Newsguard Study Finds No Bias Against Conservative News Outlets

Analysis by the Complexity Science Hub shows the misinformation watchdog has a high level of reliability across countries and provides stable ratings for news sources Flags and dotted lines indicate when countries were added and dashed lines with green and red arrows highlight the top five major score changes. The height of the bars describes the number of sources added vs. changed, with colors indicating the proportions. Also shown are the average trustworthiness of the sources in green text boxes. [Vienna, 29.01.2025]—A recent study evaluating the NewsGuard database, a leading media reliability rating service, has found no evidence supporting the allegation that NewsGuard is biased against conservative news outlets.

Actually, the results suggest it’s unlikely that NewsGuard has an inherent bias in how it selects or rates right-leaning sources in the US, where trustworthiness is especially low. “It seems unlikely that NewsGuard has an inherent bias against conservative sources, both in selecting and giving them lower ratings. Instead, the US media system is flooded with right-wing sources that tend to not adhere to professional editorial practices,” says first author Jula Lühring, from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH). Lühring and her colleagues analyzed NewsGuard’s trustworthiness ratings for more than 11,000 news sources in nine countries: United States, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, and New Zealand. The results showed that the ratings have remained consistent since 2022, with particularly stable coverage in the US, France, Italy, Germany, and Canada. Flags and dotted lines indicate when countries were added and dashed lines with green and red arrows highlight the top five major score changes.

The height of the bars describes the number of sources added vs. changed, with colors indicating the proportions. Also shown are the average trustworthiness of the sources in green text boxes. As debates over media bias intensify in the wake of the US presidential election, new research suggests that lower trustworthiness ratings for conservative news outlets reflect their actual practices rather than systematic bias from... A comprehensive analysis by the Complexity Science Hub evaluated more than 11,000 news sources across nine countries, finding no evidence that NewsGuard, a leading media reliability rating service, discriminates against conservative outlets in either... “It seems unlikely that NewsGuard has an inherent bias against conservative sources, both in selecting and giving them lower ratings.

Instead, the US media system is flooded with right-wing sources that tend to not adhere to professional editorial practices,” said Jula Lühring, the study’s lead author from the Complexity Science Hub. The research, published in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, examined NewsGuard’s ratings across the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, and New Zealand since 2022. A recent study evaluating the NewsGuard database, a leading media reliability rating service, has found no evidence supporting the allegation that NewsGuard is biased against conservative news outlets. In fact, the results suggest it's unlikely that NewsGuard has an inherent bias in how it selects or rates right-leaning sources in the US, where trustworthiness is especially low. The study, conducted by a team of researchers from renowned institutions, aimed to investigate the objectivity and fairness of NewsGuard's ratings. The findings shed light on the transparency and integrity of the platform in evaluating news sources across the political spectrum.

NewsGuard employs a rigorous evaluation process that involves assessing news websites based on nine criteria, including credibility, transparency, and journalistic standards. Each website is assigned a color-coded rating based on these criteria, providing users with a quick visual indicator of the site's reliability. Despite concerns raised by some critics regarding potential bias in NewsGuard's ratings, the study revealed no significant evidence to support these claims. The researchers analyzed a diverse sample of news sources, including those with varying political affiliations, and found consistent and fair evaluations across the board. One of the key implications of this study is the impact on public perception of media trustworthiness. In an era marked by widespread misinformation and distrust of the media, platforms like NewsGuard play a crucial role in helping users navigate the vast landscape of online news sources.

(Image by Tero Vesalainen on Shutterstock) VIENNA — In today’s digital world, determining what information to trust online has become increasingly challenging. According to researchers, the total volume of false news remains relatively small—accounting for just 0.15% of all news consumption. Still, its impact on public discourse and social division continues to raise concerns. A new study published in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media examines one of the most prominent tools researchers use to identify untrustworthy news sources: NewsGuard. Since its launch in 2019, NewsGuard has emerged as a widely used database for researchers studying online misinformation, with more than 12,000 websites having been evaluated by the company.

The service employs professional journalists and editors who rate news sources based on nine journalistic criteria, generating trustworthiness scores from 0 to 100. While initially focused on U.S. media outlets, NewsGuard has expanded to evaluate sources across multiple countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Austria, Australia, and New Zealand. A team of researchers led by Jula Luehring at the University of Vienna and the Complexity Science Hub conducted an extensive analysis of NewsGuard’s database from 2019 to 2024, examining how its ratings have... Their findings reveal both NewsGuard’s reliability and the potential pitfalls of oversimplifying its nuanced ratings system. 📰 Study debunks claims of bias against conservative news outlets by NewsGuard 🗞️ A new study from the Complexity Science Hub has analyzed the reliability of NewsGuard, the leading media rating service, and found...

In fact, the study suggests that NewsGuard’s approach is fair and consistent in how it evaluates sources, regardless of political ideology. 🇺🇸 Why it matters: With rising political pressures in the US, especially from the far-right, the study’s conclusions come at a critical time. There’s been increasing political rhetoric accusing NewsGuard of censorship, and this research provides strong evidence to counter those claims. Key findings: 📰 No bias found: The study found no inherent bias in NewsGuard’s ratings of right-leaning news outlets, even in the United States, where media trustworthiness is especially low. 📰 Stable ratings across countries: NewsGuard’s trustworthiness scores have remained consistent over time and across nine countries—including the US, UK, Canada, and Germany—proving the platform's global reliability. 📰 US trustworthiness lowest: News media outlets based in the US consistently earned lower trustworthiness ratings than those based in other countries, particularly for right-leaning sources.

With Jula Lühring, Hannah Metzler, Apeksha Shetty and Jana Lasser #Misinformation #MediaBias #Trustworthiness #NewsGuard #MediaResearch #FactChecking #ConservativeNews #MediaReliability 👉 https://bit.ly/3Qb8jbM “News is the hottest property in media.” This News Alliance research shows the value of trusted online news to consumers of all ages, and the halo effect that could have on brands - if... A vital campaign to help safeguard journalism & democracy. More agencies need to sign up! An important new piece in Campaign UK highlights fresh insights into the value of trusted news. The full research from Newsworks and The News Alliance will be published during #JournalismMatters Week in November – but some early insights are already available: https://lnkd.in/eZXax_mh

When the institutions stop trusting the press, and the press stops trusting the institutions, everyone else loses the plot. This week, the #Pentagon unveiled what it called a “next generation” press corps — dozens of newly credentialed reporters granted access to the building after signing a 21-page rulebook dictating how they could report,... One clause within the rulebook even forbids journalists from “soliciting government employees to violate the law by providing confidential information,” a restriction media lawyers say could criminalize routine reporting and weaken accountability. Many of the country’s major news organizations — The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, The Associated Press — refused to sign. They turned in their badges instead. That tells you everything you need to know about the moment we’re in.

For years, the relationship between power and the press has been uneasy but essential. The press held institutions accountable. Institutions accepted that friction as the price of transparency. It wasn’t comfortable, but it worked. Now that trust is collapsing from both sides. Institutions have grown defensive, determined to control the message.

Journalists have grown suspicious, convinced that every gate is a wall. And in that vacuum, something new has rushed in: a media class built on outrage, allegiance, and algorithmic validation. Access has become performative. Credibility, optional. What’s happening at the Pentagon is not just political. It’s cultural.

The traditional referee of public discourse, the press, is being replaced by competing players all claiming to call the game. I’ve made a career out of asking questions: about politics, to politicians, to constituents, to tech executives, to customers, to colleagues. My father instilled in me the bedrock principle that the best question is the one you never stop asking. I carry that belief and think newsrooms have to value curiosity over clicks and friction over favor. If we lose that instinct to question, to verify, to listen, we don’t just lose journalism. We lose our collective memory.

Because when no one is trusted to tell the story, everyone becomes their own narrator. And eventually, no one knows which version is true. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g-PgQ8w6 Resharing a perspective from our CEO Lesley Gold on the erosion of trust between institutions and the press in light of the #Pentagon's new credentialing requirements—and why that loss threatens our shared understanding of... The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into media rating organizations like Ad Fontes Media and NewsGuard, raising serious concerns about fairness in digital advertising. Perhaps more importantly, concerns about who gets to shape public trust.

At the heart of the probe is whether these agencies have colluded with advertisers to marginalize conservative news outlets through low credibility scores. That kind of coordination could violate antitrust law. More broadly, it could skew the online information marketplace. Critics have long pointed out that some news ratings systems consistently score conservative platforms lower than their liberal peers.

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