merkur.de media bias and reliability
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place merkur.de in the centre. We have seen it on 68 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is merkur.de biased?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place merkur.de in the centre. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is merkur.de left or right?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place merkur.de in the centre. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is merkur.de reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for merkur.de 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 merkur.de has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with merkur.de’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.
merkur.de reported it asLeopard Fur and Round Ears: Researchers Reveal Tiny New Wild Cat Species (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Russian Major General Anton Grunis has been killed in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces. Grunis commanded the 4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and had reported to Vladimir Putin about the alleged capture of Konstantinovka.
merkur.de reported it asUkraine Kills Russia's General: Video Shows Drone Attack on Grunis (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas announced that an explosive device was found on a drone shot down over Lithuania and has been neutralized. The drone had entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus and was downed by Italian fighter jets.
merkur.de reported it asPutin's Dangerous Message: Drone Attacks on Europe's Borders Pile Up (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Nikolay Patrushev, an advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that Poland would cease to exist within two to three days if it attacked Russia. He made the comments in response to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski's assertions about Poland's potential to defeat Russia militarily.
merkur.de reported it asPutin Consultant Threatens Warsaw: "Polish State Will No Longer Exist" (opens merkur.de 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.
merkur.de reported it as"I'm Going to Be Expensive for Years": Trump Is Angry with Supreme Court (opens merkur.de 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.
merkur.de reported it asAfter Eklat Around Macklemore: All Vorbands of Ed Sheeran Get Out (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Oil prices surged on Monday, with Brent crude reaching $107.51 per barrel and WTI crude at $102.32. Attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia and incidents in the Strait of Hormuz contributed to the rise, alongside the postponement of a meeting between Iran and Persian Gulf powers.
merkur.de reported it asNew Attacks in the Iran Conflict: Why Global Uncertainty Increases (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukrainian-Polish border. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European officials had travelled on a train that passed through the area shortly before the attack, according to reports. Poland's Prime Minister warned of intensified Russian attacks.
merkur.de reported it asRussian Drone Meets Passenger Train Near Polish Border (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Jordan's armed forces stated that 18 out of 20 ballistic missiles launched from Iran were intercepted and destroyed by air defence systems. Two missiles landed in unpopulated areas without causing casualties. Iran's IRGC claimed to have targeted a US military base in Jordan.
merkur.de reported it asIran Damaged US Fighter Jets – but Trump Calls Time for the End of the War (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
A 27-year-old British researcher, Jacob Coxon, has resigned from Anthropic and the AI industry, citing concerns over the rapid, irresponsible development of self-improving superintelligence. He fears this race poses a significant risk to humanity, with some reports suggesting an existential threat by the end of the decade.
merkur.de reported it asAnthropic Insider Warns: AI Industry Plays with "Our All Lives" (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Jacob Coxon has resigned from AI company Anthropic, warning that the rapid development of artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to humanity. His departure and warnings have been reported across several outlets, highlighting concerns about AI safety and the race for superintelligence.
merkur.de reported it asAnthropic Insider Warns: AI Industry Plays with "Our All Lives" (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
An Anthropic researcher has warned of a greater than 10% chance of AI causing human extinction in the next ten years. The warning follows a colleague's resignation over concerns about reckless AI development.
merkur.de reported it asAnthropic Insider Warns: AI Industry Plays with "Our All Lives" (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Jacob Coxon, a researcher formerly with OpenAI and Anthropic, has resigned, stating that leading AI developers are acting irresponsibly and "gambling with our lives." His departure has drawn comparisons to the Skynet scenario from the Terminator film.
merkur.de reported it asAnthropic Insider Warns: AI Industry Plays with "Our All Lives" (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
U.S. Southern Command reported that a joint U.S., Ecuador operation on 2 September 2026 boarded, cleared and sank a vessel serving as a floating refueling station for the Los Choneros gang. Marines from the USS San Antonio transferred detainees to Ecuadorian authorities after the vessel was destroyed.
merkur.de reported it asU.S. Forces Disembark Tankers From Drug Smugglers and Blow Them Up (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
A hacker group known as Rhysida has published millions of files stolen from Berlin's city government on the dark web. The group had demanded a ransom of 30 bitcoins, approximately €2 million, which Berlin authorities refused to pay.
merkur.de reported it asHacker Debacle in Berlin: Critical Infrastructure Data Leaked – Opposition Calls for Consequences (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Donald Trump announced he would ask European countries to repay the US for military aid and ammunition sent to Ukraine. He also indicated a temporary suspension of ammunition sales to allied nations, citing concerns over US stockpiles.
merkur.de reported it asTrump Calls for Europe to Pay: USA Wants Ukraine Aid Back From Biden Era (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
Argentine President Javier Milei announced sanctions against companies involved in oil projects near the Falkland Islands and the construction of a new naval base in Tierra del Fuego. The moves come amid renewed tensions over the islands' sovereignty, fueled by remarks from former U.S. President Donald Trump.
merkur.de reported it asMore than 40 Years After Falkland War: Milei Escalates Dispute and Wants Islands Back (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
The US Department of Defense issued mandatory testosterone deficiency screening guidelines for active-duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older. Men will undergo blood tests, while women will be screened for fatigue and menstrual cycle disruptions. Treatment remains optional.
merkur.de reported it asPentagon Launches Mandatory Testosterone Tests for US Soldiers From 30 Years (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
A US strike in southern Iran hit a wedding celebration, killing at least four people, including a child, and wounding over 50, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. US Central Command confirmed strikes on IRGC targets.
merkur.de reported it asIran Responds: New Escalation After Fatal US Attack on Wedding Guests (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
A secret Russian-Iranian programme codenamed C430L, launched in 2023, aims to develop supersonic cruise missiles capable of threatening US aircraft carriers. The project involves Russian missile experts and leaked correspondence, with no evidence of deployment yet.
merkur.de reported it asFocus on Supersonic Missiles: Russia's Secret Alliance with Iran (opens merkur.de 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
We hold no ownership record for merkur.de.
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Munich, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany
- Official site
- merkur.de
- Seen publishing on
- merkur.de
- 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
- 68
- Reports listed
- 69
- We could read
- 7
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
62 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 7 we could open, not on everything it published.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. merkur.de is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 68 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of merkur.de: its report arrived a median of 2 days after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 19 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 19 September 2026. Ratings pulled 3 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as merkur.de, also publishing from Germany, 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 merkur.de 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.