AllSides rates FAIR bias as Lean Left.

FAIR calls itself a "progressive group" on its About page.

An October 2019 independent review by an AllSides staffer found that FAIR often reports on media bias from a left-leaning perspective. FAIR does criticize both Left and Right-leaning media outlets equally; for this reason, AllSides considered giving FAIR a Center bias, but FAIR's criticisms, while targeted at both sides, come from a Lean Left perspective.

In one piece, a FAIR writer criticized CNN and The New York Times Democratic Debate moderators for not asking more questions about LGBT issues, climate change, race, education and abortion — topics typically emphasized by those on the left (though the right often emphasizes abortion as an important topic as well). Another FAIR piece criticized the media for representing the "investor class" and for having a Business section but not a Labor section:

"It’s not hard to figure out that corporate media represent the perspectives and interests of a small elite investor class of the US population, rather than its vast working class majority. Simply compare the size of the “Business” section in major newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times—ostensibly on opposite sides of the political spectrum—with the nonexistence of their “Labor” sections."

In another piece on fascism and anti-fascism, FAIR writes, "Right-wing terror is a feature of daily life in present-day America" — an assertion many on the right would disagree with (the right believes it is the far left-wing group Antifa that is the purveyor of much modern-day terror and violence).

About FAIR

FAIR calls itself a "national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986." On its About page, FAIR says it works to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information."

FAIR works with both activists and journalists and "encourage[s] the public to contact media with their concerns, to become media activists rather than passive consumers of news."