El Pais media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give El Pais 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 193 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is El Pais biased?
The rating organisations do not give El Pais 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 El Pais left or right?
The rating organisations do not give El Pais 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 El Pais reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for El Pais 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 El Pais has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with El Pais’s own report linked underneath.
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.
El Pais reported it asThe Tilcayo, First Wild Feline Discovered in over a Hundred Years (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Mexican security forces have arrested Francisco Javier “N”, alias “El Trompas”, the man accused of murdering Spanish student Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera. The 21-year-old was attacked near a medicinal plant fair in Cuautla, Morelos, and died from her wounds. Authorities are investigating the incident as a possible robbery.
El Pais reported it asArrested ‘El Trompas’, Alleged Killer of Spanish Student Claudia Tacoronte in Mexico (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to address the European Parliament. This follows a proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for Canada to become the EU's first associate member, a move US President Donald Trump has criticised.
El Pais reported it asMark Carney, after Trump’s new tariff threats: ‘Europe and Canada are stronger together’ (opens El Pais 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Three supporting acts have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran's tour following the removal of rapper Macklemore.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.
El Pais reported it asMacklemore's Departure From Ed Sheeran's Tour Becomes a Donation Race for Gaza (opens El Pais 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.
El Pais reported it asTrump Threatens to “Cut Off Trade” if the EU Associates with Canada (opens El Pais 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.
El Pais reported it asFederal Reserve Challenges Trump by Unanimously Raising Interest Rates 25 Basis Points (opens El Pais in a new tab)
President Donald Trump has accused Canada of not doing enough to stop drug trafficking, alleging that fentanyl is produced in clandestine Canadian labs. However, he did not include Canada on a list of major drug-producing countries submitted to Congress.
El Pais reported it asTrump Decertifies Colombia Again in the Anti-Drug Struggle · Global Voices (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Michael Kremer, a 2019 Nobel laureate in Economics, has been appointed the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. He is scheduled to take up the position on 1 October 2026, replacing Indermit Gill.
El Pais reported it asThe World Bank Appoints Michael Kremer, Nobel Prize in Economics, as Chief Economist (opens El Pais 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.
El Pais reported it asSupport for Palestine Triggers a Crisis on Ed Sheeran's Tour with the Abandonment of Several Musicians (opens El Pais in a new tab)
The Trump administration is preparing to sell Israel a $2.8 billion arms package that includes 40,000 heavy aerial bombs. The sale, reported by The Washington Post, involves munitions that have been linked to civilian casualties in Gaza and Lebanon.
El Pais reported it asU.S. Prepares Sale to Israel of 40,000 Bombs of Nearly a Very Destructive Ton · Global Voices (opens El Pais in a new tab)
A report documented 124 killings of land and environmental defenders worldwide in 2025. Latin America was the region with the highest number of deaths, making up 85% of the global total. Colombia and Brazil reported the most killings.
El Pais reported it asLatin America Repeats as the Most Lethal Region to Defend the ... (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency arrested Mexican national Arturo Carrera Loaiza at Lagos airport on August 19, 2026, while he was attempting to flee the country. The agency also dismantled an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
El Pais reported it asMexican Drug Trafficker Arrested in Nigeria · Global Voices (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Ursula von der Leyen plans to propose a European Security Council to coordinate responses to growing threats. The body would include EU member states alongside the UK, Canada, Norway, and Ukraine, and feature a consultation mechanism inspired by NATO's Article 4.
El Pais reported it asVon Der Leyen Seeks an Exit for an EU Besieged on Several Fronts (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, is expected to plead guilty in a US federal money laundering case. He is accused of bribing officials to win contracts for food imports during a period of hardship in Venezuela.
El Pais reported it asAlex Saab Pleads Guilty in the U.S. to Launder Money Under Maduro's Protection (opens El Pais 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.
El Pais reported it asTrump Charges His Judges in the Supreme After His Ruling on the Mail Vote: “This Is Not the People I Interviewed” (opens El Pais 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'.
El Pais reported it asBrussels Wants to Restrict Access to Social Networks for Children Under the Age of 15 (opens El Pais in a new tab)
Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding in the Bahamas was funded by Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, who is close to Vladimir Putin. Kremlev paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, including renting a private island. National security experts expressed alarm.
El Pais reported it asKremlin-backed Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev funded Donald Trump Jr.’s post-wedding celebrations in the Bahamas (opens El Pais in a new tab)
The Environmental Protection Agency is set to repeal rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants. Administrator Lee Zeldin stated the move could save billions for the industry and boost American energy.
El Pais reported it asU.S. Ends Regulation Limiting Gas Emissions From Power Plants · Global Voices (opens El Pais 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.
El Pais reported it asSupreme Court Rejects Trump’s Restrictions on Mail Voting Before Legislative Elections · Global Voices (opens El Pais in a new tab)
A Department of Homeland Security inspector general report found that nearly 80 immigrant detainees at the 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility were held in small metal enclosures for periods ranging from several minutes to nearly two hours. The report described the enclosures as 'highly unconventional' and a risk to detainee health and safety.
El Pais reported it asTrump Government Confirms Use of Immigration Cages as Punishment in Alligator Alcatraz (opens El Pais 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
- Grupo PRISAMedia Conglomeratedirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
- Official site
- elpais.com
- Seen publishing on
- elpais.com, cincodias.elpais.com, english.elpais.com
- Access
- Paywalled
- 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
- 193
- Reports listed
- 205
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
205 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.
On 64 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and El Pais ran the story anyway.
Across the 193 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of El Pais: its report arrived a median of 24 hours after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 18 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 18 September 2026. Ratings pulled 4 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as El Pais, also publishing from Spain, 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 El Pais 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.