MSNBC

The bias meter value for MSNBC is -3.71. -6 is the furthest "Left" value and 6 is the furthest "Right" value.
-3.71
Left What does this mean?

How we determined this rating:

  • Independent Review
  • Community Feedback:   ratings
  • Blind Survey: Nov 2023, Aug 2023
  • 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
MSNBC
MSNBC
Bias Rating Left
Type News Media
Region National
Owner NBCUniversal
Established 1996
Website msnbc.com
Twitter @MSNBC
Facebook msnbc
Wikipedia MSNBC
What a Left Bias Rating Means

The source displays media bias in ways that strongly align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Left rating is our most liberal rating on the political spectrum.

Learn more about Left ratings
Go to MSNBC
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Our records indicate that content from this source is free to access. If this is incorrect, please email us to let us know.

About MSNBC's Bias Rating

MSNBC is featured on the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.

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

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.

Learn more about Left ratings

Details

Important Note: This page offers a media bias rating for online content on MSNBC.com only. AllSides does not rate the bias of broadcast TV or radio content.

MSNBC (stylized as msnbc) is an American basic cable and satellite channel that provides news coverage and political opinion on current events. It is owned by the NBCUniversal News Group. 

MSNBC's Self-Proclaimed Progressive Bias

Beginning in the mid-2000s, MSNBC's opinion programming increasingly reflected its concept of political progressivism. In October 2010, it publicly acknowledged this with a marketing campaign it called "Lean Forward." Further, in September 2013, MSNBC launched its revamped official website under the tagline, "What Progressives Have Been Waiting For." Their current tagline is: "This is who we are.

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Bias Reviews

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

MSNBC Rated Lean Left in Nov. 2023 Blind Bias Survey; AllSides Keeps Left Rating

MSNBC was rated Lean Left (-1.74) in a Nov. 2023 Blind Bias Survey. AllSides took MSNBC's Left (-5.67) rating from the Aug. 2023 Blind Bias Survey and created a weighted average. The new rating for MSNBC was -3.71 — still in the Left category.

Overall, 55% of respondents to the Nov. 2023 survey rated the outlet as left of center, 22% rated it in the exact center, and 24% rated it as right of center.

MSNBC Rated Left in Aug. 2023 Blind Bias Survey

MSNBC was rated Left (-5.67) on average in the Aug. 2023 Blind Bias Survey, which had 1,181 participants. This confirmed AllSides' current rating for the source.

MSNBC was rated Left on average across all bias groups - Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, as well as among those who rate their own bias as Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, or Right.

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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 MSNBC. On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Lean 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 Left rating for MSNBC. 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

MSNBC Spread False Story About a Capitol Officer's Death

In 2021, MSNBC repeated the false story that Capitol police officer Brian D. Sicknick was beaten to death with fire extinguisher by Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. The story spread rapidly through the press after initially being reported by The New York Times. Some accused the outlet of spreading disinformation. AllSides details the charges of disinformation here.

Pew Research Center Studies on MSNBC

According to a 2014 Pew Research Center Study, "Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum," MSNBC's "overall audience composition skews to the left. Those to the left-of-center make up 49% of its audience."

A 2019 Pew Research Center study found that 95% of Americans who named MSNBC as their main political news source identified as Democrats.

Third Party Claims of Bias

A 2007 New York Times article, "Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left," explored the channel's left-leaning nighttime cable lineup. It is important to emphasize that AllSides' media bias ratings are based only on the online/web versions of media outlets. MSNBC's cable lineup is not considered in the AllSides media bias rating.

According to a study by The Economist, which looked at whether news outlets used words more often associated with Democrats and Republicans and assigned those outlets an ideological score, MSNBC had a Democratic leaning of around 1.5 Democrat-leaning phrases per 10,000 in 2017. By 2022, its left-of-center slant had grown to 5.5.

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MSNBC Ownership and Funding

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

Owner: NBCUniversal

MSNBC is owned by NBCUniversal. Comcast owns NBC Universal. Brian L. Roberts is the chairman, president, and CEO of Comcast. Comcast is publicly traded.

Financing and ownership information last updated April 22, 2023. If you think this information is out of date or needs to be updated, please contact us.

Articles from MSNBC

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