In a world that has become about as polarized and biased as ever, it can be extremely difficult to find unbiased news sources.
Especially in the United States, those on the liberal left believe right-wing news sources like Fox News are terribly biased. Those on the conservative right are convinced liberal media sources distribute nothing but fake news.
So whos right? Which media sources are free from government or corporate censorship and actually report the facts?
Because of how polarized the country is, youll be lucky if you can find two people who agree on which news sources are the most unbiased. The reality is that there really is no such thing. There are only varying degrees of bias.
One of the best ways to determine lack of bias is by surveying the audience itself. In fact Gallup and the Knight Foundation did just that in 2017, surveying 1,440 Gallup panel members.
Whats astonishing is that the publications listed as some of the most biased by conservatives and the least biased by liberals included The Washington Post and The New York Times. Yet those were two at the top of the list of the least biased news sources published by author Paul Glader at Forbes.
This reveals that either Forbes, or Paul Glader himself, has significant liberal bias leanings himself. If you check who conservative writers say are the most unbiased publications, youll find the opposite to be true.
So whos right? How can you choose the most unbiased news sources when even those promoting allegedly unbiased sources are likely biased themselves?
Again, the check with the audience.
Using the Gallup/Knight Foundation survey itself, its easy to identify the least biased news sources. Its those that least upset both liberals and conservatives. The news sources rated in the middle of both lists represent the least bias.
Why is this the case?
Because journalists who rely on facts and evidence are least likely to ask loaded questions at a news conference (upsetting conservatives) or use offensive terms in their reporting (upsetting liberals).
Most journalists have probably read The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel at some point in their study of journalism. Its well known as a guide for good journalism. The Ethical Journalism Network further boils the principles from that book into five core principles of journalism.
What are the characteristics of the most unbiased news sources? According to EJN:
So which news sources are actually unbiased? Which news outlets adhere best to the five core principles of journalism?
The AP is consistently featured on nearly every list of unbiased news sources. So it makes sense to list it first here.
The tagline featured at the top of the APs main page is Advancing the power of facts.
Youll notice that the language used in the news stories here even political ones are very neutral and non-inflammatory.
AP journalists focus on reporting facts citing authoritative sources and corroborating or disproving claims made by sources by providing evidence.
Just this week, youll even find one story about all of the fake news readers might have seen on social media. The AP then confirmed or debunked those claims using hard facts.
The Top Stories section of the AP website is an excellent place to get the latest news around the world. There is also an interesting Video section with news segments, and Listen section which is the AP Radio broadcasts, updated hourly.
PBS News is one of the few media outlets that remains immune from major accusations of bias.
Stories here feature both sides of every issue. When you read quotes from politicians or other major figures, youll read them with all of the important context provided. Context is a critical part of balanced reporting, and PBS News does it far better than most other media sources.
On PBS News youll find news categories like Politics, Health, World, Nation, Economy, and much more. It also features a Full Episodes section of all news broadcasts, a Podcasts section of their most popular audio news podcasts, and a Watch live link at the top of the page for watching current, ongoing news broadcasts.
If you need a U.S. focused source of news that you can trust to remain fair and balanced in their reporting, you cant go wrong with PBS News.
While NPR news is often featured on most lists of balanced news sources, it also has more accusations of being left-leaning than other news sources on this list.
These accusations are usually related to a couple of NPR journalists who are less adept at keeping their political leanings in the background. However most NPR journalists adhere strongly to all of the core principles of journalism, especially accountability.
NPR listeners and readers who reach out to NPR will find that journalists are excellent at responding to criticism. In many cases they will even correct stories or seek to provide better balance on the topics where they hear criticism or complaints from their audience.
NPR offers a tremendous variety of news content for their audience. Youll find categories on the site like Politics, Business, Technology, Science, and Race & Culture.
NPR also offers wonderful shows and podcasts, and even a music section focused on helping the NPR audience better appreciate existing, new, and alternative artists and music.
For the most part, when you explore NPR news stories aside from the occasional left-leaning comments or slant from some of the journalists for the most part youll find balanced and fact-based reporting there.
According to a 2014 Pew Research Study, 40% of CBS News audience are left-leaning, while only 20% are right-leaning. While this is often pointed to by political conservatives that CBS News has a left-leaning bias, the truth is that the remaining CBS News audience is center-aligned.
This means that the CBS News audience is much more politically balanced than many other news outlets.
Even when covering very controversial issues, CBS News uses balanced and neutral language in its reporting. Article titles found across the site are matter-of-fact, and reporting includes context as well as opinions from all sides of any debate.
Other major network news outlets like NBC or ABC are often accused by conservatives of featuring inflammatory anti-right headlines, CBS News more often goes unscathed from those accusations.
In fact in the Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey, CBS News was rated far higher by conservatives than CNN, MSNBC, and NBC News. Liberals rated CBS News higher than CNN, USA Today, and even The Washington Post.
Two media-bias rating services, Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides, both rank BBC News in the center of news reporting.
This means that for independent news readers, BBC news reporting stands as one of the best options. This may be due to the fact that the BBC is based in Britain so remains uninfluenced by U.S. political influence.
U.S. news coverage on the BBC is surprisingly balanced. Headlines are matter-of-fact and avoid pulling punches against either side of the U.S. political spectrum.
BBC also offers an extremely wide range of news coverage, including world news, business, science, health, and even a reality check section that debunks fake news you might have seen on social media or on other news sites.
Both Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides report Reuters as even less biased in its reporting than the BBC.
It doesnt take long browsing the Reuters website to see why this is the case. Article titles there are refreshingly neutral, and journalists there are heavily fact-based in their reporting.
Despite that neutrality, Reuters journalism doesnt pull any punches. Youll find U.S based stories there that take a hard line against corruption, unethical politicians on both sides of the aisle, and well-rounded coverage of every issue.
Reuters is an excellent source of news for business and markets, politics, and even technology and lifestyle issues.
Theres also a TV link in the header where you can watch all of Reuters past video news broadcasts. Select the flag in the header to change Reuters coverage to your own region of the world.
One surprising contender on the list of unbiased news sources, given the name, is Christian Science Monitor. Both AllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check list Christian Science Monitor as center-balanced and unbiased.
This news organization has built a reputation over the years as providing extremely fair, in-depth exploration into important issues in the world today. Unlike the more biased media outlets out there, Christian Science Monitor works hard to bring in perspectives from all sides.
You wont find article titles on this site that seek to malign or unfairly cover one political side or another. Stories dive into the most relevant issues that matter to the audience, providing full context and drawing in multiple sources to corroborate all facts.
The site content is mixed with both text and video news content. Youll also find podcasts, photos of the week, and even a section devoted to book reviews.
Original post:
7 Unbiased News Sources Free From Censorship
- NRA case shows the Supreme Court must stop informal censorship - Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Microsoft faces bipartisan criticism for alleged censorship on Bing in China - The Register - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Is Fighting Misinformation Censorship? The Supreme Court Will Decide. - Reply All | Gimlet - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The censorship industry and it's connection to Israel - JNS.org - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- How to improve Chinese TV? Better censorship, says top tellie-maker - The Register - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Up First briefing: Putin wins Russian election; SCOTUS censorship case - NPR - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Elon Musk calls X number one source of news in the worldand also a hardcore, player versus player platform - Fortune - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Asking is not censorship: No First Amendment bar for government to talk to publishers - New York Daily News - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- X-Men: The Animated Series was defined by its censors - Polygon - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Justice Jackson lambasted for 'concern' 1st Amendment could 'hamstring government' in COVID censorship hearing - Fox News - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The Beginning of the End for the Censorship-Industrial Complex? - National Review - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- RFK Jr.: Government shouldnt have role in social media moderation - NewsNation Now - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Self-Pollinating Narrator of 'Wishtree' Called 'Indoctrination,' Virginia District Group Read Canceled | Censorship News - News Letter Journal - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- This Country Can't Afford A SCOTUS Weak On Internet Censorship - The Federalist - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Banning TikTok is just the first step to censorship - Point Park Globe - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- SCOTUS Ponders Whether Biden Administration Coerced Social Media Platforms To Censor Speech - Reason - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- In Virginia, Censors Attempt to Axe 'Wishtree' - Publishers Weekly - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Elon Musk Says Moderation Is a Propaganda Word for Censorship About Offensive X Posts - Rolling Stone - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Supreme Court Makes A Mockery Of Free Speech - The Federalist - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- No matter how you view TikTok, banning the platform would be censorship - The Daily Orange - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- China must look beyond censorship and economic power to win hearts and minds - South China Morning Post - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- 'The View' Producers Forced To Censor Ana Navarro's Expletive As She Talks About Biden - Daily Caller - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- How China Censors Critics of the Economy - The New York Times - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- A Startup Allegedly 'Hacked the World.' Then Came the Censorshipand Now the Backlash - WIRED - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Negative Takes on China's Economy Are Disappearing From the Internet - The Wall Street Journal - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Let The Government Censor Away Through Agents It Controls, Say Cabal Of A.G.s To U.S. Supreme Court Wirepoints - Wirepoints - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- 14 Massachusetts colleges land on restrictive free speech list: Censorship and terrible policies - Boston Herald - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- The Association of Appin Training Centers is waging a global censorship campaign to stop you from reading these ... - MuckRock - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Norway owns a part of Putin's propaganda and censorship machine - The Independent Barents Observer - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Censorship? That's just obscene! | Opinion | register-herald.com - Beckley Register-Herald - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Censorship in the West is the same as Mao's China, says Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei - Sky News - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- South Korean government reported to announce plans for smoking scene censorship from K-dramas and films at the ... - Sportskeeda - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Prime Video's 'Expats' Was Filmed in Hong Kongbut You Can't Watch It There - TIME - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- ADF to 8th Circuit: Govt can't censor pro-life views - ADF Media - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Fox News Forced To Censor Trump As He Rants About Gavin Newsom And Michelle Obama - Towleroad - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- NYC teachers will exchange notes on how to get around censorship to teach kids about the genocide in Gaza - New York Post - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- The GOP Has a Plan for Online Safety. It Involves Censoring LGBTQ Content. - The New Republic - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Opinion: Need help finding a good book? Try one your 9th grader isn't allowed to read - Los Angeles Times - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- 'Gateway to Censorship': Journalist Bodies Express Concern Over Proposed Broadcasting Services Bill - The Wire - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- The Dangerous Pursuit of Journalism in Russia: A Harrowing Reality - Medriva - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Global censorship campaign raises alarms - Freedom of the Press Foundation - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Texas Library Censorship Attempt Struck Down By 5th Circuit - Above the Law - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war - Committee to Protect Journalists - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- South Sudan's Battle with Censorship: Removing Hateful News Articles - The Organization for World Peace - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Intimidation leading to censorship in Wisconsin school libraries - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Censorship over Palestine: Holocaust Survivor Decries Repression After Talks in Germany Are Canceled - Democracy Now! - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- As Legacy Media Continues in Decline, It Espouses Censorship More - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Trump Nomination: Pundit Expects Censorship, Calls for Riots - The Dallas Express - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Data Overwhelmingly Supports Libraries and Library Workers: Book Censorship News, January 5, 2024 - Book Riot - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Blame adults these days for censorship - Times Higher Education - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- CNN admits it runs all Gaza coverage through bureau monitored by Israeli military censor - Salon - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Does your Pa. school policy open the door to censorship? - phillyBurbs.com - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Iran's internet price rises, and so does the fear of greater censorship - TechRadar - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Report highlights censorship and repression of Palestine solidarity across Europe - Morning Star Online - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- 2024, the year that four billion go the polls - Index on Censorship - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Government Internet censorship was imposed 196 times last year - 9to5Mac - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- In the shadows of self-censorship: The impact of the Cyber Security Act on Bangladeshs LGBTQ+ movement - Global Voices - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Wright Says Studio Hired a Replacement Actor to Dub Him After He Refused to Censor the N-Word in a Film: Nah. Thats Not Happening - Variety - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Comedian and musician Tom Smothers dies at 86: A victim of government and corporate censorship in the late 1960s - WSWS - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Polish pavilion selection at Venice Biennale gets political as rejected artist cries censorship - Art Newspaper - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Wartime censorship is necessary, but must be responsible - editorial - The Jerusalem Post - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Wright Says a Replacement Actor Dubbed His Lines When He Refused to Censor the N-Word - PEOPLE - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Judicial Watch Sues Biden Censorship Agency for Records Targeting Judicial Watch and Its President Tom Fitton - Judicial Watch - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Wright Says He Refused To Censor The N-Word In Ride With The Devil & Walked Away From Dubbing Film - Deadline - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Academic Bias and Censorship Are Huge Problems, and We Can Prove It - National Review - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Laws banning semi-automatic weapons and library censorship to take effect in Illinois - Toronto Star - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Here Are The States Urging SCOTUS To Allow Biden Admin To Coordinate With Big Tech To Censor Online Speech - Daily Caller - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- China Tries To Censor Data About Nearly 1 Billion People in Poverty - Newsweek - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Laws banning semi-automatic weapons and library censorship to take effect in Illinois - Firstpost - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Iowa School District removes over 70 books without following proper review procedures - Blogging Censorship - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Chinese election interference tests Taiwans capability to defend freedom of speech - Index on Censorship - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Laws banning semi-automatic weapons and library censorship to take effect in Illinois - Index-Journal - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Censorship and the case for institutional literacy - The Hill - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Release Of Aquaman And The Lost Kingdoms Dubbed Versions DELAYED Due To Censor Board - Times Now - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Gary Simmons on Censorship, Minstrelsy, and the Scourge of Art Fairs - Interview - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Jeff Crouere: Censorship is un-American; free speech is the answer - The Franklin Sun - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Mother Russia. Who is the face of Russian online censorship, scourge of Russian rappers and Gen-Z icon - . - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Why Middle East scholars are self-censoring in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war - NPR - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- "Keeping Your Mouth Shut: Spiraling Self-Censorship in the United States" - Reason - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- EU TARGETS Elon Musk's Twitter for MORE CENSORSHIP Over 'HAMAS PROPAGANDA': Rising Reacts - The Hill - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]