PBS NewsHour media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give PBS NewsHour 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 165 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is PBS NewsHour biased?
The rating organisations do not give PBS NewsHour 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 PBS NewsHour left or right?
The rating organisations do not give PBS NewsHour 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 PBS NewsHour reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for PBS NewsHour 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 PBS NewsHour has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with PBS NewsHour’s own report linked underneath.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a keynote address at a conference for the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, which he formerly chaired. He told attendees they had a friend in the Trump White House and highlighted administration actions to alter vaccine guidance.
PBS NewsHour reported it asRFK Jr. speaks at conference for anti-vaccine group he founded (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
USPS halts Trump‑linked mail‑voting system, Postmaster General David Steiner says work stopped
Trust 56The United States Postal Service stopped work on a computer system designed to support President Donald Trump's plan to limit mail voting. Postmaster General David Steiner confirmed the pause on Thursday, following the Supreme Court's rejection of the related executive order earlier that week.
PBS NewsHour reported it asWork has stopped on system that was key to Trump effort to limit mail voting, USPS chief says (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against Donald Trump's plan to significantly alter national mail-voting rules. Following the decision, voting rights groups announced a voter protection campaign, while the Department of Justice and Homeland Security pursue separate election-related investigations.
PBS NewsHour reported it asTrump's push to restrict mail ballots failed. Other efforts to reshape the midterms continue (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asCarney embraces EU associate membership proposal as Trump pushes Canada closer to Europe (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asEU chief Ursula von der Leyen proposes Canada becoming the bloc's 1st associate member (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
House Speaker Mike Johnson has sent representatives home early for their pre-election recess. This move postpones a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which had been initiated by Rep. Thomas Massie over Hegseth's actions in Iran and Venezuela.
PBS NewsHour reported it asNews Wrap: Johnson recesses House early (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
A major scientific report indicates Greenland and Antarctica have lost between 11.3 and 12.5 trillion tons of ice since 1979. This loss has contributed to a global sea level rise of approximately 3 to 3.14 centimeters, primarily driven by accelerated glacier flow into the ocean.
PBS NewsHour reported it asEarth lost more than 12 trillion tons of ice from Greenland and Antarctica in 47 years, satellites show (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asHouse votes to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress over Epstein investigation (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
Two Republican members of the House of Representatives from Iowa voted in favour of a war powers resolution aimed at halting military action in Iran. This vote was the first of its kind for these two representatives.
PBS NewsHour reported it asIowa Republicans in battleground House races join vote to halt the Iran war (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asRep. Massie introduces articles of impeachment against Hegseth on House floor (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asMore artists drop out of Ed Sheeran's tour in solidarity with rapper Macklemore (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute has launched a voter outreach campaign called "SO VOTE," led by former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. The initiative aims to register and mobilize Black, rural, and young voters, with a budget of at least $4.5 million.
PBS NewsHour reported it asCongressional Black Caucus launches effort to boost voting among Black, rural and young voters in midterms (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
US envoy John Coale has arrived in Minsk to meet with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The talks are focused on negotiating the release of political prisoners. Coale's visit follows a trip to Lithuania and a previous successful negotiation that led to the release of 250 prisoners.
PBS NewsHour reported it asBelarus' authoritarian leader Lukashenko meets U.S. envoy to push for lifting remaining sanctions (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
FBI Director Kash Patel declined to rule out sending agents to polling places on Election Day, telling senators he wasn’t certain the bureau is legally barred from doing so. Patel stated the FBI has agents in each field office devoted to addressing election crimes.
PBS NewsHour reported it asPatel grilled on whether he'll send FBI agents to the polls in November (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, is expected to plead guilty in a US federal money laundering case. He is accused of bribing officials to win contracts for food imports during a period of hardship in Venezuela.
PBS NewsHour reported it asMaduro Ally Alex Saab Pleads Guilty in $195M Money Laundering Case, Agrees to Cooperate | FRONTLINE | PBS (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asKennedy Center board votes to close over Trump naming dispute and financial trouble, AP sources say (opens PBS NewsHour 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.
PBS NewsHour reported it asTrump attacks Supreme Court justices he picked for rejecting his push to restrict mail ballots (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, alleging the institution failed to protect him and other pro-Palestinian students from harassment and retaliated against them. The suit claims the university's actions led to doxing and Khalil's detention by immigration agents.
PBS NewsHour reported it asMahmoud Khalil lawsuit says Columbia University failed to protect pro-Palestinian activists (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have significantly reduced the country's diesel production. Three of Russia's six largest diesel-producing refineries cut production or halted operations entirely in September due to damage from these strikes.
PBS NewsHour reported it asZelenskyy says Ukraine will pause strikes on Russia if Kremlin spares critical infrastructure (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that it is 'deeply unfair' for individuals assigned male at birth to compete against girls in sports. He acknowledged struggling to find a fair solution, aligning with a broader trend of Democrats recalibrating their approach to transgender issues amid Republican political attacks.
PBS NewsHour reported it asSome Democrats recalibrating approach to transgender issues (opens PBS NewsHour 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
We hold no ownership record for PBS NewsHour.
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
- 165
- Reports listed
- 168
- We could read
- 1
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
167 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 1 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 24 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and PBS NewsHour ran the story anyway.
Across the 165 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than PBS NewsHour’s on 3 of them. Overall it filed a median of 24 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 18 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 18 September 2026. Ratings pulled 5 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as PBS NewsHour, 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 PBS NewsHour 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.