Washington Times

AllSides Media Bias Rating™: Lean Right
30001/14555
The bias meter value for Washington Times is 2.00. -6 is the furthest "Left" value and 6 is the furthest "Right" value.
2.00
Lean Right What does this mean?

How we determined this rating:

  • Independent Review
  • Editorial Review: Sep 2022
  • Community Feedback:   ratings
  • Blind Survey: Aug 2022, Nov 2012
  • 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
Washington Times
Washington Times
Bias Rating Lean Right
Type News Media
Region National
Owner Operations Holdings
Established 1982
Website washingtontimes.com
Twitter @WashTimes
Facebook TheWashingtonTimes
Wikipedia Washington Times
What a Lean Right Bias Rating Means

The source displays media bias in ways that moderately align with conservative, traditional, libertarian, or right-wing thought and/or policy agendas.

Learn more about Lean Right ratings
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About Washington Times's Bias Rating

Washington Times is featured on the AllSides Media Bias Chart™.

Washington Times 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.

Learn more about Lean Right ratings

Bias Reviews

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

Washington Times Rated Lean Right in September 2022 Small Group Editorial Review

A Sept. 2022 Small Group Editorial Review, conducted by a multipartisan panel of AllSides reviewers, rated the Washington Times Lean Right. While reviewers on the left, right, and center noted balanced coverage on several stories, they also noted several articles that favored GOP politicians and that the self-description of the outlet conveyed conservative values. 

A reviewer on the right observed that the Washington Times reported on some issues that the right doesn’t often cover, such as Indigenous rights. The reviewer on the right also saw multiple articles that were critical of the Democrats, indicating bias by story choice. Other reviewers noted a focus on stories relevant to the right such as border security, student loan debt forgiveness, and a potential presidential run by Gov. DeSantis. All reviewers noticed some center stories

Reviewers on the left and right found that the about page of the Washington Times website portrayed an intention to provide right-leaning news coverage. The Washington Times identified its goal as being "a trusted counterweight to the media often identified as ‘mainstream’" and "to inform and to celebrate the American values of freedom, faith and family."

Washington Times Rated on Border of Center, Lean Right in Aug. 2022 Blind Bias Survey

The Washington Times was rated on the border of Center and Lean Right in the Aug. 2022 AllSides Blind Bias Survey. AllSides had Washington Times rated Lean Right at the time; the results triggered a Small Group Editorial Review.

On average, respondents who self-reported being Left and Lean Left rated the Washington Times as Lean Right, while respondents who are Center and on the right (Right, Lean Right) rated it as Center.

Democrats rated the Washington Times as Lean Right, on average, while Independents and Republicans rated it as Center.

A total of 853 people from across the political spectrum rated the bias of the Washington Times. The weighted average was 1.03, which is on the border of Lean Right and Center. The middle 50% of responses lied between -1.75 (Lean Left) and 3.09 (Right) – an interquartile range of 4.84.

During a 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.

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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 Washington Times. 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 Lean Right rating for Washington Times. 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

On its About page, The Washington Times states [retrieved 9/12/2022],

Since 1982, The Washington Times has furthered its founder's vision to provide a trusted counterweight to the media often identified as "mainstream." While presidents, prime ministers and other power brokers worldwide rely on our coverage, The Times primary audience consists of readers outside the halls of power. The Times delivers that audience facts and commentary to inform and to celebrate the American values of freedom, faith and family.

The Washington Times was founded by Sun Myung Moon in 1982. The Times notes that Moon "will forever be tied to the fight to defeat communism, a cause to which he devoted much of his life’s work." Speaking of the fall of the Soviet empire, he said, "I do not have the slightest doubt that God used The Washington Times to help bring an end to the most pernicious worldwide dictatorship in history and gave freedom to tens of millions of people."

The Times continued, "
As president, Ronald Reagan often praised Rev. Moon’s work and that of The Times, which, especially in the 1980s, focused extensively on communism and its attempted expansion around the globe."

Third Party Claims of Bias

Many have referred to The Washington Times as conservative, including The New York TimesUSA Today, and Wikipedia. (View AllSides Media Bias Ratings™ for The New York Times, USA Today, and Wikipedia.)

In recent decades, others have criticized The Washington Times over allegations of racism. In 2006, The Nation wrote that the paper's newsroom was "abuzz with allegations of racism, sexism and unprofessional conduct." According to that report, both editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden and managing editor Francis Coombs had been accused of racism and sexual harassment, and both had threatened to reveal that they were being pressured "to inject pro-Unification Church propaganda into the paper’s coverage." The report also quotes Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project executive director Mark Potok, who said the paper was "in bed with bigots and white supremacists," adding, "The Times is a key part of the radical right’s apparatus in the United States."

Pruden later returned to run the paper's Commentary section in 2013, after the death of its founder, Sun Myung Moon. The Columbia Journalism Review called the change "a troubling sign for the opinion pages, long a key pipeline for conservative ideas and a training ground for right-of-center pundits." The Review also quoted an anonymous Washington Times insider, who called Pruden's return "a huge blow to the influence and credibility of the paper."

Pruden died in 2019 at the age of 83; his staff page still describes him as a "journalism institution" who enjoyed "deftly deflating the pompous, entitled and arrogant of the political establishment."

In October 2008, The Washington Times received criticism for publishing commentary by Frank Gaffney, who questioned then-candidate Barack Obama's citizenship. Gaffney wrote, "There is evidence Mr. Obama was born in Kenya rather than, as he claims, Hawaii." 

Responding to criticisms of its religious affiliation, The Washington Times writes [retrieved 2/9/2023],

The Times has withstood criticism and even insults over its association with the Unification Church. Fortunately, our readership has seen fit to rise above coarse attacks and misstatements of fact to focus on the quality work of the news organization.

Who Owns and Funds The Washington Times

The Washington Times was founded in 1982 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church. The Washington Times is owned by TWT Holdings LLC., which is a subsidiary of Operations Holdings, Inc. The holding company is a subsidiary of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. Christopher Dolan is the current president and executive editor of The Washington Times.

Financing and ownership information last updated April 17, 2022. If you think this information is out of date or needs to be updated, please contact us.

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Washington Times Ownership and Funding

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

Owner: Operations Holdings

Articles from Washington Times

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