We asked people across the political spectrum to blindly rate the bias of Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and Yahoo News in our July 2021 AllSides Blind Bias Survey. A total of 1,734 people across the political spectrum blindly rated the bias of content from these news outlets. 

The survey confirmed our bias ratings for Breibart (Right), The Guardian (Lean Left), The Wall Street Journal (Center), and Yahoo News (Lean Left).

However, respondents across the political spectrum on average rated The Daily Caller as Lean Right, which differed from our rating of Right. AllSides conducted a Small Group Editorial Review, and determined The Daily Caller will retain its Right media bias rating.

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Here is how to read the graphs in this post:

  • The horizontal X-axis shows the self-reported personal bias of the respondent.
  • The vertical Y-axis displays how many of the respondents in each bias category thought that the media outlet had a specific bias. 

Survey Affirms Breitbart Bias Rating as Right

On average, respondents rated Breitbart as Right, confirming AllSides’ existing rating.

A total of 1,279 people from across the political spectrum — people who identified as Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, or Right — rated the bias of Breitbart. A majority of respondents rated it as Right, including a plurality of people in all bias categories. The second most common response from all bias categories was Lean Right.

Vote on Breitbart’s rating here.

The Daily Caller Rated as Lean Right; AllSides Keeps Right Rating Following Editorial Review

On average, people across the political spectrum rated content from The Daily Caller as Lean Right in our July 2021 Blind Bias Survey. This differed from AllSides’ rating of DC as Right. We conducted a Small Group Editorial Review, in which a team of people from the left, center and right review the works of the outlet. We opted to keep The Daily Caller’s rating as Right, mostly due to sensationalism and right-wing story choice.

A total of 1,217 people rated the bias of The Daily Caller.

A plurality of people who have a Left, Lean Left, Center or Lean Right bias rated The Daily Caller as Lean Right; a plurality of people on the Right actually rated DC as Lean Left. 

On average, people with a Left or Lean Left bias rated DC as Lean Right; people with a Center or Lean Right bias rated it Center on average; people who are on the Right rated it as between Center and Lean Right on average.

Vote on the Daily Caller’s rating here.

The Guardian Bias Rated Lean Left

On average, The Guardian was rated Lean Left by people across the political spectrum.

A total of 1,331 people rated The Guardian. A plurality of people who have a Left, Lean Left, Center, and Lean Right bias rated The Guardian as Lean Left. A very slight plurality of people who have a Right bias rated The Guardian as Left, with the second most common response from the Right being Lean Left.

The second most common response for people on the Left, Lean Left, and Center was a rating of Center. For people who Lean Right, the second most common response was Left.

Vote on The Guardian's bias rating here.

Respondents Rate The Wall Street Journal's Bias as Center on Average

The average rating for The Wall Street Journal from people across the political spectrum was Center.

1,195 people rated the bias of The Wall Street Journal. The vast majority of people rated it as Center. A majority of people who self-identified as having a Left, Lean Left, Center, or Lean Right bias rated WSJ as Center; a plurality of people with a Right biased rated it Center, with the second most common response being Lean Right.

Vote on the Wall Street Journal’s bias rating here.

Yahoo News Receives a Rating of Lean Left

The average rating for Yahoo News from people across the political spectrum was Lean Left, aligning with AllSides’ current rating.

A total of 1,239 people rated the outlet’s bias. People in all bias categories were more likely to rate it as Lean Left than anything else. The second most common response among people who have a Right and Lean Right bias was Left. Among people who are Left, Lean Left, and Center, the second most common response was Center.

 

Vote on Yahoo News’ bias rating here.

About the Survey

AllSides asked people across the political spectrum to identify their own personal political bias: Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, or Right — using our Rate Your Bias tool. We then present them with 10 headlines from the outlet on two different days, and some coverage from the outlet of two major national news stories. We then ask them to provide an overall rating of the media outlet (Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, or Right).

The content is stripped of any branding or information that would allow the participant to identify which publication the content came from. This ensures respondents’ pre-conceived notions of the outlet or brand don’t affect their ratings.

There is no "accurate" measure of bias – bias is largely in the eye of the beholder. What seems like a left-wing view to a right-winger may seem like a centrist view to a left-winger. That's why we survey Americans from across the country, of various ages, geographic locations, and political leanings. We also normalize the data and don’t let majority rule determine our ratings.

Support Media Bias Ratings and Research! Click here to donate or become a Sustaining Member.

This report was compiled by Director of Marketing Julie Mastrine (Lean Right) and Data Journalist and Research Assistant Andrew Weinzierl (Lean Left).

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