NBC News Digital

NBC News bias is Lean Left. AllSides finds that NBC News' reporting is consistent with a Lean Left bias; its reporting often omits right-leaning perspectives and generally has a leftward bent, focusing on topics of importance to the left.

NOTE: This media bias rating only refers to the online news at NBCNews.com, NOT NBC broadcast TV content. 

• NBC Rated Lean Left in October 2026 Editorial Review
• NBC Rated Lean Left in Aug. 2022 Blind Bias Survey

NBC News Rated Lean Left in October 2026 Editorial Review 

A multipartisan panel of six bias experts on the left, right and center rated NBC News’ online written and video content Lean Left (-1.48) in an October 2026 Editorial Review. 

The previous overall AllSides Media Bias Meter Rating for NBC News was Lean Left (-1.80).

Panelists detected several types of bias present throughout NBC News’ digital content, including, but not limited to: slant, viewpoint placement/omission, analysis presented as fact, source omission, and subjective qualifying adjectives/negative word choice. Panelists noted biases including anti-MAGA, anti-Trump’s approach to immigration and anti-MAHA causes. 

While NBC included some quotes/perspectives from conservatives/the GOP, panelists noted bias by viewpoint omission —  right-leaning viewpoints were often scarce, or, occasionally, not included at all. For example, the article “Supreme Court to decide lawfulness of Trump’s immigrant detention policy,”  included perspectives from critics of the current policy, but offered no quotes from the Trump administration and did not summarize perspectives that support the current detention policy.

Bias by source omission was also highlighted numerous times. In the video, “Controversy Grows Over Taxpayer-Funded Trump Ads,” the description reads, “Many democrats [sic] and a growing number of republicans are demanding answers about campaign-style pro-Trump ads that, according to a U.S. official and a top republican senator, were paid for by the administration using money intended for U.S. customs and border protection. Critics say the ads amount to propaganda and are likely illegal.” The description doesn’t name which senator, official, or critics NBC was referring to, leaving out key details that would provide more credibility. 

In another example, the piece, California poll: Voters back a billionaire tax, but the proposal falls short of majority support stated, “The ballot measure comes amid a growing wealth gap nationwide — and growing ill feeling toward the ultra-wealthy, driving populist campaigning in the 2026 midterm elections.” NBC omitted a source for the claim of a growing wealth gap nationwide.

In yet another example of source omission, the piece Mortgage rates hit highest point since 2023 as Treasury yields rise did not name critics specifically when it said, “President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was still considering whether he would ban U.S. exports of the critical fuel. However, experts, including some in his own cabinet, have warned that a ban would only drive up prices.” 

Other examples of bias:

• Jack Smith Defends Investigations of Trump at Heated Hearing 
  • Spin: “Weeks before the coming midterm elections, senate republicans turned up the heat, unloading their anger on a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s fury, former special counsel Jack Smith”
• Supreme Court to decide lawfulness of Trump’s immigrant detention policy 
  • Viewpoint bias: Quotes the ACLU (against the Trump policy) more often than the administration and explains opposition to Trump’s policy thoroughly without as thoroughly explaining the reasoning in favor.
• Appeals court seeks to revive GOP congressional map in Missouri
  • Editorializing: “A federal appeals court on Monday introduced a new wrinkle into the convoluted fight over whether Republicans can use a new congressional map in November’s election, as the GOP tries to eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic House districts.”
    • “Convuluted” - subjective qualifying adjective
  • Slant/viewpoint omission: Article doesn’t include the Missouri GOP’s argument for redrawing the map.
• Contradicting Trump, Pope Leo says artificial intelligence safety concerns aren’t ‘fake news
  • Lean Left headline slant (highlighting contradiction to Trump)
  • Bias by omission: Offered Trump’s comments in paraphrases instead of full, direct quotes:
    • “President Donald Trump has called concerns about AI going rogue a ‘hoax.’”
    • “[Trump] has said efforts to limit the technology were part of a ‘conspiracy’ by his political opponents.”
• Supreme Court allows Trump’s ‘third country’ deportation policy 
  • Slant: "“third countries” where they have no connections.”
    • A Lean Right reviewer noted, “Do these immigrants come to the U.S. with any connections? Why is it relevant to mention this when they are sent to third countries, but not if they are entering the U.S. illegally?”
• Tracking the DOJ's effort to get U.S. voter registration data 
  • “The Justice Department is seeking voter registration list data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia as part of what they consider to be their responsibility to ‘ensure that states have proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs.’”
    • “What they consider to be their responsibility” implies skepticism of their authority
  • Editorializing: “The requests were unusual…”
  • Slant: Context usually heard from the left: “There is no national database of voters, and the federal government does not oversee U.S. elections.”
  • Slant/Anti-Trump bias: “But President Donald Trump, who still falsely maintains the 2020 election was stolen and that there is widespread voter fraud though members of his own administration have said there was no evidence to back up those claims, has suggested that Republicans should nationalize elections. That move would violate the U.S. Constitution.”
  • Provides some justification further down for why the DOJ is asking for the data, but not in much detail.

Additional articles reviewed:

• Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly as Iran war rumbles on
• Jack Smith tells senators hje won’t be silenced by threats from Trump and his allies
• New legislation aims to block renaming aircraft carrier after Trump
• Mortgage rates hit highest point since 2023 as Treasury yields rise
• Leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque can be deported, judge rules
• White House removes CNN from press pool for Trump’s upcoming trip
• At MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage
• ‘She was pure love’: Renee Good’s partner makes first public comments as family sues U.S. government, ICE officer over her killing
• Tracking the DOJ's effort to get U.S. voter registration data
• Trump’s new America.gov AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago
• Watchdog finds no criminality in Fed renovation that drew Trump’s scrutiny
• Supreme Court allows Trump’s ‘third country’ deportation policy
• 'Dear Donald': Battleground district voters share their message to Trump 
• ‘Fed up with a war they didn't want’: Midwestern voters air frustrations impacting the midterms
• Cornell student’s 2024 statement to police reveals new details about the night of her alleged rape
• ‘It was a mess’: Tennessee fails to execute woman after 2 lethal injections
• GOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race
   

NBC Rated Lean Left in Aug. 2022 Blind Bias Survey

NBC News was rated Lean Left in the Aug. 2022 AllSides Blind Bias Survey. 

On average, respondents who self-reported being on the left (Left, Lean Left) and respondents who are Center rated NBC News as Lean Left. Respondents on the right (Right, Lean Right) rated NBC News as Left.

Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all rated the bias of NBC News as Lean Left, on average.

A total of 822 people across the political spectrum rated the bias of NBC News. A total of 822 people from across the political spectrum rated the bias of NBC News. The weighted average was -2.55, which is in the Lean Left category. The middle 50% of responses lied between -4.85 (Left) and -0.80 (Center) – an interquartile range of 4.06.

During an AllSides Blind Bias Survey, people from all sides of the political spectrum and a diverse array of ages and geographic locations rate the bias of content from a media outlet blindly, meaning all identifying branding information is removed. Sign up for a Blind Bias Survey here.

How Many Americans Trust NBC: 2025 Data

According to Pew Research Center's data on news trust:

• 42% of Americans say they trust NBC as a source of news
• 25% of Americans distrust NBC

Among political groups:

• 25% of Republicans/Lean Rs trust NBC
• 60% of Democrats/Lean Ds trust NBC
• 44% of Republicans/Lean Rs distrust NBC
• 7% of Democrats/Lean Ds distrust NBC

Third-Party Accusations of Bias

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, NBC’s evening news 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 2.5.

Political Leanings of NBC Audience

According to a 2014 Pew Research Study, Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum, 26% of NBC News consumers are mostly liberal; 36% have mixed views, 14% are mostly conservative and 5% are consistently conservative. NBC News's ideological composition overall "largely mirrors that of the broader public, though conservatives are somewhat underrepresented in its audience relative to their share of all respondents," Pew notes.

NBC News Donations to Democratic Party: 2008 Election

In the 2008 election, NBC News — along with ABC and CBS, two other major broadcast television networks — donated a total of $1,020,816 to the Democratic Party, given by 1,160 employees from all three organizations, according to an analysis by The Washington Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. Only 193 donations were made to the Republican Party, totaling $142,863.

According to the Examiner, "Among NBC contributors were Saturday Night Live producer Jeffrey Ross, who contributed $500 to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CN, former NBC Today Show weatherman Willard Scott. who gave $500 to the Republican National Committee, NBC Universal CFO Jennifer Cabalquinto, whose donations to Obama totaled $1,200, and NBC Universal "editor" David Mack, with $250 to Obama and $2,300 McCain."

About NBC News

NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast company network NBC. The division under NBC Universal News Group, a subsidiary of media conglomerate NBC Universal. The group's various operations report to the president of NBC News. The company was founded in 1926 for radio, and the first news program in American broadcast television history aired on February 21, 1940. The group's broadcasts are produced and aired from Rockefeller Center, NBC's headquarters in New York City. Meet the Press is the longest-running television series in American history.

NBC News 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 February 22, 2021. If you think this information is out of date or needs to be updated, please contact us.