People across the political spectrum blindly rated the media bias of content from BBC, Daily Mail, The Hill, NBC News, NewsNation, and The Washington Times in AllSides' Aug/Sept. 2022 Blind Bias Survey.
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
On average, respondents across the political spectrum gave the following ratings:
- BBC: Lean Left (AllSides rating is Center).
- Daily Mail: Right
- NBC News: Lean Left
- NewsNation: Center/Lean Left (AllSides rating is Center).
- The Washington Times: Center/Lean Right (AllSides rating is Lean Right).
BBC Rated Lean Left
BBC's rating of Lean Left in the Blind Bias Survey differed from our rating of Center for the online news publication at the time. After conducting an Editorial Review, the multipartisan AllSides panel opted to keep BBC's rating as Center. Read more here.
Daily Mail Rated Right
Daily Mail's rating of Right in the Blind Bias Survey affirmed AllSides' rating of the outlet.
NBC News Rated Lean Left
NBC News' rating of Lean Left in the Blind Survey affirmed AllSides' rating for the publication.
NewsNation Rated Center/Lean Left
NewsNation was rated right on the border of Center and Lean Left. AllSides rated NewsNation as Center at the time, and affirmed this rating in a Small Group Editorial Review. Read details here.
Washington Times Rated Center/Lean Right
The Washington Times was rated right on the border of Center and Lean Right. This differed slightly from AllSides' rating of Washington Times as Lean Right. A subseequent AllSides Small Group Editorial Review confirmed the Lean Right rating.
About The Survey
A total of 1170 people across the political spectrum took the survey, including 172 respondents with a self-reported Left bias; 260 with a Lean Left bias; 347 with a Center bias; 305 with a Lean Right bias, and 86 with a Right bias.
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
For much more detail, please visit our white paper.
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.
