National Review (News)

About National Review (News)'s Bias Rating

National Review (News) is featured on the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.

National Review (News) 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.

• National Review News Section Rated Lean Right in Sept. 2023 Editorial Review; AllSides Rates Opinion Separately as Right
• National Review Fact Check Section Also Shares Right Bias: July 2021 Editorial Review
• May 2021 Editorial Review: National Review Bias Remains Right
• April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey: National Review Rated Lean Right
• Third Party Claims of Bias

National Review News Section Rated Lean Right in Sept. 2023 Editorial Review; AllSides Rates Opinion Separately as Right

While AllSides previously rated all of National Review as Right, in Sept. 2023, National Review's news content was rated Lean Right in an Editorial Review by a multipartisan panel of six AllSides reviewers. The AllSides team opted to rate National Review's opinion content separately as Right. What this means: Any content appearing in National Review's section explicitly labeled "News" had a Lean Right bias overall (some individual content varied), and any opinion and some analysis content was generally Right biased. Note that the majority of National Review's content is analysis and opinion content.

The panel agreed that content in National Review's strictly "News" section showed Lean Right story choice bias but was largely written in a Center way, just giving facts. National Review sometimes used sensationalist words such as "blasts," and showed Lean Right word choice bias such as "illegal immigration," a term not used by the left. A reviewer on the right said National Review overall is "anti-Trump, anti-covid lockdowns/restrictions, pro-segregation of spaces and sports by sex, anti-open borders."

Some articles reviewed included but were not limited to:

• FDA Approves New Covid Vaccine Booster to Combat Emerging Variants
• California State Assembly Passes Controversial Transgender Youth Bill
• David Hogg Blasts New Mexico Governor over Emergency Order Banning Carry of Firearms
• Department of Education Opens Civil-Rights Probe into New College of Florida following DeSantis Overhaul
• Are Trump’s or Biden’s Lies Worse?
• Covid Restrictions Can’t Be Allowed to Return
• Just Say No to New Mandatory Covid Restrictions
• Sweden Avoided Covid Lockdowns, and Now Reaps the Benefits

National Review Fact Check Section Also Shares Right Bias: July 2021 Editorial Review

The National Review’s fact check section, Forgotten Fact Checks, has a Right bias, according to a July 2021 Small Group Editorial Review by AllSides editors on the left, center, and right.  

May 2021 Editorial Review: National Review Bias Remains Right

After the April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey returned a Lean Right rating for National Review, AllSides conducted an Editorial Review. We opted to keep National Review rated Right.

The decision was largely unanimous, with one reviewer who has a Lean Right bias arguing NR should be rated Lean Right — citing its philosophy, which is a civic libertarian and constitutional/establishment conservative perspective, rather than a populist right perspective. We noted calls to end the War on Drugs and legalize marijuana, as well as an article arguing for a pluralistic society rather than an explicitly Christian state, titled "State Support Weakens Christianity." There are different kinds of right-wing political ideologies —National Review is not populist right, they are more neo-conservative, and their pieces largely reflect that perspective. The team noted NR was highly critical of President Donald Trump during his tenure as well, which differentiates them from others on the right. (Read about different types of ideological bias here.)

NR is transparent about its bias, calling itself a conservative publication. The team noted a consistent right-wing story choice, and headlines with perspectives such as “CDC's New Outdoor Mask Guidance is a Joke", "Democrats Continue to Mislead Americans about the Israel-Hamas Conflict," and, "Is Coke Rethinking Woke?"

Some team members with a Lean Left bias said they saw some sensationalism in headlines, as well as a pro-Israel bent. 

April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey: National Review Rated Lean Right

The results of our April/May 2021 Blind Bias Survey returned a Lean Right rating for National Review's bias.

On average, 1,093 people across the political spectrum rated National Review firmly Lean Right. People on the left and in the center all rated National Review as Lean Right on average; people on the right rated National Review between Center and Lean Right on average.

Pluralities across all bias groups rated National Review's bias as Lean Right; the second most common response among people on the left was Right, and the second most common response among people on the right was Center.

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

As of October 2023, AllSides has high confidence in our Lean Right rating for National Review (News). Two or more bias reviews have affirmed this rating or the source is transparent about bias.

Additional Information

The National Review is a bi-weekly conservative magazine founded by author William F. Buckley, Jr. in 1955. Buckley started the magazine with the goal of making conservative ideas respectable at a time in which he believed “literate America [had] rejected conservatism in favor of radical social experimentation.” 

During the magazine’s early years, it aimed to fuse different schools of conservative thought in order to combat what were perceived as their common opponents. In addition to the magazine, free content is produced on the website National Review Online. The website features a digital version of the magazine, articles updated daily by National Review writers, and posts from several blogs including The Corner, and Bench Memos. 

Third Party Claims of Bias and Misinformation

Some on the left, such as a writer at The New Republic, have called The National Review the "bible of American conservatism."

At times, National Review has been accused of spreading misinformation. In 2020, a National Review article incorrectly described a former Kamala Harris staffer as the Twitter employee who decided to suspend former President Donald Trump from the platform. The writer later apologized.

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Owner: National Review, Inc.

National Review is owned by The National Review Institute. National Review Institute was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. as a nonprofit in 1991. Rich Lowry is the current editor-in-chief of National Review.

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.