Social media content typically isn’t expected to be objective and balanced like traditional news, but with more and more people relying on platforms like X, Bluesky, Facebook, and TikTok as a source for news, it’s important to be able to see how bias manifests on social media.
The AllSides X Influencer Bias Chart reveals bias ratings for individual X influencers as a first step to bring transparency to bias on social platforms, but bias ratings themselves aren’t enough — cultivating the ability to see bias in social media news and commentary itself is the way to avoid being manipulated.
Being a smart media consumer means learning how to see bias in any content you come across — whether in legacy news media or social media — so you can critically assess information and decide for yourself.
Learn how to see bias in social media content and why it matters.
Key Differences and Similarities: Legacy News v. Social Media News
While traditional/legacy news media are generally expected to adhere to standards of objectivity and balanced reporting, many outlets fall short or explicitly decide to report news from a partisan angle in order to appeal to a niche audience and make money. This is one of the key reasons AllSides exists — tools like our media bias ratings, balanced newsfeed, Bias Checker (instant article-level bias analysis), and guide to 16 Types of Media Bias are meant to make bias transparent.
News organizations serious about providing fair journalism typically have editorial guidelines and accountability structures designed to address bias, even if their execution isn't always perfect. In contrast, social media influencers/content creators are not usually bound by such editorial standards.
There is often less transparency around social media influencer content in general, including what standards they hold themselves to, how they would address errors in reporting — even how many people are behind the content. With many social profiles built around one personality, it can be hard to tell if they have a team contributing, or if they’re a one-man (or -woman) show.
RELATED: How X's "Explore" Headlines Spread Misinformation | AllSides
Many of the same types of bias that appear in traditional journalism are also prevalent across social media. Subjective qualifiers, slant, spin, story choice bias (what the creator chooses to post or react to), sensationalism, unsubstantiated claims, omission of information or sources, elite/populist bias, flawed logic, and photo bias are all seen in social media news and commentary.
However, one type of bias that is more specific to legacy media is bias by placement, which is when editors decide which stories get prime visibility on a homepage, front page, or lead broadcast segment. This editorial decision can significantly shape public perception because it privileges certain stories, making them more likely to be seen by busy readers who are just scanning a homepage or glancing at a newspaper in the checkout aisle.
On social media, while creators can pin posts to the top of their profiles, most content appears in a chronological or algorithmically-driven feed, reducing the role of manual placement.
Examples of Bias in Social Media Content
Here are some examples of how common types of media bias manifest on social media platforms:
Slant / Bias by Viewpoint
A post by Alice Miranda Ollstein, a reporter for POLITICO (Lean Left bias), showed slant and bias by viewpoint on the issue of the Supreme Court giving the Trump administration permission to deport immigrants who entered the country via a program called “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans,” which Trump ended via executive order on Jan. 20, 2025.
Ollstein does not include any voices in favor of ending this program, nor the administration’s rationale. Instead, she slanted her tweet and created an imbalance by only stating that many of these people work in healthcare and quoting an unnamed voice saying “It’s going to be a disaster.” By not including other voices or information in her post, Ollstein slants the readers’ view to see the rescinding of the program as purely negative.
Ollstein does not include any rationale from the Trump administration, which argues these arrivals “have competed for limited resources such as housing, food, transportation, education, legal services, and public benefits.” The administration also argues the program “resulted in expanded eligibility for Federal public benefits,” “exacerbated backlogs, or risked exacerbating backlogs, for the immigration system writ large,” and “had a disruptive impact for CBP operations at interior air [points of entry].” If you only got information from Ollstein’s tweet, you’d miss out on this perspective.
Subjective Qualifiers, Sensationalism, Spin
A post by The Vigilant Fox (Right bias) displayed sensationalism, spin, and subjective qualifiers in describing Kevin McCarthy’s appearance on Bill Maher (Lean Left bias). Instead of soberly describing the exchange and letting readers interpret it for themselves, the writer employed sensationalism by stating that McCarthy “rocked Bill Maher” with “two brutal truth bombs” and made a “devastating prediction.” When writers insert subjective qualifiers or stray from neutral terminology, they are spinning the story to suggest a way for the reader to interpret the facts.
On X, Lean Right journalist Andy Ngo referred to participants in the June 2025 Los Angeles anti-ICE protests/riots as “insurrectionists,” revealing his perspective on the gravity of protesters interfering with the administration’s immigration agenda; over on Bluesky, Maxwell Frost, a Democrat activist and U.S. representative for Florida, referred to ICE’s deportations as “kidnapping and human trafficking,” revealing starkly different views on the issue.
In a June 3 post, Collin Rugg (Right bias) accompanied a report about liberals having poor mental health with a montage video of people, some clearly liberals, screaming and crying. Instead of neutrally stating the report’s findings, Rugg uses photo/video bias that sensationalizes.
Unsubstantiated Claims / Omission of Source
In July 2024, just months before the Nov. 2024 presidential election, Laura Loomer posted, “Joe Biden is dying and final preparations are being made for him.” She did not cite sources; the tweet was not true and amassed 42.6 million views.
Also in July 2024, Ryan Fournier, National Chairman of Students for Trump, tweeted, “Now we’re hearing that Joe Biden is in hospice care and unlikely to survive the night. I’m absolutely terrified for this country.” Fournier cited no source and the claim turned out to be false. X added a disclaimer from readers that read, “The post is attempting to spread a rumor. It provides no evidence of any kind and the claim itself is nonsensical.” Yet the tweet amassed over 7M views.
In a June 15 Bluesky post, the progressive group 50501 posted a graphic claiming over 11 million people protested in its June 14, 2025 "No Kings" protests. The group did not include information about how it arrived at the number, making it an unsubstantiated claim; the ACLU claimed 5 million attended, but also didn't cite a source.
In early May, when President Trump directed the reopening of Alcatraz prison, an X post from Democratic policy analyst Maine Wonk (not rated by AllSides) claimed, “Reopening and rebuilding Alcatraz as a prison would cost approximately $235–370 million upfront and $40–60 million annually to operate.” The poster offered no source for the numbers.
However, this X post got picked up by legacy media: The New York Sun (Right bias) reported the numbers, attributing the claim to a Newsweek (Center) article; however, the Newsweek article cited Maine Wonk on X, but didn’t link to the post itself nor fact check the source of the numbers. It’s unclear whether the numbers are accurate.
Photo bias
BrooklynDad_Defiant!, who has over 1.3M followers on X and is rated Lean Left by AllSides, tweeted, “When you log onto Twitter and see "disgusting" is trending because of something trump [sic] did, as usual” with a photo of Joe Biden looking inquisitive. The photo and accompanying commentary suggest that Biden would be pleased with Trump’s alleged misbehaviors.
When you log onto Twitter and see "disgusting" is trending because of something trump did, as usual pic.twitter.com/75IzDbofdY
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) May 4, 2025
Bias Goes Beyond Legacy Media
Learning how to see spin, slant, and other forms of bias in social media content is crucial for inoculating yourself against media manipulation. By refusing to mindlessly consume content, familiarizing yourself with types of bias, asking questions and cross-referencing information with other sources, you can ensure you’re truly thinking for yourself.
Julie Mastrine is the Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings at AllSides. She has a Lean Right bias.
Reviewed by:
Henry A. Brechter, editor-in-chief, Center bias
Andrew Weinzierl, Data and Research Manager, Lean Left bias
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