Which Major Us News Outlets Consistently Rank As Least

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 6, 2025, 7:02 PM

which major us news outlets consistently rank as least

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. 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: 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... 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. 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. Nearly five months into President Donald Trump’s second term, trust in the American news media is sharply divided, with deep partisan and generational splits shaping where Americans turn for information — and how much... A new YouGov study, based on a May survey of 2,211 U.S. adults, reveals that — aside from The Weather Channel — few news outlets earn high marks from both Democrats and Republicans. The survey was conducted May 11-12 via YouGov's online market research panel of nearly 7 million Americans.

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). For the past five+ years, analysts at Ad Fontes Media have fully rated thousands of news sources from various platforms — TV/video, podcasts and websites. One thing has become apparent: Overall, content from web/print sources is more reliable and less biased than content from other media platforms. How do we know? We’ve analyzed tens of thousands of individual content pieces — online articles, YouTube videos, podcast and TV episodes — and the weighted average of all content from a particular source determines where that source... (Read more about how we rate sources here).

The chart itself is divided into different colored sections (for a complete explanation of the various sections, read this). The sources in the green box (top middle) of the chart are recommended by our team to provide minimally biased and reliable, fact-based information. More than 2,700 fully rated sources fall within the green box; we call these our “recommended” sources. Of these recommended sources, 75% are web/print; 12% are podcasts; 13% are TV/video. Of course, there are good and bad sources of information from every media platform. But we’ve compiled solid evidence that web/print sources should be the most trusted overall.

Of the 2,600 web/print sources we’ve rated, 79% of them fall within the green box. Journalism geared toward a younger audience seems to be in crisis, especially in the United States. With MTV News and BuzzFeed News shutting down and Vice Media declaring bankruptcy, former darlings of the new media world of the 21st century seem to be going under amid the macroeconomic turmoil caused... As our chart based on a recent YouGov survey shows, U.S. citizens tend to rely on well-established institutions when it comes to journalism. Topping the list with a net trust score of 53 is The Weather Channel.

The publication operates weather.com and a dedicated pay television channel offering weather forecasts and weather event coverage since 1982. One of its two parent companies, The Weather Company, is co-owned by IBM since 2016. Coming in second and third are the non-commercial nonprofit Public Service Broadcasting and the world's oldest national broadcaster, the BBC, which was founded in 1922. On the other end of the spectrum are right-leaning or outright right-wing publications like Infowars, The Daily Caller and Breitbart News, which are distrusted by more survey participants from the representative sample than those... Infowars, in particular, is seen as an untrustworthy source, with a net trust score of -16. This might be attributable to host Alex Jones being recently found guilty in two defamation cases connected to the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Jones claimed the event was staged and was sentenced to $1.5 billion in punitive damages payable to the victims' families. This chart shows the news outlets with the highest and lowest net trust score in the United States. Can I integrate infographics into my blog or website?

Which Major Us News Outlets Consistently Rank As Least

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