countries, falling ten points in one year. According to RSF, the growing distrust in media partly results from political officials making antagonistic comments, going as far as calling for journalists to be jailed. Out of all five indicators for the index, the US received its worst ranking in the security indicator, coming at the 118th spot. This indicator measures the risk of physical, psychological, or professional harm to journalists.

The RSF also noted that journalism all around the globe is under political pressure, with the political indicator of the index recording a global fall of 7.6 points, the highest among all indicators. Amid increasing distrust, the modes of news consumption are also shifting drastically. The 21st century ushered in the era of digital news, which ultimately impacted the print industry. According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the weekday circulation of daily newspapers in the US decreased by more than half from 2002 to 2020, going from 55.8 million to 24.2 million. Along with circulation, the revenue also dropped significantly. In 2002, newspaper publishers were making $46.2 billion in revenue, a number which decreased to $22.1 billion by 2020.

The decrease was 27.8% from 2002 to 2010 and 33.6% from 2010 to 2020. A report published by the Press Gazette in February 2024 revealed that from January to September 2023, the combined average daily print circulation of the top 25 newspaper publications in the US decreased 14%,... The largest daily newspaper in the US is the Wall Street Journal, which had an average daily publication of 555,182 from six months to September 2023. Despite being the biggest name in the US print news industry, the average publication of WSJ fell 14% year-on-year in 2023. As of December 2023, WSJ had 3.5 million digital subscribers. Overall, it is worth noting that the year-on-year print circulation increased for none of the top 25 US dailies during the timeframe of this report.

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