CNBC media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give CNBC one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 166 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is CNBC biased?
The rating organisations do not give CNBC one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; 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 CNBC left or right?
The rating organisations do not give CNBC one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; 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 CNBC reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for CNBC 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 CNBC has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with CNBC’s own report linked underneath.
The US House of Representatives has advanced a bill that could allow President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas. The bill, which previously passed the Senate, is set for a final vote.
CNBC reported it asTrump gains a tariff weapon against China and India. Will he use it? (opens CNBC 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Three supporting acts have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran's tour following the removal of rapper Macklemore.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.
CNBC reported it asBillionaire Kraft says Ed Sheeran sought $2 million aid donation from him amid fracas over Macklemore's Palestine comments (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it as'Hostile act': Trump threatens EU with tariffs over Canada associate-membership proposal (opens CNBC in a new tab)
U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing a significant gain. This rebound followed the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate increase, which had previously led to market declines. Treasury yields and oil prices also decreased.
CNBC reported it asDow futures rise 400 points as market tries to recover after Fed sell-off: Live updates (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asHouse votes to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress over Epstein subpoenas defiance (opens CNBC in a new tab)
House Speaker Mike Johnson has sent representatives home early for their pre-election recess. This move postpones a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which had been initiated by Rep. Thomas Massie over Hegseth's actions in Iran and Venezuela.
CNBC reported it asHegseth avoids impeachment vote with early House election recess (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asFed approves interest rate hike, signals one more to come this year (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asHouse passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill honoring Lindsey Graham, sends to Trump (opens CNBC in a new tab)
OpenAI is reportedly in early discussions with investors for a new funding round that could value the company at approximately $1.2 trillion. This comes as the AI firm considers its timeline for a potential initial public offering.
CNBC reported it asOpenAI investors have approached the company about a new funding round (opens CNBC in a new tab)
US stock markets closed lower on September 15, 2026, influenced by climbing oil prices and Treasury yields. Concerns about artificial intelligence spending and corporate demand also added to investor apprehension, leading to a broad market downturn.
CNBC reported it asBond yields are spiking, oil is up — but investors aren’t giving up on stocks (opens CNBC in a new tab)
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang is expected to join President Donald Trump at a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on 24 September. An anonymous source confirmed his attendance, and a White House official said the event will feature leading U.S. business figures to pursue deals.
CNBC reported it asNvidia CEO Huang attending Trump's state dinner for China's Xi: Source (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asHouse Oversight recommends holding Leon Black in contempt over Epstein subpoena standoff (opens CNBC in a new tab)
Representative Thomas Massie has introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Massie alleges Hegseth continued U.S. military operations in Iran without congressional approval and criticizes his actions in Venezuela and Yemen.
CNBC reported it asRepublican Rep. Massie seeks Hegseth's impeachment over Iran (opens CNBC in a new tab)
A federal judge is considering a legal challenge to block President Donald Trump's name from being inscribed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The dispute centers on whether the center's board can add the name after a judge ruled only Congress has that authority.
CNBC reported it asJudge blocks Kennedy Center board from putting Trump's name on plaza, building (opens CNBC in a new tab)
Yemen's Houthi rebels have captured the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea. This move strengthens their control over a vital maritime shipping route and pushes them closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
CNBC reported it asSaudi pipeline closure is a brief interruption that will last days, U.S. Energy Secretary tells CNBC (opens CNBC in a new tab)
PETA plans to meet with Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, after he was filmed restraining two protesters at New York Fashion Week. Kolb has apologized for the incident and is currently on leave.
CNBC reported it asFashion council CEO takes leave after grabbing runway show protesters (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asTrump calls Supreme Court mail ballot ruling 'big loss for Republicans' (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asU.S. confirms for first time it has weapons deployed in space (opens CNBC 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.
CNBC reported it asU.S. confirms for first time it has weapons deployed in space (opens CNBC in a new tab)
US prosecutors are seeking to forfeit over $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to illicit Iranian oil sales. The funds were allegedly laundered through Binance accounts by two Chinese companies and intended to finance Iran's government, military, and the IRGC.
CNBC reported it asU.S. seeks to seize $61 million of crypto it claims are proceeds from Iranian petroleum sales to Chinese buyers (opens CNBC 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
- VersantMedia 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
- 166
- Reports listed
- 176
- We could read
- 57
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
119 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 57 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 59 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and CNBC ran the story anyway.
Across the 166 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than CNBC’s on 3 of them. Overall it filed a median of 25 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 CNBC, 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 CNBC 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.