Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data
A federal appeals court found a request for records in a leak probe to be overbroad.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data
MediaBias News
Photograph: MediaBias News
What this story says
- A federal appeals court has limited an order for LinkedIn to disclose journalists' communications to the Trump administration.
- The order was part of a national security leak investigation.
- The appeals court found the request for records to be 'overbroad'.
- The court stated the search could 'deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms' and risk exposing confidential sources.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
48/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
A federal appeals court has narrowed an order that compelled LinkedIn to provide journalists' communications to the Trump administration. This order was part of a national security leak investigation.
Disagreement on the court's reasoning
The appeals court found the request for records to be 'overbroad'. The court stated that the search could 'deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms' and noted the risk of exposing confidential sources. However, one report attributed the finding that the search was 'overbroad' to the court, while another report stated the appeals court limited an order requiring LinkedIn to divulge journalists' communications.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports below mention the specific judge who wrote the appeals court's opinion, beyond one left-rated report noting a 'Reagan judge'.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 10 Nov 2026, 22:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led on the appeals court limiting the Trump administration's access to journalists' LinkedIn records in a leak probe. These reports highlighted that the court found the request 'overbroad' and stated it could 'deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms'. They also noted the risk of exposing confidential sources. One report mentioned that a Reagan judge delivered a 'stinging rebuke' over the Trump administration's actions.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the appeals court limiting an order for LinkedIn to disclose journalists' communications to the Trump administration as part of a leak investigation. These reports stated the court found the request 'overbroad' and noted the potential damage to First Amendment freedoms and the risk to confidential sources. One report indicated the appeals court handed the Trump administration a setback in the leak probe.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 57% are rated left, 43% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data biased?
- Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Appeals court limits Trump order for journalists' LinkedIn data?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did the appeals court rule regarding journalists' communications?
- A federal appeals court ruled that an order requiring LinkedIn to disclose journalists' communications to the Trump administration must be narrowed. This order was part of a national security leak investigation.
- Why did the appeals court limit the order?
- The appeals court found the request for records to be 'overbroad'. The court stated that such a search could 'deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms' and noted the risk of exposing confidential sources.
- Which news outlets covered this story?
- The story was covered by Bowen Island Undercurrent, Medicine Hat News, UA.NEWS, Alternet, The Hill, Political Wire, and Bloomberg Law.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Appeals court limits order for LinkedIn to disclose journalists' communications in leak probe (opens Bowen Island Undercurrent in a new tab)
Bowen Island Undercurrent — is Bowen Island Undercurrent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Reagan judge delivers stinging rebuke over Trump DOJ’s secret records grab (opens Alternet in a new tab)
- DOJ’s Request for Journalists’ LinkedIn Records Found Too Broad (opens Bloomberg Law in a new tab)
Bloomberg Law — is Bloomberg Law biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Appeals court narrows DOJ’s search of journalists’ records in leak probe (opens Politico in a new tab)
Centre
3- Appeals court limits order for LinkedIn to disclose journalists' communications in leak probe (opens Medicine Hat News in a new tab)
Medicine Hat News — is Medicine Hat News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Appeals court limits Trump DOJ’s access to journalists’ private chat logs (opens The Hill in a new tab)
- Appeals Court Hands Trump Setback in Leak Probe (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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