Instinct media bias and reliability
Ad Fontes Media places Instinct on the left. We have seen it on 13 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Instinct biased?
Ad Fontes Media places Instinct on the left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Instinct left or right?
Ad Fontes Media places Instinct on the left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is Instinct reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Instinct are Ad Fontes Media: Very low factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What Instinct has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Instinct’s own report linked underneath.
Four people were shot in Washington D.C.'s Logan Circle neighborhood early Thursday. Police responded to multiple locations and sent agents to the scene. Nearby schools were placed on lockdown as authorities urged the public to avoid the area.
Instinct reported it asDeadly Shooting at Gay-Owned D.C. Gym Leaves Community Stunned (opens Instinct in a new tab)
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London has overturned a colonial-era law in Trinidad and Tobago that prohibited gay sex. The ruling ends a legal challenge brought by activist Jason Jones and could influence similar cases in other former British colonies.
Instinct reported it asTrinidad and Tobago's Gay Sex Ban Is Struck Down (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment repealing the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The measure guarantees marriage rights for all couples, irrespective of sex, gender, or race, and replaces the original 2006 ban.
Instinct reported it asVirginia Backs Gay Marriage, But LGBTQ+ Families Face Another Fight (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Tens of thousands gathered for Taiwan's annual Pride parade in Taipei, one of Asia's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations. Organizers estimated 150,000 people attended the event, which follows a recent police raid on a gay bar in the city.
Instinct reported it asTaiwan Mayor Shows Up for Pride, but the Crowd Has Other Plans (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Patrick Stewart, the British actor famous for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 'Star Trek' and Professor Charles Xavier in 'X-Men', has died at the age of 86. His death was announced by his family.
Instinct reported it asSir Patrick Stewart Dies at 86: Remembering the Actor's LGBTQ+ Legacy (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Ryan Higgins, a senior adviser to Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, has shared online posts containing racist, homophobic, and conspiratorial views. These posts include comments about LGBTQ+ people and illegal immigrants.
Instinct reported it asPentagon Faith Adviser Exposed for Anti-LGBTQ+ Slurs, Extremist Posts (opens Instinct in a new tab)
David Vulin will not face criminal charges after punching conservative influencer Ryley Niemi during a confrontation in West Hollywood. Prosecutors decided not to file charges after Vulin completed a diversion agreement.
Instinct reported it asGay Dads Targeted Over Their Baby Get a Break in Court (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy stated that all customers are welcome at the company's restaurants. However, he declined to directly comment on LGBTQ+ rights when asked by interviewer Craig Melvin, a departure from his father's public stance against same-sex marriage.
Instinct reported it asChick-fil-A's LGBTQ Rights Problem Isn't Going Away (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Jimmy Kimmel has drawn attention to Donald Trump's suggestion that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego. Kimmel contrasted the White House and Fox News's defence of Trump's remarks with their criticism of his own jokes, calling the situation 'glaring hypocrisy'. He stated he would report Trump to the FCC.
Instinct reported it asTrump’s Latest War Comments Have America Asking: What Is Going On? (opens Instinct in a new tab)
A federal judge dismissed Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against the NCAA. The judge ruled the NCAA does not receive federal funding, making it exempt from Title IX. Gaines plans to appeal the decision.
Instinct reported it asRiley Gaines’ NCAA Lawsuit Over Trans Athletes Has Been Dismissed (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Police in Tucson, Arizona, are investigating a shooting outside a gay bar as a possible hate crime. Three people, including the shooter, died in the incident. The suspect was found with a note listing LGBTQIA+-associated businesses.
Instinct reported it as2 Men Killed Outside Tucson Gay Bar in Possible Hate Crime (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Hunter Biden described himself as '48.6% gay' during a comedy podcast interview with Luke Beasley on 16 August 2026. The remark, which fluctuated between 47% and 48.5% during the exchange, was part of a broader discussion on personal and political topics. No left- or centre-rated outlet covered the story.
Instinct reported it asHunter Biden Reclaims a Narrative That Used to Humiliate Him – Instinct Magazine (opens Instinct in a new tab)
The Kennedy Center told a federal court it will not restore Donald Trump’s name to its facade before 8 September, following a judge’s order to remove it in May. The board also voted to close the venue for two years of renovations and rename its plaza after Trump, prompting further legal challenges.
Instinct reported it asTrump’s Kennedy Center Name Move Is Challenging a Court Order (opens Instinct in a new tab)
Who says so
One organisation has published a rating for this outlet. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
- Ad Fontes MedialeftCheck it
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 low factuality
- Ad Fontes MediaveryLowCheck it
Who owns it
We hold no ownership record for Instinct.
Where it publishes from
- Official site
- instinctmagazine.com
- Seen publishing on
- instinctmagazine.com
- 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
- 13
- Reports listed
- 13
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 16 August 2026
13 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 1 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Instinct ran the story anyway.
Across the 13 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than Instinct’s on 1 of them. Overall it filed a median of 2 days after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 15 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 15 November 2026. Ratings pulled 14 November 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Instinct, 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 Instinct 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.