Facts & Data • October 30th, 2025

Shaping the Narrative: How Biased Media Outlets Cover Crime

Crime,Media Bias,Violence,Race And Racism

Kenny Eliason/Unsplash

How do news outlets across the political spectrum drive our discussions on crime?

For the six-part Shaping the Narrative series, AllSides examined how often national news media outlets covered select topics, including: the economy, the Trump administration, politics, international news, immigration, and crime.

In part six of this series, we’re breaking down coverage of crime. Some key findings were:

Left and Lean Left outlets tended to cover stories where the perpetrators were either alleged white supremacists or where victims were minorities
Right and Lean Right outlets tended to cover cases where left-leaning individuals, minorities or unauthorized immigrants were perpetrators, and white individuals were victims
Outlets on the Left dedicated a significant portion of homepage coverage on crime to the burning of PA Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home
Right outlets dedicated a significant portion of homepage coverage on crime to stories of unauthorized immigrants committing crimes

AllSides collected and analyzed headlines from the homepages of 16 outlets across the political spectrum over the course of 14 days (April 9 – April 22, 2025).

For the purposes of this study, what determined whether a media outlet covered the topic of crime was if it wrote about: crime, gangs, shootings, murder, terrorism, hate crimes, arson, crime syndicates, and cartels (Full Breakdown per Topic - Report). Moreover, what led to an article being labeled as covering crime was determined by the AllSides’ Topic Mapping Methodology.

Note: Outlets may have changed their headlines since the data collection period. Our analysis is based on the headlines as they appeared when collected. For the purposes of this project, wire news content and opinion pieces were included in the overall headline analysis for each hosting news outlet. AllSides assumes that such content passed each outlet’s standard of review and is thus attributed to the hosting news outlet.

Read more from the Shaping the Narrative series:

Which News Outlets Covered Crime the Most — or Least?

On average, during the collection period, crime was covered on homepages the most by outlets AllSides rates as Lean Right and Right – representing about 6% of all articles published by these outlets during this research period. Among all outlets, the New York Post (Lean Right) and ABC News (Lean Left bias) covered crime the most – at 15% of all articles collected.

The outlet that covered crime on its homepage the least during the study was New York Times (Lean Left bias) at 0%.

How Are Left & Lean Left Outlets Covering Crime?

Crime coverage from Left and Lean Left outlets often highlighted the arson of the Pennsylvania democratic governor Josh Shapiro’s home. Additionally, throughout these outlets’ coverage of crime, they generally reported on hate crimes – either due to alleged white supremacy claims or racial discrimination.

ABC News (Lean Left bias) published the story, “Shapiro fire should be investigated by DA as possible antisemitic hate crime: Schumer.” The article detailed the potential antisemetic motivation behind the crime, noting the suspect’s previous comments about Israel and Palestine, coupled with the timing of the crime during Passover. Moreover, the outlet dedicated 33% of its coverage on crime to the above story, with a general sympathetic tone to the governor.

Associated Press (Lean Left bias) also dedicated a large portion of its coverage of crime to the Pennsylvania arson event, writing “Suspect in arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence being treated at hospital, police say” and “Police say they are investigating an arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s residence.” In its limited coverage of crime, the outlet did not display much notable bias.

MSNBC (Left bias) wrote, “The Florida State University shooting suspect held white supremacist views, peers said.” The outlet’s slanted framing shifted culpability for the shooting to “far-right views,” where an outlet like BBC News (Center bias) simply reported the facts of the case, along with a cursory mention of the shooting suspect’s Republican voter registration and pro-Trump rhetoric.

How Are Center Outlets Covering Crime?

Center outlets did not frequently highlight crime stories on their homepages; with BBC News accounting for the majority of homepage coverage on crime from these outlets. Additionally, these outlets didn’t engage in much, if any, notable bias as identified by AllSides 16 Types of Media Bias methodology.

BBC News (Center bias) took a broader approach to its coverage of Crime, not showing much bias, ranging from stories in the US and across Eurasia. Headlines included:

The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) published the headline, "You're Taken Care of': Did Police Promise to Shield a Killer?" potentially engaging in negativity bias. However, the report itself is largely based on the facts of the case, foregoing assertions of the police and instead providing logs to allow the audience to interpret the police’s stance and motivations.

Reuters (Center bias) covered crime once on homepages throughout the data collection period: “Sean 'Diddy' Combs loses bid to delay to sex-trafficking trial.” No notable bias was displayed.

How Are Right and Lean Right Outlets Covering Crime?

Right and Lean Right outlets often reported on stories where liberal or minority groups were perpetrators of crime, or where conservative or white individuals were victims of crime. These sources highlighted crimes committed by immigrants much more than sources on the left did.

New York Post (Lean Right bias) wrote the charged headline, “Activist group releases bizarre ‘POV’ video of alleged teen killer Karmelo Anthony: ‘He is not a hero’.” The word “bizarre” to describe the activist group is an example of word choice bias, while the framing of “He is not a hero” serves to frame Karmelo Anthony negatively.

Breitbart (Right bias) wrote, “Washington State Instructor Charged with Assaulting Pro-Trump Student Ph.D Candidate Told Police: ‘He F**king Got What Was Coming to Him’.” While the headline in isolation does not indicate much in terms of types of bias, the outlet often dedicated a significant portion of homepage coverage to crime cases where perpetrators held left-leaning views, story choice bias.

Fox News (Right bias) wrote the sensational headline, “Illegal immigrant arrested for heinous crime involving teen, captured by ICE” through the use of the word “heinous.” Additionally, the outlet often reports on stories related to crime and immigrants (a finding consistent with our Shaping the Narrative: Immigration piece). It should also be noted that the outlet has a tag labeled “Migrant Crime,” in order to curate content for its audience on crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants – further fueling negative perceptions of immigrants.

How Was Coverage Influenced by Political Bias?

After an in-depth look into coverage from outlets of each cohort, certain trends were apparent. Left and Lean Left outlets often covered stories in which the perpetrators were alleged white supremacists or the victims were minorities. Right and Lean Right outlets did the opposite, often reporting on cases where minorities were perpetrators, while white individuals were victims.

Center outlets reported much less on crime, and displayed very little in terms of AllSides’ 16 Types of Media Bias, often choosing to cover the mere facts of the case and focus on stories outside the US.

Emanuel Macuixtle is a Policy Analyst and Research Assistant at AllSides. He has a Left bias.

This blog was edited and reviewed by Andrew Weinzrierl, Bias Research Manager & Data Journalist (Lean Left); Andy Gorel, News & Social Media Editor (Center); Henry A. Brechter, Editor-in-Chief (Center); Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing & Bias Ratings (Right); and Malayna J. Bizier, News Analyst & Social Media Editor (Right).

Crime,Media Bias,Violence,Race And Racism