Rating the Bias of CNN, Fox News, NewsNation, NPR, Straight Arrow News
May 2025
AllSides conducted research into the perceived bias CNN, Fox News, NewsNation, NPR, and Straight Arrow News in May 2025.
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
CNN Rated Lean Left
CNN was rated Lean Left (-2.37), confirming AllSides' Media Bias Rating at the time.
Respondents who rated their own bias Left, Lean Left, Center, or Right rated CNN Lean Left; respondents who rated their own bias Lean Right rated it Left. Independents rated it Left; Democrats and Republicans on average rated it Lean Left.
Fox News Rated Right
Fox News was rated Right (4.35) on average, confirming AllSides' Media Bias Rating at the time.
Respondents in all bias categories rated Fox Right on average; Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all rated it Right on average.
NPR Rated Lean Left
NPR was rated Lean Left (-1.88), confirming AllSides' Media Bias Rating at the time.
Respondents who rated their own bias Left rated NPR Center; Respondents who rated their own bias Lean Left, Center, or Right rated it Lean Left; Respondents who rated their own bias Lean Right rated it Left.
Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all rated it Lean Left on average.
NewsNation Rated Center
NewsNation was rated Center (0.32), confirming AllSides' Media Bias Rating at the time.
Respondents in all bias categories rated it Center on average except for those with a self-reported bias of Right; these respondents rated it Lean Right. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans on average all rated NewsNation Center.
Straight Arrow News Rated Center
Straight Arrow News was rated Center (0.77) on average, confirming AllSides' Media Bias Rating at the time.
Respondents who rated their own bias as Lean Left, Center, or Lean Right rated it Center on average; respondents who rated their own bias as Left or Right rated it Lean Right.
Democrats rated SAN Lean Right on average, while Independents and Republicans rated it Center.
About The Survey
A total of 876 people across the political spectrum took the survey. Each survey participant was asked to self-report their personal political bias – 103 participants with a self-reported Left bias; 225 with a Lean Left bias; 237 with a Center bias; 228 with a Lean Right bias, and83 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.
