The Economist

About The Economist

The Economist is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Lean Left.

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.

Learn more about Lean Left ratings

Details

In September 2013, The Economist published an article explaining whether or not it is left- or right- wing. The publication said it is "neither. We consider ourselves to be in the "radical centre."

The article continues:

"The Economist was founded in 1843 by James Wilson, a British businessman who objected to heavy import duties on foreign corn. Mr Wilson and his friends in the Anti-Corn Law League were classical liberals in the tradition of Adam Smith and, later, the likes of John Stuart Mill and William Ewart Gladstone. This intellectual ancestry has guided the newspaper’s instincts ever since: it opposes all undue curtailment of an individual’s economic or personal freedom. But like its founders, it is not dogmatic. Where there is a liberal case for government to do something, The Economist will air it. Early in its life, its writers were keen supporters of the income tax, for example. Since then it has backed causes like universal health care and gun control. But its starting point is that government should only remove power and wealth from individuals when it has an excellent reason to do so."

According to the 2014 Pew Research Study, Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum, the majority of The Economist readers hold political values to the left-of-center. Seventeen percent of The Economist's audience is conservative (compared with 26% of all respondents to the survey).

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As of March 2023, people have voted on the AllSides Media Bias Rating for The Economist. On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Center bias.

As of March 2023, AllSides has medium confidence in our Lean Left rating for The Economist. Two bias reviews have affirmed this rating or multiple reviews have returned differing results. If we perform more bias reviews and gather consistent data, this confidence level will increase.

Additional Information

The Economist online offers authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science and technology. The online version includes all articles from The Economist print edition (including those printed only in British copies). The site has a searchable online archive that dates back to June 1997. They also offer a variety of web-only content, including blogs, debates and audio/video programs.

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Owner: Economist Group

Note: Funding and ownership is not taken into account when determining AllSides Media Bias Ratings. While it's true ownership and financial interests can affect what goes to print, our bias ratings are determined by assessing the bias of content only. We provide financial and ownership information as an FYI to our readers.

The Economist is owned by The Economist Group. The Economist Group has several owners including the company Exor and several families (including Cadbury, Layton, Rothschild, Schroder).

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.