The Guardian

AllSides Media Bias Rating™: Lean Left
18870/12356
The bias meter value for The Guardian is -2.40. -6 is the furthest "Left" value and 6 is the furthest "Right" value.
-2.40
Lean Left What does this mean?

How we determined this rating:

  • Independent Review
  • Community Feedback:   ratings
  • Blind Survey: Jul 2021
  • AllSides has medium confidence in this bias rating.

Unless otherwise noted, this bias rating refers only to online news coverage, not TV, print, or radio content.

Learn about our bias rating methods
The Guardian
The Guardian
Bias Rating Lean Left
Type News Media
Region National
Owner Guardian Media Group
Established 1821
Website theguardian.com
Twitter @guardian
Facebook theguardian
Wikipedia The Guardian
What a Lean Left Bias Rating Means

The source displays media bias in ways that moderately align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas.

Learn more about Lean Left ratings
Go to The Guardian
No Paywall
Our records indicate that content from this source is free to access. If this is incorrect, please email us to let us know.

About The Guardian's Bias Rating

The Guardian is featured on the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.

The Guardian 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 2004, a features editor asserted that "it is no secret we are a centre-left newspaper." 

Top of Page

Bias Reviews

We use multiple methods to analyze sources. Learn how we rate media bias.

The Guardian Rated Lean Left in July 2021 AllSides Blind Bias Survey

In the July 2021 AllSides Blind Bias Survey, in which people across the political spectrum rated content from The Guardian's news section without knowing the source, the average rating was Lean Left.

A total of 1,331 people rated The Guardian. A plurality of people who have a Left, Lean Left, Center, and Lean Right bias rated The Guardian as Lean Left. A very slight plurality of people who have a Right bias rated The Guardian as Left, with the second most common response from the Right being Lean Left.

The second most common response for people on the Left, Lean Left, and Center was a rating of Center. For people who Lean Right, the second most common response was Left.

 

 

July 2021 The Guardian AllSides Blind Bias Survey

 

Top of Page

Community Feedback

Feedback does not determine ratings, but may trigger deeper review.

As of March 2024, people have voted on the AllSides Media Bias Rating for The Guardian. On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Left bias.

Confidence Level

Confidence is determined by how many reviews have been applied and consistency of data.

As of March 2024, AllSides has medium confidence in our Lean Left rating for The Guardian. An Editorial Review or Blind Bias Survey has 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

About The Guardian

The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper founded in reaction to the closure of a radical workers’ newspaper in 1821. The paper publishes content on its UK online edition, as well as its two international web sites, Guardian Australia and Guardian US. The newspaper’s print edition has an average daily circulation of 189,000 copies, behind the Daily Telegraph and The Times, and ahead of The Independent. Its online edition was the fifth most widely read in the world as of October 2014, with over 42.6 million readers.

History of The Guardian: Founded As Left-Wing Newspaper

The Guardian was founded in 1821 to promote liberal interests during a turbulent time characterized by massive worker movements and growing anti-Corn Laws campaigns. It maintained its role as the voice of the left despite facing several financial hurdles over the years. By the 1970s and 1980s, a period of polarized politics in Great Britain, The Guardian’s opinion pages helped spawn the center-left SDP party. Meanwhile, its letters page was where the battle for the future direction of the Labour Party played out.

When The Independent was launched in 1986, it solidified its position as a centrist British newspaper alongside The Guardian on the left and the Times and Telegraph on the right. A large majority of current readers vote for either the Labour or Liberal Democratic Parties, while the paper has traditionally endorsed one of those two parties during general elections.

Political Leaning of The Guardian's Audience

According to the 2014 Pew Research Study, Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum, the majority (72%) of The Guardian’s readers hold political values to the political left or left-of-center. 9% of The Guardian's audience is right or right-of-center (compared with 26% of all respondents to the survey). Roughly 20% of The Guardian's audience is considered mixed or center (compared with 36% of all respondents to the survey).

Top of Page

The Guardian Ownership and Funding

Funding and ownership do not influence bias ratings. We rate the bias of content only.

Owner: Guardian Media Group

The Guardian is owned by the Guardian Media Group, which owns another British newspaper, The Observer. The Guardian Media Group is wholly owned by Scott Trust Limited. The current chair of the Scott Trust Board is Alex Graham.

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.

Articles from The Guardian

This content was curated by AllSides. See our Balanced Newsfeed.