ABC News (Online)

About ABC News (Online)'s Bias Rating

ABC News (Online) is featured on the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.

ABC News (Online) is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Lean Left.

Note: AllSides rates online content on ABCnews.com only. AllSides does not rate the bias of radio or TV content.

What a "Lean Left" Rating Means

Sources with an AllSides Media Bias Rating of Lean Left display media bias in ways that moderately align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Lean Left bias is a moderately liberal rating on the political spectrum.

• ABC News Bias Rated Lean Left, Close to Left in April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey
• ABC News Bias Rated on Border of Left and Lean Left in Jan. 2013 Blind Bias Survey

ABC News Rated Lean Left, Close to Left in April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey

The results of our April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey returned a Lean Left rating for ABC News’ bias.

A total of 1,147 people across the political spectrum rated ABC News Lean Left on average.

People who self-identified as having a personal bias of Right rated ABC News as Left on average, and people with a Lean Right bias rated ABC as on the border of Left and Lean Left. All other bias groups rated ABC News as Lean Left on average. The average rating of all groups together was Lean Left.

A plurality of respondents who rate themselves as Lean Left rated ABC News as Center. Pluralities of people with a Left, Center, and Lean Right bias rated ABC Lean Left; a plurality of people with a Right bias rated ABC Left.

ABC Bias Rated on Border of Lean Left and Left in January 2013 Blind Bias Survey

The results from an AllSides January 2013 Blind Bias Survey found ABC News bias (website content only) lies on the border line between Lean Left and Left, with a flat normalized score of 1.83 and a raw score of 1.79.

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As of December 2023, people have voted on the AllSides Media Bias Rating for ABC News (Online). On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Lean Left bias.

As of April 2017, a slight majority of over 5,000 users agreed with our Lean Left ABC News bias rating. The average rating for ABC by the people who disagreed was also Lean Left. This is consistent with past community feedback.

As of July 2016, the average of users’ individual bias ratings for ABC News was Lean Left. A small majority of nearly 1,200 AllSides users disagreed with the Lean Left rating, but those who disagreed were split on whether the rating should be Left or Center, producing an overall average of Lean Left.

As of Dec. 12, 2013, just over half of the AllSides Community agreed with the Lean Left rating, while the other half were split between rating it Left and Center.

As of December 2023, AllSides has high confidence in our Lean Left rating for ABC News (Online). Two or more bias reviews have affirmed this rating or the source is transparent about bias.

Additional Information

ABC News was founded in 1945 and is now owned by The Walt Disney Company. ABC began as a radio network in 1943. The news and information channel has many different broadcast programs, including ABC World News Tonight, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, and more. According to AllSides analysis and multiple third-party sources, ABC News is more "blue" than it is "red."

Third Party Analysis of ABC News Bias

A 2005 UCLA study, based on the television news program rather than the website, gave ABC News a Center rating though very close to Lean Left.

Political Bias of ABC News Audience

According to the 2014 Pew Research Study, Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum, roughly 37% of ABC News readers hold political values to the left-of-center or left. About 41% of ABC News's audience is considered mixed or center (compared with 36% of all respondents to the survey). 21% of ABC News's audience is right-of-center or right (compared with 26% of all respondents to the survey).

Political Contributions by ABC Employees

The financial contributions of media outlet employees to political campaigns don't impact our ratings — we rate content only — but we add this information in the interest of transparency. During the 2008 election, 1,160 employees from ABC News and two other major broadcast television networks donated a total of $1,020,816 to the Democratic Party. A total of 193 donations were made, totaling $142,863, to the Republican Party, according to an analysis by The Washington Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

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Owner: The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company owns the ABC television network. In 1995, Disney acquired the ABC television network in a $19 Billion merger with CapCities. The Walt Disney Company owns other cable networks including, ESPN and Lifetime and numerous other radio stations, publishing and production companies. Disney is publicly traded. Robert Iger is the Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of the Walt Disney Company.

Financing and ownership information last updated February 22, 2021. If you think this information is out of date or needs to be updated, please contact us.