Newsmax (News)

AllSides Media Bias Rating™: Right
14027/12679
The bias meter value for Newsmax (News) is 4.00. -6 is the furthest "Left" value and 6 is the furthest "Right" value.
4.00
Right What does this mean?

How we determined this rating:

  • Independent Review
  • Editorial Review: Jan 2021, Dec 2019
  • Community Feedback:   ratings
  • 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
Newsmax (News)
Newsmax (News)
Bias Rating Right
Type News Media
Region National
Owner Newsmax Media
Established 1998
Website newsmax.com
Twitter @newsmax
Facebook newsmax
Wikipedia Newsmax (News)
What a Right Bias Rating Means

The source displays media bias in ways that strongly align with conservative, traditional, or right-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Right rating is our most conservative rating on the political spectrum.

Learn more about Right ratings
Go to Newsmax (News)
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About Newsmax (News)'s Bias Rating

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

Newsmax (News) is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Right.

What a "Right" Rating Means

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

Learn more about Right ratings

Details

NOTE: AllSides does not rate Newsmax TV; this rating is for Newsmax's online, written content only. AllSides rates Newsmax opinion content separately.

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Bias Reviews

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

Newsmax Rated Right in Feb. 2022 AllSides Blind Bias Survey

People across the political spectrum rated Newsmax as Right on average in a Feb. 2022 AllSides Blind Bias Survey.

This differed from AllSides' rating of Newsmax as Lean Right and triggered an independent review. AllSides then shifted the rating of Newsmax to Right. Reviewers from the AllSides team noted Newsmax's tendency to focus almost exclusively on issues and arguments that align with the political right, especially by frequently quoting Republicans and conservative pundits without presenting an alternate view.

On a scale of -9 to +9, with 0 representing Center, -9 representing furthest Left and +9 representing furthest Right, respondents on average rated Newsmax as 3.28, putting it in the Right category, and close to Lean Right. The middle 50% of responses lied between 1.45 (Lean Right) and 4.47 (Right).

When normalized, 12% of respondents rated Newsmax as left of center and 78% rated Newsmax as right of center. A total of 558 people rated the bias of Newsmax. Respondents self-rated their own bias as Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, and Right.

 

When breaking down by respondent bias, on average, people who are Left, Lean Left, Center, and Lean Right rated Newsmax as Right, and people who are Right rated Newsmax as Lean Right.

 

Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all rated Newsmax as Right, on average.

Newsmax Rated Lean Right in Jan. 2021 Editorial Review

A Jan. 15, 2021 Editorial Review of Newsmax's online news content (not opinion content) determined the site still had a Lean Right bias.

The AllSides team noted that Newsmax often published wire content from Associated Press, Reuters, and other third-party outlets, which often have a diffferent bias than Lean Right — even Lean Left, as was the case for AP's political news content at the time.

The team did not find many examples of types of media bias such as sensationalism, spin, opinion statements presented as fact, or flawed logic, but found that overall Newmax's story choice was a clear Lean Right, amounting to bias by placement. On the day we reviewed, top articles included stories about cancel culture, Trump taking a final swipe at China, a story about a NY bill that would outlaw the sale and possession of body armor, and a story about a migrant caravan coming to the U.S. — all issues of interest on the right. However, our team was still able to identify numerous stories that would be of interest to folks on the left, such as a story about Dunkin' Donuts using compostable straws and a story about Eric Trump, Jr. being questioned by prosecutors.

Team members on the left and right noted that Newsmax does a good job of publishing full quotes from sources, not snippets or short segments of quotes taken out of context. One left-wing team member said that Newsmax itself doesn't spin things, but the outlet "quotes people who spin things who are on the right." A team member in the Center said something similar, noting that, "The quotes they use are not as spun as we’ve seen elsewhere - they pick biased quotes or inflammatory quotes or base stories around those quotes."

Two team members who both have a Lean Left bias voted for Newsmax to have a Right bias rating. A team member with a Lean Right bias said he thought Newsmax was perhaps between Lean Right and Right, but that the outlet did not appear as far right as outlets such as Breitbart and TheBlaze.

A sampling of homepage headlines from summer 2020 were:


Lawyer Argues One of Fired Floyd Cops Was Rookie, Blasts Charges
Seattle Mayor Bans Tear Gas Use for 30 Days
Goodell Says NFL Was Wrong for Not Listening to Players
US Embassy in Mexico on Lockdown After Protests
Mayor Downplays Rough Police Treatment of NYC Protesters
Rep. Kinzinger to Newsmax TV: Defunding Police 'Nonsensical'
57 Resign From Buffalo Riot Response After Suspension
Minneapolis Agrees to Ban Police Chokeholds
A Look at Antifa, 'Boogaloo,' Others Blamed for Rioting
Supreme Court Could Make It Easier to Sue Police

Overall, the team opted to keep Newsmax's rating as Lean Right.

Dec. 2019 Editorial Review: AllSides Moves Newsmax from Right to Lean Right; Rates Newsmax Opinion Separately

A Dec. 2019 editorial review of Newsmax's web content determined the site has a Lean Right bias. AllSides decided to rate Newsmax's opinion section separately, as its bias differed significantly from its news section.

Prior to Dec. 2019, AllSides rated Newsmax overall as Right. While Newsmax publishes a magazine, AllSides provides media bias ratings for web content only.

During our Dec. 2019 editorial review, a multipartisan team of reviewers found Newsmax's bias mostly lies in its story choice, primarily featuring stories that are generally of interest to conservatives. However, as the time of review, Newsmax did feature some stories that may be of interest to those on the left, such as a story about Michelle Obama praising Greta Thunberg. Our reviewers evaluated the types of bias Newsmax displayed and found the outlet did not add a lot of spin to its stories nor is its word choice sensationalist; Newsmax's bias largely lay in its story choice. Notably, the site featured a substantial amount of news reports from wire sources AllSides rated at the time as Center, such as Reuters and the Associated Press.

Newsmax Rated on Border of Lean Right, Right in Jan. 2013 and March 2013 Blind Bias Surveys

Results from AllSides Blind Bias Surveys conducted in Jan. 2013 and March 2013 indicated that Newsmax's content was on the border of Lean Right and 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 Newsmax (News). On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Lean Right 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 Right rating for Newsmax (News). 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

Third-Party Claims of Bias/Endorsement by President Donald Trump

Newsmax gained a lot of media attention around the Nov. 2020 presidential election after reports surfaced that Fox News viewers were abandoning the network and turning to Newsmax for information instead. President Donald Trump also touted Newsmax as a trustworthy alternative to Fox on Twitter.

A 2010 study conducted by Nielson, a media measurement and analysis company, found that Newsmax.com was the most-trafficked conservative website, with approximately 4 million unique monthly visitors, making it one of the most influential conservative websites in the nation.

Bias of Newsmax's Audience

A 2021 Nielsen-MRI Fusion study on Newsmax's audience reportedly found that 37% of Newsmax viewers consider themselves "Middle-of-the-Road/No Political Affiliation," compared to 35% of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News viewers. A total of 37% of Newsmax viewers identified as Republicans and 26% as Democrats; 70% reported they always vote in national, state, or local elections.

According to Newsmax's own report on the study, it also found Newsmax viewers "live extremely active lifestyles,"  contain a "50/50 male-female split," earn a "median household income of ... $67,000," and "two out of three Newsmax viewers are spiritual, saying a prayer as part of their daily life."

About Newsmax

Newsmax Media is a conservative American news media organization founded by Christopher W. Ruddy. Based out of West Palm Beach, Florida, it operates on several platforms including Newsmax.com and Newsmax TV. The company was founded in 1998 and has been fairly consistent in generating positive revenue by targeting an audience of higher-income Baby Boomers.

Newsmax describes its magazine as one of the largest independent monthlies “with a conservative perspective.”

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Newsmax (News) Ownership and Funding

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

Owner: Newsmax Media

Newsmax is owned by Newsmax Media. Newsmax Media was founded in 1998 by Chris Ruddy, who is now its CEO and Majority Owner.

Financing and ownership information last updated March 31, 2021. If you think this information is out of date or needs to be updated, please contact us.

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Articles from Newsmax (News)

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