Ad Fontes Political Bias Checker (Media Bias Chart®)

OSINT

Free & Paid
No Download/Install required
No registration

https://app.adfontesmedia.com/chart/interactive

The Ad Fontes Media Interactive Media Bias Chart is a data-driven visualization platform that categorizes news outlets based on two primary metrics: reliability and political bias. The service utilizes a methodology where a diverse panel of human analysts evaluates individual news stories across various media formats, including web, print, television, and podcasts, according to a standardized rubric. Sources are plotted on a Cartesian coordinate system where the vertical axis measures news value and reliability—ranging from original fact reporting to fabricated information—and the horizontal axis measures political sentiment from extreme left to extreme right.

This taxonomy allows users to filter sources by audience reach, medium, and specific reliability scores to discern the objective quality of information streams.

For professionals in quality assurance, science, and innovation, this tool serves as a critical filter for information integrity and environmental scanning. In these domains, the accuracy of secondary data is paramount for risk assessment and strategic decision-making. Analysts can apply the chart to:

Validate the credibility of technical reporting and industry news used in competitive intelligence or regulatory compliance monitoring.
Mitigate cognitive bias in research by identifying the ideological leanings of sources reporting on emerging technologies or scientific breakthroughs.
Audit corporate communications and public relations strategies to ensure technical information is disseminated through high-reliability channels, thereby protecting institutional reputation and data authority.

Disciplines: Journalism, Media literacy, Education, OSINT, Political science.

Free alternative to AllSides, Media Bias Fact Check, NewsGuard.

Ad Fontes Political Bias Checker compared with AllSides, Media Bias Fact Check and NewsGuard
Ad Fontes Political Bias Checker (Media Bias Chart)	AllSides	Media Bias Fact Check	NewsGuard
What is rated: The unit of analysis is the individual article, podcast or TV episode. Source scores are generated from the scores of these items, and sources typically have at least 10 to 15 rated articles.	What is rated: AllSides rates the political bias of outlets, using a five-category scale from Left to Right. It does not score reliability on a numerical scale.	What is rated: Media Bias Fact Check rates general sources, and applies separate formulas to politicians and pollsters. Bias and factual reporting are scored separately, and a distinct credibility rating also exists.	What is rated: NewsGuard rates websites against nine apolitical criteria. Its page states that political leaning is not rated, so it answers a different question than a bias chart.
Scales and scoring: Reliability and bias are both scored by analysts on numerical scales. Reliability runs from 0 to 64, and bias from -42 (left) to +42 (right), each with sub-factors and an overall value.	Scales and scoring: The Media Bias Meter runs from -6 to +6, with Center between -0.99 and +0.99. A confidence level (Low/Initial, Medium, High) states how many methods support the rating.	Scales and scoring: Bias is a weighted composite from -10 to +10, built from economic system, social values, news reporting balance and editorial bias. Factual reporting weights failed fact checks at 40 percent, sourcing 25, transparency 25 and one-sidedness 10.	Scales and scoring: Each site receives a 0 to 100 score from nine weighted criteria (six on credibility, three on transparency). The levels range from High Credibility at 100 to Proceed with Maximum Caution at 0 to 39.
Who rates and how: Human analysts trained on the methodology rate each article, with at least three analysts per item balanced across self-reported left, right and center viewpoints. Scores are averaged.	Who rates and how: Methods include editorial review by a multipartisan panel of six to nine reviewers, blind bias surveys of unbranded content, independent review and third-party data.	Who rates and how: Ratings are human-driven, with a primary editor holding final authority. A minimum of 10 headlines and 5 full stories is reviewed per source, and the site states that AI is used only for copyediting.	Who rates and how: Trained journalists draft a Nutrition Label for each site, which a senior editor and the co-CEOs review. Sites are contacted for comment before publication when they may fail a criterion.
Access and licence: The interactive chart is publicly linked. Downloading custom chart views is limited to paying News Nerd Members, and one free article or episode rating can be requested per person.	Access and licence: The ratings are licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0, so noncommercial use with attribution is allowed. Commercial use needs a separate licence, and CSV or JSON data can be requested from AllSides.	Access and licence: The site is supported by advertising, with a paid ad-free membership as an option. A data API page is linked from the site, though its terms were not detailed on the methodology page.	Access and licence: The rating page describes a browser extension that shows a score icon beside links on search engines and social media. Pricing and licence terms are not given on that page.