BBC News media bias and reliability
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place BBC News in the centre. We have seen it on 249 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is BBC News biased?
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place BBC News in the centre. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is BBC News left or right?
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place BBC News in the centre. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is BBC News reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for BBC News 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 BBC News has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with BBC News’s own report linked underneath.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland plan to sign a security pact at the UN General Assembly next week. President Donald Trump says the deal gives the US permanent control over security matters, while other outlets report no sovereign US control. A joint working group will discuss future cooperation.
BBC News reported it asUS and Denmark reach deal over Greenland's security after Trump threats (opens BBC News in a new tab)
In the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, juror Michael P. Desronvil was the sole holdout against an insanity acquittal, leading to an 11‑1 deadlock and a mistrial declared by Judge William Sullivan. Desronvil maintains prosecutors proved Clancy knowingly killed her three children.
BBC News reported it asLindsay Clancy holdout juror had no doubt she deliberately killed her children (opens BBC News in a new tab)
The White House posted a TikTok showing ICE arrests set to Zara Larsson's "Midnight Sun". Larsson replied on the platform, calling the video dehumanising and the administration "losers". The White House subsequently removed the song from the reel.
BBC News reported it asZara Larsson criticises White House for using her song in deportation video (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a televised address to the nation on September 16 at 6 p.m. Moscow time. The speech is in anticipation of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place from September 18 to 20. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the president's speech.
BBC News reported it asWhy Putin Cares About Legislative Elections — Even With Predictable Results - BBC News Brazil (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Russia has begun a three-day parliamentary election, the first since the start of the war in Ukraine. Polling stations opened in the Far East, with President Vladimir Putin's party widely expected to win the 450 seats in the State Duma. Voting is also taking place in occupied Ukrainian territories.
BBC News reported it asWhy Putin Cares About Legislative Elections — Even With Predictable Results - BBC News Brazil (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Researchers have identified a new wild cat species, Leopardus tilcayo, in Bolivia's Yungas forest. The small feline, measuring about 45-46 cm and weighing 1.4 kg, is the first new wild cat species described in more than 100 years.
BBC News reported it asSpotted wildcat from Bolivian forest revealed as new species (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin is set to visit UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at No 10 North in Manchester. The meeting will focus on strengthening UK-Ireland relations, trade, security, and support for Ukraine.
BBC News reported it asAndy Burnham: UK Prime Minister to meet Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Lambeth Palace has revoked an award given to Muslim cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi. The honour was for reconciliation and interfaith co-operation, but resurfaced comments from 2007 about Osama bin Laden led to its withdrawal.
BBC News reported it asArchbishop withdraws award from Muslim cleric who praised Bin Laden (opens BBC News in a new tab)
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.
BBC News reported it asCharles 'sounded giddily elated' after Diana died, Earl Spencer claims (opens BBC News in a new tab)
As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to visit the United States, families and advocates have made public appeals for the release of detained US scholar Min Zin and Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai. The pleas were made during congressional hearings in Washington.
BBC News reported it asWife of US scholar jailed in China asks Trump raise arrest at Xi meeting (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Yemen's Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for shooting down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib province. He also alleged Saudi Arabia conducted over 450 airstrikes this week and that other Saudi aircraft were forced to withdraw. Saudi authorities have not confirmed these claims.
BBC News reported it asYemen: Wreckage of downed Saudi fighter jet seen in verified video (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs or halt trade with the European Union if Canada is granted associate membership. He described the prospect as 'laughable' and a 'hostile act', while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed a desire for Canada to be the bloc's first associate member.
BBC News reported it asTrump threatens 'serious tariffs' on EU over proposal to make Canada 'associate member' (opens BBC News in a new tab)
A Pakistan Navy vessel collided with an Indian Navy warship in the North Arabian Sea on September 15, 2026. India lodged a strong protest, citing a violation of a 1991 agreement on advance notice of military exercises. The incident occurred in international waters and caused no major damage.
BBC News reported it asIndia, Pakistan summon diplomats after ships collide in international waters (opens BBC News in a new tab)
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. India's Ministry of External Affairs stated the nation will take necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests.
BBC News reported it asIndia faces 100% tariff threat over Russian oil after US House vote (opens BBC News in a new tab)
US journalist Austin Tice's 2012 kidnapping planned by Assad regime, BBC investigation finds
Trust 60A BBC investigation, citing former Syrian regime members and intelligence files, indicates US journalist Austin Tice's 2012 kidnapping was planned by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad. His driver allegedly provided information to the regime, facilitating the abduction.
BBC News reported it asAustin Tice: Assad regime planned US journalist's kidnap for weeks, BBC finds (opens BBC News in a new tab)
The United Nations General Assembly has voted to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the 81st session via video link. The decision follows the United States' denial of a visa to Abbas, preventing his in-person attendance in New York.
BBC News reported it asUS blocks Palestinian leader from UN meeting in New York for second year in row (opens BBC News 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.
BBC News reported it asRobert Kraft says Ed Sheeran asked him to donate $2m to aid after Macklemore backlash (opens BBC News in a new tab)
US Representative Gregory Meeks has placed a hold on a $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel, citing concerns about the use of 40,000 bombs in densely populated areas. The Trump administration is planning the sale, which could be bypassed from normal congressional review.
BBC News reported it asTop Democrat Gregory Meeks opposes US sale of heavy bombs to Israel (opens BBC News in a new tab)
A single-engine Cirrus SR22T plane crashed in the Swiss Alps, killing all three people on board. The incident occurred near Leukerbad in the canton of Valais. The cause of the crash is currently unknown, and the identities of the victims are still being determined.
BBC News reported it asTwo Britons among three killed in Swiss Alps light aircraft crash (opens BBC News in a new tab)
The U.S. House Oversight Committee voted to recommend holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Reports differ on whether the vote was unanimous, and Black's lawyers denounced the resolution as a complete abomination.
BBC News reported it asUS House votes to hold billionaire Epstein associate Leon Black in contempt on Congress (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Who says so
3 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
- British Broadcasting CorporationGovernmentdirect 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
- 249
- Reports listed
- 258
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
258 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 0 we could open, not on everything it published.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. BBC News is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 249 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than BBC News’s on 6 of them. Overall it filed a median of 21 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 19 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 19 September 2026. Ratings pulled 4 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as BBC News, also publishing from United Kingdom, 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 BBC News 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.