ABC 7 WJLA media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give ABC 7 WJLA one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. We have seen it on 41 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is ABC 7 WJLA biased?
The rating organisations do not give ABC 7 WJLA one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is ABC 7 WJLA left or right?
The rating organisations do not give ABC 7 WJLA one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Right.
Is ABC 7 WJLA reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for ABC 7 WJLA are Ad Fontes Media: Very high factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What ABC 7 WJLA has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with ABC 7 WJLA’s own report linked underneath.
Federal authorities have unsealed an indictment charging five individuals linked to Russian intelligence services with plotting targeted killings in the United States and European nations supporting Ukraine. The FBI announced it disrupted the alleged plot.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asRussian intelligence plot to commit murder for hire in the US was foiled by the FBI (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
The board of the Kennedy Center voted to close the performing arts venue due to financial problems and a disagreement about naming the building after President Donald Trump. A judge had previously blocked the venue from being renamed.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asFencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building after board votes to close it (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a coalition of Democratic-led cities and states have filed a lawsuit challenging a new Trump administration rule. The rule would allow immigration officials to deny green cards and visas to immigrants who use public benefits.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asMamdani sues to stop Trump admin from blocking immigration applications based on welfare (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Senator Mitch McConnell cast a vote to advance the farm bill in committee on September 16, after receiving voting instructions from Senator John Hoeven. The bill passed the committee 12-11 along party lines.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asMcConnell still silent on Senate return as colleagues filter in (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Donald Trump confirmed he uses artificial intelligence but declined to specify how, stating only that it can be used for "a lot of things." He also commented on the technology's future, saying "whoever wins in artificial intelligence wins."
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asTrump claims a 'strong and smart president' is the only guardrail AI needs (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Donald Trump has rejected calls for new regulations on artificial intelligence, stating that the U.S. government already possesses adequate power to control AI firms. He described efforts to implement guardrails as a "sick conspiracy" that could cede technological leadership to China.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asTrump claims a 'strong and smart president' is the only guardrail AI needs (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
A federal bribery trial is underway for Washington, D.C., Council member Trayon White. Prosecutors allege he accepted $35,000 in cash from an informant in exchange for using his position to help a businessman extend city contracts.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asJury selection resumes in federal bribery case against DC Councilmember Trayon White (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was granted access to military aircraft for his cross-country travels, including trips to campaign for Republican candidates. The White House and Department of Health and Human Services lawyers approved the plan.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asSecretary Kennedy used $9,000-an-hour military jet to go to campaign events: report (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
An American flag was unfurled at sunrise at the Pentagon to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The ceremony honored the 184 military personnel and civilians who died at the Pentagon.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asMassive American flag unfurls over Pentagon for 9/11 anniversary (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
The Justice Department and Treasury Department have taken action against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace operating on Telegram. Authorities seized Telegram channels and cryptocurrency wallets tied to the platform, which allegedly served as an escrow service for online scam centers.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asDOJ takes down Chinese scam network targeting 'every American with a retirement account' (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Excavation for a planned 250-foot-tall arch in Washington, D.C. is set to begin within two weeks, the Trump administration announced. The project faces a lawsuit and criticism over its potential impact on historic sightlines.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asTrump administration says work to begin soon on 250-foot D.C. arch memorial project (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
ICE officer Christian Castro has been federally charged with making false statements about the January shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis. Federal authorities had initially accused Sosa-Celis of assaulting an officer, but dropped charges after video evidence emerged.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asICE officer federally charged over Minneapolis shooting account (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Joel Shapiro's 'Blue' sculpture, installed at the Kennedy Center in 2019, was removed on September 2, 2026. The removal was requested by the Kennedy Center and the Joel Shapiro and Phelan Foundation, which will decide its future location. The action occurs amid broader renovation and renaming plans for the venue.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it as'Blue' statue removal at the Kennedy Center to disrupt traffic on Potomac Parkway (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Melissa Farris has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of destroying the World War II Memorial and government property. She is accused of spray painting the monument and filling a fountain with bubbles on August 13.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asWoman indicted in DC World War II Memorial vandalism (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that air traffic controllers and Marine One pilots met to discuss communication failures a week before a dual takeoff incident involving the presidential helicopter and a passenger jet. The issues remained unresolved.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asNTSB reveals controllers and Marine One crew addressed comms issues week before near miss (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Preston Parra, a former staffer for Republican Mike Collins, posted images including a swastika and himself in Ku Klux Klan-like regalia on social media. Parra also used an anti-Black slur and posted the phrase 'White Power'. He described himself as a 'twink fascist' and claimed his posts were 'satirical'.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asFormer staffer for Georgia Rep. Mike Collins accused of posting antisemitic images: report (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged in a Minneapolis shooting has been released from a Texas jail. A judge refused to order his extradition to Minnesota, citing jurisdictional issues, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott awaits an internal state investigation.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asICE agent charged in Minneapolis shooting released from jail after extradition bid denied (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Democratic-controlled states have filed a new lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to limit mail voting in the midterm elections. The suit targets new U.S. Postal Service rules that require federal approval for mail ballot envelope designs and a list of eligible voters.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asUSPS issues ballot-tracking rule ahead of midterms as court fights leave rollout unclear (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,328 immigrants during a two-week operation in Virginia and Maryland. Nearly 400 had prior convictions or pending charges, and some were identified as alleged members of transnational criminal organizations.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it as1,300 arrested after ICE's 'Operation Safe Community' in DC, Virginia and Maryland (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Former Illinois Deputy Sean Grayson, convicted of the 2024 shooting death of Sonya Massey, has died in prison. Grayson was serving a 20-year sentence and had been seeking medical release due to stage 4 cancer.
ABC 7 WJLA reported it asEx-deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey dies in prison (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
Who says so
2 organisations have published a rating for this outlet, in their own words. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
How reliably it reports fact
A rating of the newsroom in general, by others, and a different thing from the Trust score we publish on each story, which judges one piece of reporting.
Very high factuality
Who owns it
- Sinclair Broadcast GroupMedia Conglomeratedirect owner
Where it publishes from
What we have seen ourselves
Counted across the stories this site has published, which is the only denominator a reader can check: every one of them has a page, and every page lists the reports it was written from.
- Stories
- 41
- Reports listed
- 41
- We could read
- 1
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
40 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 1 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 19 of those stories, outlets rated right were largely absent from the coverage and ABC 7 WJLA ran the story anyway.
Across the 41 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than ABC 7 WJLA’s on 5 of them. Overall it filed a median of 12 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 18 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 18 September 2026. Ratings pulled 7 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as ABC 7 WJLA, also publishing from United States, ordered by how often we have seen them on a story. Sharing a rating is not the same as being alike.
Think this page is wrong?
The leanings above are published by AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check, and we republish them rather than make them. If you think one is misapplied, the strongest place to say so is with the organisation that made it, and every verdict here links to their page.
What we are responsible for is everything else: the ownership chain, where ABC 7 WJLA publishes from, which of our stories we have listed it on, and whether we have the right publisher at all. Tell us what is wrong and an editor reads it.
Report something wrong on this page
Anything we correct is written up in the public corrections log. We do not publish reader votes as a rating, because an unattributed rating is the thing this site exists to argue against.
Every rating on this page is a named third party’s published work, republished with its author and, where one exists, a link to it. Our own coverage record is the section we measure ourselves. Neither is a judgement of any individual report: those are scored story by story, and the reasoning is on our methodology page.