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The bias ratings of two major news providers — The Associated Press and The Guardian — were moved from Lean Left to Left following numerous AllSides bias reviews by everyday Americans and a panel of experts on the left, center, and right. These changes are reflected in version 10.1 of the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.
AP Bias Rating Moved from Lean Left to Left
The Associated Press' bias deserves a high amount of scrutiny because it is the largest wire srvice in the world. Founded in 1846, AP was historically considered the gold standard of objective journalism. However, news media has undergone major shifts in the last 10 years or so, and AllSides has observed a trend of AP content moving farther to the left.
Overall, the Associated Press' bias rating was moved from Lean Left (-1.3) to Left (-3.1) following the results of an AllSides Editorial Review and the results of the Oct. 2024 Blind Bias Survey. In the survey, 707 Americans rated AP as Left (-3.72) on average.
Month to month, AllSides bias panelists review hundreds of articles that are published as part of AP wire content for bias audit clients that rely on AP as well as news content that runs on apnews.org. The Editorial Review panel found types of bias in AP including story choice bias, subjective qualifiers, slant, emotionalism, analysis presented as fact, sensationalism, and bias by viewpoint. The panel agreed that "AP does not help the reader to understand conservatives and justifies the left perspective more often."
In the blind survey, respondents who rated their own bias as Left, Center, Lean Right, or Right, rated Associated Press as Left, on average; only respondents with a Lean Left bias rated Associated Press as Lean Left, on average. Independents and Republicans rated Associated Press as Left, while Democrats saw Associated Press as Lean Left.
AP appears on the AllSides Media Bias Chart and has been moved in version 10.1.
The Guardian Bias Rating Moved from Lean Left to Left
The Guardian has long been rated Lean Left by AllSides, but it was time for another review. The Guardian was reviewed by a panel of bias experts on the left, center, and right, who opted to move AllSides' bias rating for the outlet from Lean Left (-2.4) to Left (-3.5).
A full bias breakdown can be found on The Guardian's source page. In summary, reviewers found strong Left word choice bias, slant, story choice bias, sensationalism, and content that actively demonizes American conservatives/Republicans.
The Guardian also appears on version 10.1 of the AllSides Media Bias Chart in the Left category.
About AllSides Media Bias Rating Methods
AllSides rates bias using numerous methods that balance the input of everyday Americans with a panel of experts trained to spot bias.
Our Editorial Reviews include a six-person panel of reviewers — two on the left, two in the center, and two on the right — who review articles and look for common types of media bias such as slant, spin, sensationalism, and story choice bias.
Our Blind Bias Surveys ask everyday Americans to rate the bias of news content without knowing its source. Anyone can sign up to participate in AllSides Blind Surveys. Data is normalized so that one bias group is not overrepresented in results.
We are constantly assessing news content for bias. Support AllSides Media Bias Ratings by becoming a Sustaining Member.