IOL media bias and reliability
Media Bias/Fact Check places IOL in the centre. We have seen it on 71 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is IOL biased?
Media Bias/Fact Check places IOL in the centre. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is IOL left or right?
Media Bias/Fact Check places IOL in the centre. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is IOL reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for IOL are Media Bias/Fact Check: Mixed factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What IOL has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with IOL’s own report linked underneath.
A 46‑year‑old German paediatrician faced a court in Potsdam on Monday, accused of sexually abusing more than 70 children over a decade. Prosecutors say the abuse involved 130 offences and victims were between two and twenty years old.
IOL reported it asDoctor in Germany on trial over sex abuse of over 70 children (opens IOL in a new tab)
Senegal's parliament amended a law to double the maximum prison sentence for consensual same-sex acts to 10 years. Human Rights Watch documented arrests, forced HIV testing of detainees, and a rise in fear and stigma, impacting access to healthcare.
IOL reported it asHRW calls for end to Senegal LGBTQ crackdown ahead of Youth Olympics (opens IOL in a new tab)
Pope Leo has undergone surgery to remove part of his right lung due to lung cancer. The Vatican reports he is recovering well, walking and eating normally, though questions remain about the extent of the cancer and its impact on his upcoming tour.
IOL reported it asPope Leo XIV to have lung surgery (opens IOL in a new tab)
Donald Trump has criticised the Norwegian Nobel Committee for awarding the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay. He called the decision 'disgraceful and embarrassing' and an 'indelible stain' on Norway, claiming he had never heard of Pillay and that he deserved eight such awards for resolving conflicts.
IOL reported it as‘We are very proud’: Durban celebrates Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize (opens IOL in a new tab)
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay has criticised Donald Trump's sanctions against the International Criminal Court, calling them illegal and suggesting they were a reaction to her award. She also described the situation in Gaza as genocide and defended the UN's commission of inquiry.
IOL reported it as‘We are very proud’: Durban celebrates Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize (opens IOL in a new tab)
The World Meteorological Organization predicts the current El Niño event will intensify, reaching its peak in December 2026 and potentially persisting until February 2027. This strengthening is expected to increase global temperatures and raise the risk of droughts and floods worldwide.
IOL reported it asHere's when El Nino is expected to peak, according to the UN (opens IOL in a new tab)
Wall Street indexes dipped from record highs as US Treasury yields and oil prices climbed. Investors are focused on upcoming Federal Reserve meeting minutes for clues on interest rates.
IOL reported it asOil prices surge and stocks slide as fresh inflation fears return (opens IOL in a new tab)
A city council meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa, began with a satanic prayer read by a former council member. The invocation, ending in "Hail Satan," led to a pastor demanding the prayer be reversed, and the mayor calling for a moment of silence.
IOL reported it asUS city council opens with ‘Hail Satan’ prayer (opens IOL in a new tab)
August Hanning, former chief of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND), has been arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason. He is accused of passing nearly 2,000 sensitive documents to his former office manager for financial gain.
IOL reported it asEx-German spy chief arrested for espionage, treason (opens IOL in a new tab)
Global stock exchanges saw increases on Monday while oil prices declined. This trend emerged as concerns about inflation lessened, with investors expecting the US Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady. Weaker than expected US job creation data contributed to these expectations.
IOL reported it asMonday Markets: SA rand tanking, but oil prices softer and stocks rally on 'Goldilocks' data (opens IOL in a new tab)
The White House has established a new task force, named the ‘Super Intelligence Force’, to evaluate the risks associated with artificial intelligence. Led by Jay Clayton, director of national intelligence, the group has 120 days to produce its findings on government responsibility over the technology.
IOL reported it asSigns of crisis? Donald Trump confirms national intelligence chief Jay Clayton as new AI head (opens IOL in a new tab)
Norwegian football star Erling Haaland is suing Norwegian Air Shuttle over the alleged unlawful use of his image, particularly his distinctive ponytail hairstyle, for advertising during the World Cup. The airline has called the lawsuit "incomprehensible and regrettable."
IOL reported it asNorway star Haaland sues airline over ponytail image (opens IOL in a new tab)
President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans for South Korea to invest $200 billion in U.S. projects. The investments would include the Alaska LNG pipeline, eight nuclear power plants, and a Texas power generation facility, according to White House officials.
IOL reported it asTrump unveils $200 bn in US energy investments by South Korea (opens IOL in a new tab)
A helicopter carrying six people crashed in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, with officials confirming no survivors. Among the deceased were businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, according to state media reports.
IOL reported it asProminent Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and wife killed in helicopter crash (opens IOL in a new tab)
South Africa summoned US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III for the third time in nine months, citing 'undiplomatic conduct' in media interviews. The summons follows escalating tensions over demands made by the US administration regarding land, crime, and racial policies.
IOL reported it asSA hauls US ambassador Bozell over the coals for the third time (opens IOL in a new tab)
The S&P 500 index achieved an intraday record high on Tuesday, buoyed by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and a decline in oil prices. The 10-year Treasury yield also reached its highest level since 2002.
IOL reported it asOil price today: Stocks temper gains as oil pares heavy losses, US data in focus (opens IOL in a new tab)
Torrential rainfall in Nepal has resulted in at least 21 deaths and five people missing, according to Prime Minister Balendra Shah. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that landslides caused the majority of casualties. The severe weather has also destroyed 143 homes and affected 747 families.
IOL reported it asIn Nepal's flood zone, teachers mourn students who never returned (opens IOL in a new tab)
The death toll from a weekend tavern shooting near Johannesburg has risen to 18. Four victims have been identified as two South Africans and two nationals of Lesotho. Authorities are also investigating a separate shooting near Cape Town.
IOL reported it asWedela tavern mass shooting: Death toll rises to 18 as police hunt gunmen (opens IOL in a new tab)
Spain came from behind to beat England 3-2 in their Nations League opener at Wembley. Lamine Yamal scored early for Spain, but England led 2-1 before halftime. Harry Kane missed a penalty while England was ahead, and Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winning goal for Spain.
IOL reported it asEngland's best 'for a long time' despite Spain defeat, says Kane (opens IOL in a new tab)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump's decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from the White House. The outlets have filed a federal lawsuit, arguing the ban violates their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
IOL reported it asPope warns against losing humanity in AI-driven 'paradise of machines' (opens IOL 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.
- Media Bias/Fact CheckcenterCheck 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.
Mixed factuality
- Media Bias/Fact CheckmixedCheck it
Who owns it
- Independent Media (Pty) LtdMedia 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
- 71
- Reports listed
- 71
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
71 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.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. IOL is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 71 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than IOL’s on 1 of them. Overall it filed a median of 35 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 3 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 3 November 2026. Ratings pulled 5 October 2026.
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 IOL 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.