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. Read the white paper to review our methodology, or sign up to take part in the next survey.
Survey Results
Axios Rated Lean Left
Axios' bias was rated Lean Left. After conducting an Editorial Review, Axios' bias rating was moved from Center to Lean Left.
On average, respondents on the left and in the center rated Axios as Lean Left; respondents on the right rated Axios as Left. Republicans rated Axios as Left, while Democrats and Independents on average rated it Lean Left.
Axios was rated -2.35 (Lean Left) on average in the Blind Bias Survey, and was rated -1.13 in the Editorial Review. The average of these ratings resulted in a final bias rating of -1.75 for Axios (Lean Left).
Fox News Rated Right
Fox News' bias rating was confirmed as Right in the survey.
Respondents who rated their own bias as being in the center or on the right rated Fox News as Lean Right; respondents on the left rated its bias as Right. The average rating was Right, confirming AllSides' existing Media Bias Rating for Fox News.
CNN Rated Center
CNN was rated Center. After conducting two Editorial Reviews, AllSides moved CNN's rating from Left to Lean Left.
On average, respondents in every bias category except for those on the Left rated CNN Center; the Left respondents rated CNN Lean Left.
AllSides noted that the content presented to respondents from CNN in the survey had a strong emphasis on Biden’s classified documents as this was what CNN was focusing on during the days the content was pulled; this may have skewed results as it was an outlier story; and AllSides conducted two Editorial Reviews as a response.
Read more about CNN’s rating and the Editorial Review results here.
OAN Rated Lean Right
OAN was rated Lean Right. This differed from AllSides' rating of Right at the time. After conducting a Small Group Editorial Review, during which three left, center, and right reviewers rated OAN as Right on average, AllSides opted to keep OAN's rating Right.
In the Blind Bias Survey, there was broad agreement among respondent groups about OAN's bias. Respondents from all sides of the political spectrum — left, right, and center — rated OAN Lean Right on average.
CNBC Rated Lean Left
CNBC was rated Lean Left. This differed from AllSides' existing rating of Center. After conducting a Small Group Editorial Review, during which three left, center, and right reviewers rated CNBC as Center on average, we opted to keep CNBC's rating as Center.
Respondents who rated their own bias as Left rated CNBC as Center on average; all other bias groups — Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, and Right — rated it Lean Left on average.
About The Survey
A total of 1,125 people across the political spectrum took the survey, including 147 respondents with a self-reported Left bias; 256 with a Lean Left bias; 320 with a Center bias; 301 with a Lean Right bias, and 101 with a Right bias.
Respondents self-reported party affiliation. 250 respondents were Democrats, 491 were Independents, 235 were Republicans, and 169 reported being “something else.”
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 12 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.
