Irish Independent media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give Irish Independent one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. We have seen it on 132 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Irish Independent biased?
The rating organisations do not give Irish Independent one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Irish Independent left or right?
The rating organisations do not give Irish Independent one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Right.
Is Irish Independent reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Irish Independent 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 Irish Independent has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Irish Independent’s own report linked underneath.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland plan to sign a security pact at the UN General Assembly next week. President Donald Trump says the deal gives the US permanent control over security matters, while other outlets report no sovereign US control. A joint working group will discuss future cooperation.
Irish Independent reported it asUS and Denmark close in on a Greenland deal, sources say (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
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.
Irish Independent reported it asNew cat species identified in Bolivia, first in over a century (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a televised address to the nation on September 16 at 6 p.m. Moscow time. The speech is in anticipation of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place from September 18 to 20. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the president's speech.
Irish Independent reported it asRussia votes in wartime parliamentary election set to secure the Kremlin’s power (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Russia has begun a three-day parliamentary election, the first since the start of the war in Ukraine. Polling stations opened in the Far East, with President Vladimir Putin's party widely expected to win the 450 seats in the State Duma. Voting is also taking place in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Irish Independent reported it asRussia votes in wartime parliamentary election set to secure the Kremlin’s power (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Earl Charles Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' in a phone call shortly after Princess Diana's death in 1997. Buckingham Palace has responded, stating that grief can affect memory.
Irish Independent reported it asKing Charles sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, her brother claims (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asMacklemore hails Ms Rachel for matching $1m donation to Palestinian causes (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
An Argentine judge has ordered companies to cease oilfield development near the Falkland Islands, escalating a long-standing sovereignty dispute with the UK. The ruling mandates a halt to drilling pending an environmental review, while Argentina also prepares new legal complaints and tougher sanctions.
Irish Independent reported it asArgentine judge orders halt to Falklands oil project as tensions rise between Argentina and Britain (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asEU ready to deepen relations with Canada, economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis says, as partnership prospects grow (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour has seen all supporting artists withdraw after the removal of rapper Macklemore. Macklemore was reportedly dropped due to his pro-Palestine stance. Greta Thunberg and Shane MacGowan's widow have commented on the situation.
Irish Independent reported it asGreta Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian backlash against Ed Sheeran over Macklemore removal (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asFive key takeaways from EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's major policy speech (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump for the first time next week in New York. The meeting, expected to take place at the United Nations General Assembly, will focus on international issues including Ukraine, the Middle East, and energy.
Irish Independent reported it asBritish Prime Minister Andy Burnham to meet US President Donald Trump next week (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asDonald Trump erupts at Supreme Court for being ‘bullied by the radical left’ after mail-in ballot ruling (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asIrish artists Aaron Rowe and Beoga pull out of Ed Sheeran world tour in wake of Macklemore controversy (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asUS admits for the first time it has deployed weapons in space (opens Irish Independent 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.
Irish Independent reported it asUS admits for the first time it has deployed weapons in space (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Senator Mitch McConnell cast a vote to advance the farm bill in committee on September 16, after receiving voting instructions from Senator John Hoeven. The bill passed the committee 12-11 along party lines.
Irish Independent reported it asMitch McConnell returns to US Senate after a three-month absence (opens Irish Independent 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'.
Irish Independent reported it asEU is set to propose ban on social media and AI chatbots for under-15s (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Donald Trump has rejected calls for new regulations on artificial intelligence, stating that the U.S. government already possesses adequate power to control AI firms. He described efforts to implement guardrails as a "sick conspiracy" that could cede technological leadership to China.
Irish Independent reported it asDonald Trump blasts ‘sick conspiracy’ against AI after Anthropic calls for slowdown (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Donald Trump confirmed he uses artificial intelligence but declined to specify how, stating only that it can be used for "a lot of things." He also commented on the technology's future, saying "whoever wins in artificial intelligence wins."
Irish Independent reported it asDonald Trump blasts ‘sick conspiracy’ against AI after Anthropic calls for slowdown (opens Irish Independent in a new tab)
Saudi Arabia has shut its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline following drone attacks launched from Iraq. The closure removes a key route for oil exports, potentially impacting four percent of global supply and driving up crude prices.
Irish Independent reported it asFresh strikes on Saudi Arabia and ships in Gulf raise fears over global energy supplies (opens Irish Independent 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.
High factuality
Who owns it
- Independent News & Mediaunknowndirect owner
- MediahuisMedia Conglomerateparent group
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
- Official site
- independent.ie
- Seen publishing on
- independent.ie
- 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
- 132
- Reports listed
- 136
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
136 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 31 of those stories, outlets rated right were largely absent from the coverage and Irish Independent ran the story anyway.
Across the 132 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of Irish Independent: its report arrived a median of 23 hours after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 19 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 19 September 2026. Ratings pulled 4 September 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 Irish Independent 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.