Blogs AllSides

Beyond Depolarization: What Our Movement is Becoming

Bias / November 6th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Better Angels . Better Angels and other individuals and organizations have been working hard to depolarize American politics. But can the movement to depolarize America break into the mainstream? Or is it transforming into something that...

Media Bias, Polarization, Political Polarization

Podcast: The Effects of Political Polarization on Our Culture

Bias / November 4th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Better Angels . Bret Weinstein is a professor of evolutionary biology. He was at the center of the moral panic at Evergreen State College in May of 2017, after which time his public commentary led him to a place of prominence in the cross-...

Political Polarization, Civil Discourse

Story of the Week: ISIS Leader Killed In U.S. Raid

Story of the Week / November 1st, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Two diplomats testified before impeachment investigators Wednesday about President Donald Trump's attitude toward the Ukraine, while the House of Representatives voted 232-196 Thursday morning to move forward with the impeachment inquiry. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader...

Story Of The Week, ISIS, Terrorism, United States, Donald Trump, Military, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

When Presidents Abuse Their Power: Impeachment, Criticism, or Pass?

News / October 31st, 2019 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

Has Donald Trump abused his power ? How do his actions stack up to other Presidents in recent history? When people have thought a President used his office for personal gain or to unfairly advance his own political career, things have turned chaotic. Here are some top examples of alleged...

Impeachment, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Richard Nixon

Major Shifts in American Attitudes on Unbiased News and Civility

Bias / October 30th, 2019 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

Despite the overwhelming division and non-stop crisis apparent in the media — from impeachment to Syria to threats to our democratic institutions — it's not all doom and gloom. We've got some good news — news so core to our mission that we decided to share with all of our friends...

Media Bias, Civil Discourse, Civility, AllSides

Story of the Week: State Department Completes Review Of Hillary Clinton's Private Server

Story of the Week / October 25th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor testified before several closed-door House committees Tuesday, providing more details about a potential "quid pro quo" involving foreign aid and a Ukrainian investigation of the Bidens, allegedly pushed by President Trump. A...

Story Of The Week, Hillary Clinton, Benghazi

The New Culture of Censorship

News / October 24th, 2019 / By Phillip Bader

Free speech is protected by the First Amendment because it’s vital to sustaining not only free thought, but free action as well. Our freedom of speech means we can discuss ideas, call attention to any form of injustice in the system, and have no fear expressing what we think of the...

Free Speech, Censorship, California

Republicans and Democrats Switch Stances on Trade, Syria, Immigration

Bias / October 21st, 2019 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

While there can certainly be a lot of ideological diversity among members of the same political party, Republicans and Democrats generally share the same stances on key issues as their fellow party members. So when ideas switch parties entirely, things can get interesting. Today, issues...

Republican Party, Democratic Party, Immigration, Syria, Trade, Free Trade

Story of the Week: Hunter Biden Steps Down from Chinese Company, Admits "Poor Judgement"

Story of the Week / October 18th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Attention has shifted to President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani , who is accused of pushing the Ukrainian government to investigate the Bidens on Trump's behalf. Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden, forfeited his spot on the board of a Chinese private equity firm...

Story Of The Week, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Ukraine, China, Impeachment

Project Veritas, CNN and the Ethics of Undercover Reporting

Bias / October 17th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

On Monday, Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group that seeks to uncover media bias, began releasing videos that claim to reveal a paramount anti-Donald Trump bias within CNN. Videos present undercover recordings of CNN president Jeff Zucker telling employees to “stay focused” on...

Media Bias, CNN, Project Veritas, Donald Trump, Journalism, 1st Amendment, ABC News

Ellen DeGeneres Moves America Beyond Harmful Polarization

Bias / October 15th, 2019 / By Samantha Shireman

Last week, Ellen DeGeneres was criticized on Twitter after photos of her sitting next to former First Couple George W. and Laura Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game surfaced online. Ellen responded to the criticism in a monologue on her show, saying, "I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm...

Civility, Ellen DeGeneres, George Bush, Political Polarization

Turkey Begins Military Offensive In Northern Syria After U.S. Troops Pulled From Region

Story of the Week / October 12th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: The White House wrote a letter to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, calling the impeachment inquiry into president Donald Trump "unconstitutional" and refusing to comply with it. Former Vice President Joe Biden publicly called for Trump to be impeached at a...

Story Of The Week, Turkey, Syria, Military, Foreign Policy

Leave Comedy Alone

Recommended Reading / October 7th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Comedy’s recent return to the national spotlight — with new Netflix specials from Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr, and the oops-on-second-thought firing of recently-hired Saturday Night Live cast member Shane Gillis — has brought passionate attacks on offensive speech, sweeping defenses of...

1st Amendment, Free Speech, Comedy, Entertainment, Saturday Night Live, Media Bias

Story of the Week: Former Dallas Cop Gets 10 Years for Apartment Mix-up Murder

Story of the Week / October 4th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Impeachment news is sure to dominate media coverage until further notice. But there are always other important stories to note, so we'll be providing weekly impeachment updates while also following other topics. This week, the House of Representatives threatened to...

Story Of The Week, Dallas, Botham Jean, Police Brutality

Media Bias Alert: Hate Hoaxes and Media Ethics

Bias / October 1st, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

The recent story of a 12-year-old Virginia girl who falsely claimed classmates cut off her hair may reveal media bias on the part of the New York Times and other outlets. A Sept. 27 Times story detailed allegations from Amari Allen, a black student at a Christian school in Virginia, who...

Hate Crimes, Media Bias, Liberal Media Bias, Jussie Smollett, Covington Catholic

Popping the Filter Bubble

Bias / September 27th, 2019 / By AllSides Staff

AllSides CEO and co-founder John Gable recently joined Joan Blades, co-founder of AllSides for Schools and founder of MoveOn.org and Living Room Conversations, on The Bob Zadek Show to discuss filter bubbles : media echo chambers that expose us only to people and information that confirm...

Media Bias, Filter Bubbles, Living Room Conversations, Podcast

Easing Race and Ethnicity Discussions Through Living Room Conversations

Bias / September 27th, 2019 / By AllSides Staff

Editor's Note: A version of this post originally appeared on Upswell.org. Let’s be honest. Talking about race and ethnicity can be uncomfortable. But would it be less uncomfortable in an environment where you feel more at ease, like say, your living room? That’s the premise of Living Room...

Living Room Conversations, Race And Racism

Story of the Week: House Launches Trump Impeachment Inquiry

Story of the Week / September 27th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the start of a formal House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon, saying "the actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution." The announcement followed scrutiny of a July 25 phone call between...

Story Of The Week, Impeachment, Ukraine, Donald Trump, CIA, Whistleblower

Updated Media Bias Ratings: AP, NPR, Epoch Times, Yahoo! News, BuzzFeed, AJ+

Bias / September 25th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

AllSides has rated the bias of nearly 600 media outlets, and our media bias ratings are fluid and subject to change as outlets change over time or more information is gathered. We recently conducted reviews on a number of popular media outlets to ensure our bias ratings are up to date:...

Media Bias, AllSides Media Bias Ratings, NPR, AP Bias

Media Bias Alert: Los Angeles Media Ignores Homeless Camp Trash Cleanup

Bias / September 24th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

Los Angeles residents who read only media outlets from one side of the political spectrum may have missed an important story this week. As AllSides outlines in 11 Types of Media Bias , a comprehensive guide to spot bias in the news, bias by omission is a type of bias in which news outlets...

Los Angeles, Housing And Homelessness, Media Bias

Perspectives Blog

When Only One Candidate Fights For Swing Voters