ABC Australia media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give ABC Australia one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 127 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is ABC Australia biased?
The rating organisations do not give ABC Australia one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is ABC Australia left or right?
The rating organisations do not give ABC Australia one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is ABC Australia reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for ABC Australia 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 Australia has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with ABC Australia’s own report linked underneath.
Earl Charles Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' in a phone call shortly after Princess Diana's death in 1997. Buckingham Palace has responded, stating that grief can affect memory.
ABC Australia reported it asCharles 'giddily elated' on night Diana was killed, her brother claims (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
Three supporting acts have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran's tour following the removal of rapper Macklemore. Macklemore was dropped by tour promoters for pro-Palestinian comments made during a performance. The departing acts cited solidarity with Macklemore and opposition to perceived silencing of voices speaking out against Israeli actions.
ABC Australia reported it asEd Sheeran, Robert Kraft donate millions for Gaza aid after Macklemore's urging (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
China's state-run Global Times has labelled a proposal by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to slow AI development a 'Cold War playbook'. The essay, also endorsed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, urged the US not to sell powerful AI chips to China.
ABC Australia reported it asA memo from China reveals the CCP's fundamental fears about AI (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, marking the first such increase in over three years. The unanimous decision aims to combat inflation, and was followed by a significant drop in gold prices.
ABC Australia reported it asUS Fed hikes interests rates to curb inflation in move likely to rile Trump (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
Three supporting acts have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran's tour following the removal of rapper Macklemore. Macklemore was dropped by tour promoters for pro-Palestinian comments made during a performance. The departing acts cited solidarity with Macklemore and opposition to perceived silencing of voices speaking out against Israeli actions.
ABC Australia reported it asEd Sheeran's support acts quit US tour after Macklemore dropped (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
The Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration's request to enforce new U.S. Postal Service mail ballot regulations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The court's order leaves in place a lower court injunction blocking the rules.
ABC Australia reported it asTrump criticises Supreme Court for rejecting restrictions on mail-in ballots (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
The US Space Force has confirmed the deployment of weapons in Earth orbit, marking the first public acknowledgement of such capabilities. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink stated the weapons are intended for defence against hostile actions, though specific details remain undisclosed.
ABC Australia reported it asThe US has admitted deploying weapons in space and China is sounding the alarm (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
The United States has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in orbit. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the Space Force placed "space control weapons" to deter adversaries, drawing accusations from China and Russia.
ABC Australia reported it asThe US has admitted deploying weapons in space and China is sounding the alarm (opens ABC Australia 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 Australia reported it asTrump dismisses 'sick conspiracy' against AI (opens ABC Australia 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 Australia reported it asTrump dismisses 'sick conspiracy' against AI (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate swore at a journalist and left a press conference after being asked about a claimed dinner with Donald Trump. The White House has contradicted Tate's assertion that he dined with the former US president.
ABC Australia reported it asGold Coast mayor swears at journalist amid questions over Donald Trump dinner (opens ABC Australia 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 Australia reported it asUS Republican Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after lengthy illness (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
NSW Police conducted a drug raid on Sydney's Oxford Street, searching 65 people and making 28 drug detections without any arrests. The operation has drawn criticism from the LGBTQ+ community and civil liberties advocates, who question the police tactics and timing.
ABC Australia reported it asPolice deny targeting LGBTQIA+ community after weekend nightclub raids (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
Leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru, and Sinn Féin met in Cardiff to sign a memorandum of understanding calling for self-determination and independence referendums. The meeting followed US President Donald Trump's public support for Irish unity.
ABC Australia reported it asScottish, Welsh and Northern Irish leaders unite in push to leave UK (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
During a visit to Dublin, President Donald Trump said he would "love" a unified Ireland and that it would happen eventually. The comment triggered unionist leaders to reject interference, while Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called the remarks timely and urged preparation for reunification.
ABC Australia reported it asDonald Trump reiterates support for united Ireland, won't talk about Scotland 'yet' (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukrainian-Polish border. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European officials had travelled on a train that passed through the area shortly before the attack, according to reports. Poland's Prime Minister warned of intensified Russian attacks.
ABC Australia reported it asRussian strike on Ukraine-Poland border shows war at Europe's 'doorstep' (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
An Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 people has been reported missing after losing contact on Sunday, September 13, 2026. The vessel was travelling from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, and its last known position was in the Java Sea. Rescuers have launched a search operation.
ABC Australia reported it asRescuers dispatched as passenger ship goes dark with 240 on board (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
President Donald Trump is visiting his golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, for the Irish Open. His trip includes planned meetings with Irish leaders and is met with objections from lawyers and planned protests.
ABC Australia reported it asTrump says reunification of Ireland would be 'fantastic' while visiting on golf trip (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
Satellite data has detected a large fire and thermal anomalies near Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline. Unconfirmed reports suggest Houthi forces may be responsible, though Saudi authorities have not confirmed the incident.
ABC Australia reported it asSaudi Arabia closes oil pipeline after drone attack launched from Iraq (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in New Delhi, discussing ways to boost bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. They reviewed progress in defence, energy, and space, and Modi gifted Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural.
ABC Australia reported it asPutin and Iranian president arrive in India for summit focusing on war (opens ABC Australia 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
- Australian GovernmentGovernmentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Official site
- abc.net.au
- Seen publishing on
- abc.net.au
- Access
- Free to read
- Wikipedia
- Entry
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
- 127
- Reports listed
- 131
- We could read
- 44
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
87 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 44 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 29 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and ABC Australia ran the story anyway.
Across the 127 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than ABC Australia’s on 3 of them. Overall it filed a median of 22 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 18 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 18 September 2026. Ratings pulled 3 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as ABC Australia, also publishing from Australia, 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 Australia 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.