People

About People's Bias Rating

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

Note: This rating is for People's online, politics section. AllSides' Media Bias Rating™ for People magazine is for its digital political content only, not its print magazine content.

What a "Lean Left" Rating Means

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

• People Rated Lean Left Following AllSides Small Group Editorial Review

People Rated Lean Left Following AllSides Small Group Editorial Review

People magazine's political coverage was rated Lean Left in a June 2022 AllSides Small Group Editorial Review.

A small group of AllSides reviewers — one person each with a bias on the left, center, and right — reviewed content from People's online politics section for political bias. At the time, big topics in the news were gun control/gun rights (following recent mass shootings in America), as well as LGBTQ Pride month.

The team noted that People magazine's coverage on guns typically used types of media bias such as slant, emotionalism, and bias by omission. Coverage focused on people calling for stricter gun laws, emotional pleas for stricter laws, and omitted voices that are against stricter measures. Examples included:

• Uvalde Families Plead for Congress to Strengthen Gun Laws: 'I Will Never Forget What I Saw That Day'
• Mother of Young Man Shot at Buffalo Supermarket Tells Lawmakers 'I Do Not Feel Protected' at Gun Hearing
• California Animal Shelter Introduces Policy Requiring Support of Gun Control for Pet Adoption
• Matthew McConaughey Delivers Impassioned Speech About Gun Safety at White House Press Briefing

Other indicators of Lean Left political bias included positive slant toward Democratic leaders, abortion access, and LGBTQ Pride month activities:

• A positive profile on the Obama family: Barack and Michelle Obama Wish Daughter Sasha a Happy Birthday with Throwback Photos: 'So Proud'
• Lean Left framing on abortion: Women Recall Their 'Barbaric' Illegal Abortions Before Roe v. Wade: 'We Cannot Go Back'
• Positive slant toward Pride month activities, negative slant toward groups against Drag Queen Story Hour: Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff Make Historic Pride Appearance with RuPaul's Drag Race Winner Symone, A Group of Proud Boys Allegedly Stormed a Drag Queen Story Hour at a San Francisco–Area Library

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

As of September 2023, AllSides has low or initial confidence in our Lean left rating for People. If we perform more bias reviews and gather consistent data, this confidence level will increase.

Additional Information

People magazine is a weekly American magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human interest stories. It also has a website, People.com.

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