Cal Matters media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give Cal Matters one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 30 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Cal Matters biased?
The rating organisations do not give Cal Matters one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Cal Matters left or right?
The rating organisations do not give Cal Matters one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is Cal Matters reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Cal Matters 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 Cal Matters has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Cal Matters’s own report linked underneath.
Democrat Xavier Becerra is leading Republican Steve Hilton in the race for California governor, according to poll data. The election will determine who succeeds term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom, with national political figures also influencing the contest.
Cal Matters reported it asIn California governor’s race, voters choose between experienced liberal and upstart conservative (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
More than 34 million Americans have cast early ballots in the current midterm elections. This figure is on pace to surpass the early voting turnout of the 2022 midterms, according to data tracked by the UF Election Lab.
Cal Matters reported it asProp. 5: Will California voters change the rules for recall elections? (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
A federal judge in Los Angeles heard arguments regarding the Justice Department's request to prevent California from counting approximately 20,000 ballots until the citizenship of the voters can be confirmed. California officials argue this is impossible and could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
Cal Matters reported it asJudge rejects Trump administration bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Many survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County remain displaced and are running out of housing assistance. With federal aid uncertain, their recovery may hinge on the upcoming midterm elections.
Cal Matters reported it asFor LA fire survivors awaiting federal disaster aid, the midterms could be key (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
A federal appeals court has rejected the Justice Department's request to set aside approximately 20,000 California mail-in ballots alleged to be from noncitizens. The case has been sent back to a district court for further proceedings.
Cal Matters reported it asJudge says Trump could disenfranchise voters in purge of noncitizens from election rolls (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
On Tuesday, Americans vote in the 2026 midterms that will decide whether Republicans keep their narrow House majority and Senate seats. Trump faces low approval ratings, a war with Iran and a costly cost‑of‑living squeeze, while polls show 54% of his base would back him even if he loses.
Cal Matters reported it asGet up to speed fast on the California election with our guide for the still undecided (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Polls have opened across the United States for midterm elections, with a potential 'Blue Wave' threatening Republican control of Congress. President Trump made a final campaign address as his approval ratings hover near a record low.
Cal Matters reported it asGet up to speed fast on the California election with our guide for the still undecided (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Public opposition is growing across California regarding the use of police drones, leading to contentious local policy discussions. Concerns range from privacy violations to the expansion of surveillance beyond emergency situations.
Cal Matters reported it asCalifornians revolt against police drones after rapid adoption across state (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Tens of thousands of California state employees will walk out on Wednesday in a one‑day strike, the first statewide action by SEIU Local 1000 in its 44‑year history. The protest targets bad‑faith bargaining by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and could disrupt DMV, unemployment and park services.
Cal Matters reported it asCalifornia state workers are about to strike. What that means for the DMV, EDD, parks and more (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
California voters will decide on Proposition 39, a measure requiring government-issued identification to cast a ballot. The initiative has drawn attention for its politically charged language in the official voter guide and an estimated annual cost of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Cal Matters reported it asWhy are out-of-state billionaires funding a California voter ID measure? (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton released a campaign ad titled 'Just Try It, California' that has drawn criticism from both Republican and Democratic figures. The ad features two young women in a bedroom setting with an LGBTQ+ flag visible.
Cal Matters reported it asRepublican Hilton's ‘Just try it' ad courts liberals — and angers his own base (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Doctors and health insurers have filed a lawsuit against California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature, alleging a newly approved healthcare tax violates state law and could increase insurance premiums for residents.
Cal Matters reported it asDoctors, insurers sue Newsom over health insurance premium increases (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
California gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton met for their only scheduled debate. Becerra repeatedly linked Hilton to Donald Trump's policies, while Hilton accused Becerra of avoiding state issues and tied him to Governor Gavin Newsom and California Democrats.
Cal Matters reported it asIt was their only scheduled debate. Becerra and Hilton talked mostly about Trump (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed new laws aimed at protecting workers from artificial intelligence risks. The legislation bans the use of AI to predict a worker's emotional state using biometric data and requires employers to notify staff about AI-driven mass layoffs.
Cal Matters reported it asOn AI, Newsom gives labor only some of what it demanded (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law prohibiting law enforcement officers from using shock gloves. The ban is set to take effect next year and will remain in place until 2030, following a period where ICE awarded a contract for such devices.
Cal Matters reported it asNewsom signs new laws to rein in immigration agents as Trump's deportation campaign escalates (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
The California Supreme Court has ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return approximately 650,000 ballots seized from a November 2025 special election. The court ruled Bianco's seizure was unlawful, siding with the state's Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Cal Matters reported it asCalifornia sheriff broke election law by seizing ballots, state Supreme Court rules (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring Sacramento city and county, along with smaller cities, to form a joint powers authority for homelessness response. The move aims to address uncoordinated services, but faces opposition from county officials who threaten legal action.
Cal Matters reported it asCities often squabble over homelessness. A new California law forces one community to try something different (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Paramount Global and California's attorney general have discussed potential concessions as part of settlement talks. These discussions reportedly include a $1.5 billion investment in production within the state, as detailed by The Wall Street Journal.
Cal Matters reported it asDeal allowing Paramount-Warner Bros. merger may not cure Hollywood's troubles (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order mandating state agencies to develop recommendations for strengthening AI safety laws. The order calls for a team of experts to propose new regulations within two months, potentially including a 'kill switch' for AI programs.
Cal Matters reported it asNewsom orders California agencies to develop new AI safety plans after rejecting tougher law (opens Cal Matters in a new tab)
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong Blocks Warrantless Immigration Arrests in Southern California
Trust 42U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong has blocked immigration officers from making warrantless arrests in Southern California unless they determine a person is likely to escape. The order applies to the Central District of California and follows a lawsuit by immigrant advocacy groups.
Cal Matters reported it asJudge: Immigration agents must stop the way they’re conducting warrantless arrests (opens Cal Matters 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
- CalMattersIndependentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, United States
- Official site
- calmatters.org
- Seen publishing on
- calmatters.org
- Access
- Free to read
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
- 30
- Reports listed
- 31
- We could read
- 7
- First seen
- 5 August 2026
24 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 7 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 4 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Cal Matters ran the story anyway.
Across the 30 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than Cal Matters’s on 8 of them. Overall it filed a median of 17 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 4 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 4 November 2026. Ratings pulled 9 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Cal Matters, 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 Cal Matters 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.