NPR media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give NPR one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 151 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is NPR biased?
The rating organisations do not give NPR one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; 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 NPR left or right?
The rating organisations do not give NPR one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; 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 NPR reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for NPR 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 NPR has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with NPR’s own report linked underneath.
Analysis of prehistoric human remains from Indonesia has revealed evidence of habitual drug use dating back approximately 25,000 years. This predates agriculture and suggests humans may have been consuming psychoactive substances much earlier than previously understood.
NPR reported it asAncient humans used psychoactive drugs dating back to the Ice Age, study finds (opens NPR in a new tab)
President Donald Trump reportedly had a heated exchange with Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty during a Kennedy Center board call. A federal judge blocked attempts to add Trump's name to the building, a decision the Justice Department has appealed.
NPR reported it asTrump threatens to tear down the Kennedy Center, as legal battle continues (opens NPR in a new tab)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated the United States is open to discussing shared risks with China in upcoming AI talks scheduled for this weekend. The discussions aim to prevent the bifurcation of AI systems between the two countries.
NPR reported it asWith AI, what's more important for the U.S. — winning or safety? (opens NPR in a new tab)
US journalist Austin Tice's 2012 kidnapping planned by Assad regime, BBC investigation finds
Trust 60A BBC investigation, citing former Syrian regime members and intelligence files, indicates US journalist Austin Tice's 2012 kidnapping was planned by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad. His driver allegedly provided information to the regime, facilitating the abduction.
NPR reported it as"Where is Austin Tice?" from NPR's Embedded and the BBC (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asWith invite to join EU bloc, Canada's prime minister speaks to European Parliament (opens NPR in a new tab)
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. India's Ministry of External Affairs stated the nation will take necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests.
NPR reported it asHouse passes Russia sanctions, sending bill named for Lindsey Graham to Trump's desk (opens NPR in a new tab)
The U.S. House Oversight Committee voted to recommend holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Reports differ on whether the vote was unanimous, and Black's lawyers denounced the resolution as a complete abomination.
NPR reported it asHouse holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress (opens NPR in a new tab)
The Trump administration plans to erect signs outside the National Museum of American History. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is overseeing the initiative, which aims to warn visitors about perceived ideological bias within the museum's presentations.
NPR reported it asTrump administration plans ideological warning signs for Smithsonian (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asEU offers Canada 'associate member' role; Trump calls it 'laughable' (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asHow will the Fed’s interest rate hike affect costs, the midterms? : Consider This from NPR (opens NPR in a new tab)
A Pentagon inspector general's report has detailed the financial and material costs of the Iran war, estimating expenses at $33.4 billion as of June 29. The report also highlighted significant damage to U.S. bases and aircraft, alongside strategic inventory shortfalls for munitions.
NPR reported it asThe price tag for the Iran war has hit over $30B, reports say (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asU.S. acknowledges for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asU.S. acknowledges for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space (opens NPR in a new tab)
A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security from issuing further warning notices to David Streever. Streever had sent an email to the former acting director of ICE comparing him to a Nazi. The judge ruled the warning notice likely violated Streever's First Amendment rights.
NPR reported it asJudge blocks DHS from acting against a man over a harsh email to an ICE official (opens NPR in a new tab)
A Pentagon Inspector General report estimates Iranian attacks caused $184 million in damage to U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The report also details U.S. war costs and casualties.
NPR reported it asCBO says Iran war diving up inflation, puts price tag at $38 billion (opens NPR in a new tab)
The board of the Kennedy Center voted to close the performing arts venue due to financial problems and a disagreement about naming the building after President Donald Trump. A judge had previously blocked the venue from being renamed.
NPR reported it asKennedy Center board votes to close it, as judge again keeps Trump's name off (opens NPR in a new tab)
Representative Thomas Massie has introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Massie alleges Hegseth continued U.S. military operations in Iran without congressional approval and criticizes his actions in Venezuela and Yemen.
NPR reported it asRepublican Rep. Massie moves to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth over Iran war (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asThe Supreme Court rejects Trump's mail voting restrictions for this year's midterms (opens NPR 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.
NPR reported it asMitch McConnell returns to Senate after fall that led to an extended medical absence (opens NPR in a new tab)
Landowners, ranchers, and business owners in Texas are suing the Trump administration to stop border wall construction in the Big Bend region. The lawsuit argues the government is misusing powers to waive environmental and other regulations in an area with low rates of illegal crossings.
NPR reported it asTexas landowners sue federal government over border wall plans (opens NPR in a new tab)
Who says so
3 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
- NPR's member public radio stationsIndependentdirect 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
- 151
- Reports listed
- 156
- We could read
- 13
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
143 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 13 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 35 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and NPR ran the story anyway.
Across the 151 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than NPR’s on 5 of them. Overall it filed a median of 26 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 19 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 19 September 2026. Ratings pulled 5 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as NPR, also publishing from United States, 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 NPR 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.