RNZ media bias and reliability
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place RNZ in the centre. We have seen it on 22 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is RNZ biased?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place RNZ in the centre. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is RNZ left or right?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place RNZ in the centre. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is RNZ reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for RNZ 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 RNZ has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with RNZ’s own report linked underneath.
More than 34 million Americans have cast early ballots in the current midterm elections. This figure is on pace to surpass the early voting turnout of the 2022 midterms, according to data tracked by the UF Election Lab.
RNZ reported it asThe top 10 things to watch for in the US midterm elections (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Patrick Stewart, the British actor famous for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 'Star Trek' and Professor Charles Xavier in 'X-Men', has died at the age of 86. His death was announced by his family.
RNZ reported it asPatrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men’ actor, dies aged 86 (opens RNZ in a new tab)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is suspending a visa-free travel program for Chinese nationals visiting the Northern Mariana Islands. The suspension, effective October 30, cites concerns including birth tourism, espionage, and illegal onward travel to Guam.
RNZ reported it asUS suspends visa-free travel for Chinese visitors to Northern Marianas (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has taken a new paid role at Sydney University. She will deliver guest lectures and masterclasses, rather than undertaking full-time teaching duties.
RNZ reported it asDame Jacinda Ardern has a new job in Australia (opens RNZ in a new tab)
The United States is preparing its first offshore deep‑sea mining lease sale off American Samoa. The Marine Minerals Administration will offer two seabed tracts of roughly 31 million acres, with bidding on 19 November 2026, while local groups and environmentalists protest the plan.
RNZ reported it asEnvironmental groups, chiefs file lawsuit as US pushes on with American Samoa deep sea mining plans (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Novelist Sally Rooney's books will no longer be supplied in the UK by her publisher, Faber. Rooney stated that fulfilling publishing contracts in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence due to her support for Palestine Action, a group banned in the UK.
RNZ reported it asSally Rooney’s books no longer sold in UK over support for banned pro-Palestinian group (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Hackers with suspected links to China compromised a regional organization in Fiji between July and August. The US embassy in Fiji issued a warning that governments and telecommunication networks across the region may also be targeted.
RNZ reported it asChina denies US allegation of malicious cyber activity in the Pacific (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Canada and over two dozen other countries have issued a joint statement condemning Iran's alleged involvement in a planned attack on a UK air base. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated the plot was likely directed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
RNZ reported it asNew Zealand among 30 countries to condemn Iran 'violent attacks' (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy cited her "bold and inventive oeuvre" that draws on classical tradition to create new forms for contemporary literature.
RNZ reported it asAnne Carson, the genre-bending Canadian writer, wins Nobel Prize in literature (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Following his removal from Ed Sheeran's tour for pro-Palestinian statements, Macklemore has announced a new 'Free Palestine Tour'. The shows will take place in Dublin, Paris, and London, with all proceeds donated to charities supporting Palestinians.
RNZ reported it asMacklemore announces 'Free Palestine' tour after being dumped from Ed Sheeran shows (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Record-high diesel prices have prompted Republican Senator Chuck Grassley to call for an embargo on exports. Farm state Republicans are pressuring the White House to stop exports, citing the impact on farmers and truckers.
RNZ reported it asWhat's going on with fuel prices? (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump behaved like a 'caged lion' and was eager to return to the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner ballroom after shots were fired. The incident occurred in April at the Washington Hilton.
RNZ reported it asTrump-Xi summit in Washington begins with great fanfare but low expectations (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing the encounter as 'very productive' and predicting that 'great things will happen'. The discussions reportedly touched on artificial intelligence, though specific outcomes were not detailed.
RNZ reported it asTrump-Xi summit in Washington begins with great fanfare but low expectations (opens RNZ in a new tab)
A new report from the Climate Impact Lab estimates that the current El Niño event could lead to 451,000 additional heat-related deaths worldwide between September 2026 and February 2027. India is projected to experience 15,800 of these deaths.
RNZ reported it asClimate: Report predicts El Niño death toll of almost half a million (opens RNZ 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.
RNZ reported it asEd Sheeran ‘heartbroken’ over conflict in Middle East, apologises to fans (opens RNZ in a new tab)
New Zealand's Parliament has passed legislation to implement its free trade agreement with India. The deal will eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs on approximately 95% of New Zealand's exports to India and includes a NZ$20 billion investment commitment.
RNZ reported it asIndia free trade agreement edges closer after Parliament passes legislation (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Goldman Sachs has warned that oil prices could surge to $120 per barrel if attacks on ships in the Middle East intensify. The bank also projected prices could fall to $80 per barrel if regional exports normalize. Brent crude was trading around $97 per barrel on 7 September 2026.
RNZ reported it asOil prices could reach $US120 (opens RNZ in a new tab)
A United Nations report published on September 2, 2026, states that global temperatures are likely to exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold within a few years. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) calls for rapid emissions cuts and carbon removal to limit damage.
RNZ reported it asGlobal warming will inevitably overshoot 1.5°C Paris Agreement target (opens RNZ in a new tab)
Republican congressman Thomas Massie has accused Prince Andrew of committing sex crimes in the US during a speech in the House of Representatives. Massie named Andrew as one of Jeffrey Epstein's 'co-conspirators' while calling for an investigation into the late financier's associates.
RNZ reported it asRepublican congressman accuses Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of committing sex crimes in US (opens RNZ in a new tab)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has cancelled its planned 2027 Met Gala exhibition featuring designer John Galliano. The decision follows significant backlash over the designer's past antisemitic and racist comments.
RNZ reported it asThe John Galliano 2027 Met Gala has been cancelled (opens RNZ 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
- Ministry for Culture and HeritageGovernmentdirect 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
- 22
- Reports listed
- 22
- We could read
- 1
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
21 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.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. RNZ is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 22 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of RNZ: its report arrived a median of 29 hours after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 4 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 3 November 2026. Ratings pulled 4 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 RNZ 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.