Survey Date
AllSides conducted research into the perceived bias of Associated Press, Breitbart, Washington Post, WIRED, and Washington Times in Dec. 2024.
During an AllSides Blind Bias Survey, participants from all sides of the political spectrum are asked to rate the content of a media outlet blindly, so they are not influenced by preconceived notions of a brand's bias. Sign up to take part in the next survey.
Survey Results
Associated Press Rated Lean Left
Associated Press was rated Lean Left (-2.03).
Regardless of self-identified political bias or party affiliation, respondents rated Associated Press as Lean Left, on average. A total of 612 respondents rated the bias.
Breitbart Rated Right
Breitbart was rated Right (6.49).
Regardless of self-identified political bias or party affiliation, respondents rated Breitbart as Right, on average. A total of 588 respondents rated the bias.
Washington Post Rated Lean Left
Washington Post was rated Lean Left (-1.01).
Respondents who rated their own bias as Left or Lean Left rated Washington Post as Center, while respondents with a Center, Lean Right, or Right bias rated it as Lean Left on average. Democrats rated Washington Post as Center, while Independents and Republicans rated Washington Post as Lean Left. A total of 566 respondents rated the bias.
WIRED Rated Center
WIRED was rated Center (-0.31).
Regardless of self-identified political bias or party affiliation, respondents rated WIRED as Center, on average. A total of 548 respondents rated the bias.
Washington Times Rated Center
Washington Times was rated Center (0.04).
Regardless of self-identified political bias or party affiliation, respondents rated Wired as Center, on average. A total of 532 respondents rated the bias.
About The Survey
A total of 761 people across the political spectrum took the survey. Each survey participant was asked to self-report their personal political bias – 73 participants with a self-reported Left bias; 192 with a Lean Left bias; 215 with a Center bias; 224 with a Lean Right bias, and 57 with a Right bias took the survey. These responses were normalized so that unequal sizes of these groups would not skew the final results in favor of one bias group over another.
Results are not assessed by majority rule; we calculate pluralities and averages, both within respondent groups and across all respondent groups, to arrive at final determinations.
For this survey, AllSides collected 10 pieces of content from media outlets: top headlines taken on two different days at the same time of day, and top stories the outlet ran around two major national news stories. Stories and headlines were stripped of branding and any information that would allow participants to identify the outlet. Participants were asked to rate the bias of the source on a scale of Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, and Right.
Results are represented on a scale of -9 to +9, with 0 representing dead Center, -9 representing Left and +9 representing Right:
Left: -9.00 to -3.00
Lean Left: -2.99 to -1.00
Center: -0.99 to +0.99
Lean Right: +1.00 to +2.99
Right: +3.00 to +9.00
Note About Blind Bias Surveys
Blind surveys are robust, but do have limitations. They alone do not always determine our ratings. These surveys ask respondents to assess a relatively small snapshot of the source's content in time. The surveys don't include photos, content published over a long period of time, or other crucial elements for determining bias. Therefore, we often use blind survey data in conjunction with other methods to arrive at a final bias rating, such as Editorial Reviews, third party data and independent reviews by AllSides reviewers.
AllSides uses multiple methods for calculating media bias ratings.
Our Blind Bias Survey, described in the graphic below, represents one of our most robust media bias rating methods, but it is not the only method we use. A source might openly share its bias, or it may be determined by third party research, an independent review, or an Editorial Review. Take a look at the multiple methods AllSides uses to measure and rate media bias.
