CNN media bias and reliability
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place CNN as leaning left. We have seen it on 295 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is CNN biased?
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place CNN as leaning left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is CNN left or right?
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place CNN as leaning left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is CNN reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for CNN are Ad Fontes Media: High factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What CNN has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with CNN’s own report linked underneath.
The global gender gap has closed by 69.2%, according to the World Economic Forum's 2026 Global Gender Gap Report. However, at the current rate of progress, full gender parity is estimated to be 120 years away, with political empowerment remaining the furthest from parity.
CNN reported it asWorld Economic Forum: Gender equality will take 120 years to achieve (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asHouse holds billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt over Epstein probe (opens CNN in a new tab)
A Government Accountability Office report found the Trump administration spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers in 2025. The initiative, known as DOGE, led to a 435% increase in such leave, with an estimated $6.7 billion spent on a deferred resignation program.
CNN reported it asTrump administration paid federal employees $9.5 billion not to work in 2025 under DOGE plan (opens CNN in a new tab)
The European Commission plans to propose a ban on social media for children under 13. Those aged 13 to 15 would have restricted access, potentially via parent-supervised 'mini-accounts'. The legislation is to be known as the 'EU Kids Act'.
CNN reported it asEU announces plan to ban social media for under 13s (opens CNN in a new tab)
Senator Bill Cassidy has blamed the Trump administration's vaccine policies for recent measles deaths in Pennsylvania. He also called for confirmation that vaccines do not cause autism, a point raised during a confirmation hearing for Dr. Nicole Saphier.
CNN reported it asSen. Cassidy: Measles deaths are ‘terrible legacy’ for Trump admin (opens CNN in a new tab)
U.S. Senate Republicans have released a revised draft of the Clarity Act, a major cryptocurrency bill, incorporating new ethics language that President Donald Trump has agreed to. The bill includes provisions on affiliate trading, consumer protection, and software developer protections. A procedural vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
CNN reported it asThe crypto industry saw Trump as its savior. His crypto business just snagged a key bill (opens CNN in a new tab)
A 21-year-old Spanish student, Claudia Tacoronte, was murdered in Mexico on Saturday, September 12. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez has called for justice and a full investigation, with Mexican authorities examining the case under the protocol for femicide.
CNN reported it asThe murder of this female exchange student has shocked Mexico and Spain. Here’s what we know (opens CNN in a new tab)
The United States has imposed new visa restrictions on certain South African nationals, citing race-based discrimination and uncompensated land seizures. South Africa has rejected the US allegations, stating the measures are based on mischaracterised policies and fringe group information.
CNN reported it asRubio announces new visa restrictions targeting South African officials for ‘race-based discrimination’ (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asFellow opening acts quit after Ed Sheeran tour drops Macklemore (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asTrump says Kennedy Center will close ‘immediately’ for reconstruction, pending court ruling on renaming (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asMassie pushes surprise impeachment vote of Hegseth — overshadowing a Democrat’s bid to impeach Trump (opens CNN in a new tab)
FBI Director Kash Patel declined to rule out sending agents to polling places on Election Day, telling senators he wasn’t certain the bureau is legally barred from doing so. Patel stated the FBI has agents in each field office devoted to addressing election crimes.
CNN reported it asBooker calls Patel a thug (opens CNN in a new tab)
US Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the FBI has new information regarding the attacker in the 2024 attempt on Donald Trump's life. Trump claimed on social media that the assassination attempt was a "Democrat plot" to remove him from the election, though investigations concluded the shooter acted alone.
CNN reported it asPatel details investigation of would-be assassin (opens CNN in a new tab)
Donald Trump alleged the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a 'Democratic Plot' to remove him from the election. The FBI has found no connections between the suspect and others, and Trump offered no evidence for his claim.
CNN reported it asPatel details investigation of would-be assassin (opens CNN in a new tab)
Newly released FBI documents offer further insight into Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump on July 13, 2024. The records, obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee, include interviews with Crooks' father and describe his withdrawn personality and growing interest in weapons.
CNN reported it asPatel details investigation of would-be assassin (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asJudge blocks latest bid to add Trump’s name to Kennedy Center (opens CNN in a new tab)
FBI Director Kash Patel declined to rule out sending agents to polling places on Election Day, telling senators he wasn’t certain the bureau is legally barred from doing so. Patel stated the FBI has agents in each field office devoted to addressing election crimes.
CNN reported it asPatel loses temper when asked how FBI will monitor elections (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asTrump lashes out at Supreme Court justices, saying his appointees ‘are not the people I interviewed’ (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asUS military confirms it has deployed weapons in space (opens CNN 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.
CNN reported it asThe US military said it has deployed weapons in space. Here’s what that could mean (opens CNN 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.
High factuality
Who owns it
- WarnerMediaMedia Conglomeratedirect owner
- Warner Bros. DiscoveryMedia Conglomerateparent group
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
- 295
- Reports listed
- 305
- We could read
- 9
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
296 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 9 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 75 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and CNN ran the story anyway.
Across the 295 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than CNN’s on 5 of them. Overall it filed a median of 20 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 CNN, 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 CNN 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.