AP’s Bias Shifts from Left to Lean Left, But Barely

Following a new bias review, the Associated Press’ AllSides Media Bias Rating has shifted from Left to Lean Left, but not by much.

The change comes after a panel of six expert bias reviewers – two each from the right, center and left – rated the Associated Press (AP) Lean Left (-2.98) in a May 2026 Editorial Review. Weighing this with ratings from the last two years, the new, overall weighted average of -2.93 lands AP in Lean Left — but just barely, a +0.05 shift from the prior Left rating of -3.02. 

But AP’s bias rating is not simple. In fact, for the past five years, AP’s bias rating has been sitting on the fence, shifting back and forth between Left and Lean Left. The results of our Blind Bias Surveys and Editorial Reviews for AP have fluctuated within tenths of degrees on the AllSides Media Bias Meter. 

Here’s an overview of what’s been going on with AP’s bias in the last few years.

AP's Bias Rating Hovers at the Left/Lean Left Boundary

AP has long straddled the border between Left and Lean Left, close enough on the cusp that the result of any given review can tip it either way. Below is a breakdown of the results as AllSides has applied our different bias rating methods — Blind Bias Surveys of Americans and Editorial Reviews — over the years.

The six ratings since late 2024 range from -3.72 to -2.03, spanning both the Left and Lean Left categories. The two Blind Bias Surveys (surveys of everyday Americans) produced the most divergent results — one pulling AP deeper into "Left" territory (-3.72), another placing it solidly in "Lean Left" (-2.03). The three Editorial Reviews, however, cluster more tightly in the -2.83 to -3.10 range, straddling the boundary. 

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What Kind of Lean Left is AP?

During the most recent AP review — our May 2026 Editorial Review — panelists identified repeated patterns of bias in AP’s reporting, primarily story choice, word choice, spin, slant and opinion stated as fact. Panelists unanimously agreed AP shows left-wing bias, but they discussed at length what flavor of left that bias actually represents. 

The two Center and two Lean Right panelists rated AP Left, while the two Lean Left panelists rated AP Lean Left. Read the full summary of our Editorial Review here. 

During the review, one of the Lean Left panelists pointed to an AP article titled, “Musk, Cook and other prominent US executives invited to join Trump on trip to China” as an indicator that the outlet should be in the Lean Left category. The article, the panelist noted, covered the trip with negativity bias against tech billionaire Elon Musk, reporting that he was "getting investigated … in Europe for disinformation” while they treated Cook “with kid gloves.” 

"If [AP] was Left, Tim Cook would have got … maybe not as severe, but a similar treatment,” the panelist said. “Whereas the [Lean Left media outlets] are more comfortable with people like Tim Cook. I thought that was just like a perfect example of why I think [AP is Lean Left]."

Tim Cook is a billionaire corporate CEO. But Cook has positioned Apple as an ally of progressive social causes, from LGBTQ+ inclusion to corporate diversity programs to a carefully managed public profile that keeps him in good standing with establishment liberal institutions. Musk, by contrast, has become the face of the populist right. He had a brief stint in the Trump administration, he is critical of mainstream media, and made major changes to X (formerly Twitter) to make it more favorable to right-wing figures and ideas. 

A truly Left outlet, the panelist argued, would apply skepticism consistently to billionaire power regardless of politics. The other reviewers in the group agreed with this assessment.

More Discussion of AP’s Bias

Panelists agreed overall that AP showed anti-Trump and anti-Trump admin bias. However, a Lean Right and Center panelist also noted that this same bias is also prevalent in some factions on the right. 

Panelists noted that AP rarely states neutrally that Donald Trump “said” something, instead often using spin words such as “downplaying,” “venting,” “lambasted.” 

One of the Center panelists rated the outlet the furthest to the Left compared to the rest of the group, arguing AP leans into “very politicized narratives,” such as mirroring how political forces on the left classify redistricting. The panelist identified viewpoint omission as a recurring media bias type during the review period. 

“Whenever Republicans are redistricting, it's [implied it’s because] they're racist and it's to disenfranchise black voters, and that's the only motivation,” the Center panelist said. “Like, [AP] just ignores any description from Republicans about what they're trying to do…When Democrats [redistrict], it's just about helping Democrats. It's not about disenfranchising rural white voters. It's just about boosting Democrats.”

Another example, the reviewer noted, is how AP reports on immigration enforcement and deportations. Panelists noted strong emotionalism in these stories, as well as story choice bias.

“Deportations are always [framed as] bad, [AP is] always highlighting people who have been deported wrongfully, of which there are plenty,” the reviewer said. “But there are plenty of people who have been rightfully deported, as well.”

The Lean Right panelists were most critical of AP self-identifying as “Accurate, independent, nonpartisan journalism that advances the power of facts.”

“I did put them in the Left category…right on that border,” one Lean Right panelist said. “Because it’s true, they don’t have that sort of ‘tear the entire system down’ thing that we see on the farther left… but they do express bias that strays from objective journalism consistently and in ways that are farther along on our scale, I would argue.”

The other Lean Right panelist brought up several examples where AP reporters had repeated instances of opinions stated as fact and subjective qualifying adjectives in straight news stories. 

In one story from December 2025 titled, “Trump levels political attack on Rob Reiner in inflammatory post after his killing,” the lede said: “President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to the president for the actor-director’s killing, delivering the unsubstantiated claim in a shocking post that seemed intent on decrying his opponents, even in the face of a tragedy.”

The panelist said that “the reporter is…trying to guide readers what to think” instead of presenting Trump’s comments without an editorializing build-up.

Another Center reviewer noted that AP consistently described the negative outcomes of Republican policies without ever explaining their rationale behind them, a type of negativity bias. 

Even AP's foreign policy coverage, the panelist said, had a more positive framing in its reporting toward Chinese and Iranian officials than toward the Trump administration, producing a coverage universe where "Trump is the bad guy and everybody else is the good guy trying to fight back against him."

AP Bias Remains Somewhat Consistent

While AP has straddled the line between the Lean Left and Left categories, the types of bias AllSides has detected in AP have been largely consistent over the years, with news reporting straying from objective fact. Types of bias such as spin words, slant, bias by viewpoint omission, and analysis presented as fact have been detected repeatedly. 

AP’s news reporting deserves a high level of scrutiny. While it was once considered the gold standard of journalism, AllSides bias analysis shows how Americans across the political spectrum no longer perceive it as politically neutral.