Media Matters

About Media Matters's Bias Rating

Media Matters is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Left.

Media Matters is transparent about its bias. On its About page, it states it is a "progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."

What a "Left" Rating Means

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

Media Matters Rated Left in Dec. 2021 Independent Review

A Dec. 2021 Independent Review by an AllSides reviewer found Media Matters maintained its Left bias.

Media Matters runs advocacy campaigns urging advertisers to drop conservative TV personalities, such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. It largely focuses its activism on targeting Fox News. A Media Matters campaign at the time of review, #UnFoxMyCableBox, was an effort to get consumers to tell their satellite or cable TV providers to drop Fox News. On its campaign landing page, Media Matters said that "Fox News lies all the time" and "promotes extremism, fuels conspiracy theories, and celebrates bigotry and racism."

Media Matters took a strong left stance on all issues reviewed, such as stating that right-wing media was "baselessly portray[ing] [Twitter's] decision to suppress a story about Hunter Biden as having influenced the results of the 2020 presidential election." (Background: Read about the Hunter Biden laptop story and the Twitter Files here.) Media Matters takes a supportive stance on gender-affirming care (read about why "gender-affirming care" terminology and transgender medical practices are controversial here.) Media Matters called "climate denial" a "conspiracy theory", and rejected concerns that red flag laws meant to address gun violence would end or harm due process.

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As of September 2023, people have voted on the AllSides Media Bias Rating for Media Matters. On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Lean Left bias.

As of May 2017, a majority of AllSides users who voted on this bias rating agreed with our bias rating of Left. Of those who disagreed, the average rating fell on the cusp of a Lean Left and Center bias rating.

As of September 2023, AllSides has high confidence in our Left rating for Media Matters. Two or more bias reviews have affirmed this rating or the source is transparent about bias.

Additional Information

Media Matters for America is a 501(c)(3), web-based, not-for-profit organization. Media Matters was founded in 2004 by journalist and activist David Brock to "systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation...every day, in real time." They publish research and analytic reports as well as rapid-response items and try to keep not only activists, but also the general public aware of misinformation. Some people consider Media Matters to be the media watchdog counterpart to the more conservative Media Research Center. They are also known for having declared a "War on Fox" in 2010.

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