Independent Journal Review

About Independent Journal Review

Independent Journal Review is featured on the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.

Independent Journal Review is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Lean Right.

What a "Lean Right" Rating Means

Sources with an AllSides Media Bias Rating of Lean Right display media bias in ways that moderately align with conservative, traditional, libertarian, or right-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Lean Right bias is a moderately conservative rating on the political spectrum.

Learn more about Lean Right ratings

• IJR Moved from Center to Lean Right following Dec. 2021 Independent Review
• AllSides Moves IJR from Lean Right to Center in Jan. 2021 Independent Review

IJR Moves from Center to Lean Right in Dec. 2021

AllSides moved IJR from Center to Lean Right in Dec. 2021 following an independent review by a few AllSides editors.

We noted consistent negative framing of Democrats; story choice limited to Capitol Hill angles that usually favor the right; consistent publishing of conservative commentary; no left-wing perspectives included; and the use of sensationalist language ("Rand Paul ripped," "shocking announcement."

Jan. 2021 Independent Review: AllSides Moves IJR from Lean Right to Center

On Jan. 26, 2021, three AllSides team members conducted independent reviews of IJR. We moved IJR from Lean Right to Center following a review of their content. We give this rating with low confidence and plan to do more research.

The team found that IJR frequently publishes wire content from Reuters (a source AllSides rated as Center at the time, though a recent Blind Bias Survey had returned a Lean Left rating). Its writing was very balanced, and did not display common types of media bias such as spin, sensationalism, slant, flawed logic, or bias by omission. Its story choice included pieces that would appeal to both the left and right. It used quotes generously, not taking them out of context nor using only partial snippets.

We found no indication that IJR was attempting to lure a right-wing audience on its About page or masthead, and AllSides found its content not to sway to the left nor right.

While many third parties, such as The Hill, New York Times, and CNN have referred to IJR as conservative, AllSides suspects this is because the site was founded by conservatives. However, AllSides rates content only, and ownership of a company does not impact our ratings (though it may be worthwhile to note).

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As of March 2023, people have voted on the AllSides Media Bias Rating for Independent Journal Review. On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Lean Right bias.

As of March 2023, AllSides has low or initial confidence in our Lean right rating for Independent Journal Review. If we perform more bias reviews and gather consistent data, this confidence level will increase.

Additional Information

According to Wikipedia, The Independent Journal Review is an American viral news website founded in 2012. It has over 35 million visitors a month, making it one of the top 50 websites in the United States.

According to a 2014 article in the New York Times, IJR was founded by Alex Skatell, a former digital director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in 2012. He used $40,000 that he had earned and $20,000 borrowed from his parents. He believed that there was a gap in the market for a publication that would appeal to "a more mainstream center-right audience" and began aggregating news stories on a Facebook page called Conservative Daily. He promoted the page and later launched the Independent Journal Review.

Skatell teamed with Phil Musser, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association. The two “bonded over being generally dispirited about our party’s approach to all things digital,” Musser is quoted as saying.

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