RTBF media bias and reliability
RTBF is held by the ratings provider we draw on, and no rater has placed it on the political spectrum. We have seen it on 13 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is RTBF biased?
RTBF is held by the ratings provider we draw on, and no rater has placed it on the political spectrum. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is RTBF left or right?
RTBF is held by the ratings provider we draw on, and no rater has placed it on the political spectrum.
Is RTBF reliable?
We do not hold a factual-reliability assessment for RTBF. A political-leaning label would not answer that question on its own, so we do not infer reliability from left, centre or right.
What RTBF has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with RTBF’s own report linked underneath.
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution to use maps that more accurately represent the true relative sizes of countries and continents. The move, driven by African nations, seeks to correct distortions caused by the centuries-old Mercator projection.
RTBF reported it asA Larger Africa, a Smaller United States: UN Opts for Global Mapping, Closer to Reality (opens RTBF in a new tab)
US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on 20 August 2026 to increase commercial space launches to at least 1,000 annually by 2030, up from 178 in 2025. The directive tasks NASA with promoting lunar transport and robotic Mars access, and federal agencies with finding new launch and re-entry sites.
RTBF reported it asDonald Trump Wants More than 1,000 Space Launches per Year From the United States (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Ghent University suspended Nathan Cofnas, a researcher who accused the late Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarism, after opening a disciplinary inquiry. Cofnas, who describes himself as a 'race realist', was previously dismissed from Cambridge in 2024. Arday died in mid-August amid the allegations.
RTBF reported it asThe University of Ghent Suspends Researcher Nathan Cofnas After Jason Arday's Death (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Iran executed Qaem Hosseini, a foreign national, on 20 August 2026 over charges tied to January’s anti-government protests. State media linked him to the deaths of four police officers in Isfahan, though his nationality and trial details remain unclear. No left-rated outlet covered the story.
RTBF reported it asIran Executes a Foreign National for Participation in Demonstrations (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom after six years in the US, but will not resume their roles as working royals. Their children will attend British schools from September, and King Charles III was informed of the decision on 16 August 2026.
RTBF reported it asPrince Harry and His Wife Meghan Will Return to Live in the UK, British Media Reports (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Disney’s ABC filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on 18 August 2026, alleging the agency is retaliating against the network for its editorial decisions. The suit targets early licence-renewal orders for eight stations and an investigation into the talk show 'The View'.
RTBF reported it asThe ABC Channel, Owned by Disney, Is Suing the Trump Administration on Freedom of Expression (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Actress Hayden Panettiere, 36, was found dead in her Greenville, South Carolina apartment on 16 August 2026. Police and the coroner’s office reported no signs of foul play. Her father confirmed her death in a statement to ABC News, and tributes followed from co-stars and fans.
RTBF reported it asAmerican Actress Hayden Panettiere Died at the Age of 36 (opens RTBF in a new tab)
A wildfire in Belgium’s High Fens nature reserve burned over 27 square kilometres on 15 August 2026, forcing 600 residents to evacuate. Over 250 emergency personnel, including firefighters from Belgium and Germany, were deployed, with EU assistance from Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.
RTBF reported it asDirect – Fire in the High Fagnes: Chinook Helicopters in Action, Jalhay and Montjoie Fronts Under Control, Peak Pollution in Lorraine (opens RTBF in a new tab)
USS Abraham Lincoln crew endure record deployment amid food shortages and mental health crisis
Trust 96The USS Abraham Lincoln has spent over 250 days at sea without docking, the longest continuous deployment on record. Reports describe food shortages, malfunctioning toilets and sailors attempting to jump overboard. Congressional Democrats have demanded an explanation from the defence secretary.
RTBF reported it asSuicide Threats, Food rationing... What's Going on Aboard the American Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln? (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Four advocacy groups, including Human Rights Watch, filed a lawsuit in New York on 11 August 2026 challenging the Trump administration’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court. The plaintiffs argue the measures violate US constitutional rights and hinder prosecutions of war crimes. The administration calls the ICC a threat to US sovereignty.
RTBF reported it asSeveral Associations Sue Donald Trump for Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Lebanon's Parliament passed a general amnesty law on 12 August 2026, the first since 1991, to address prison overcrowding and reduce sentences for thousands. The law, debated for years, was approved without immediate clarity on how many people it will affect.
RTBF reported it asLebanon: Beirut Votes Abolition of the Death Penalty, First in the Middle East (opens RTBF in a new tab)
US President Donald Trump flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft last month after an Iranian assassination threat was detected, according to reports. The White House had stated he was aboard Air Force One, but the press was left on a decoy flight as part of an elaborate ruse to conceal his departure.
RTBF reported it asWhat Happened? Donald Trump Climbs Into Air Force One... but No Longer Takes Off: the Incredible Maneuver to Protect Him From an Iranian Threat (opens RTBF in a new tab)
The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times during a hearing on COVID-19 origins. The resolution, opposed by all Democrats, was sent to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for potential prosecution.
RTBF reported it asUnited States: U.S. Senate Declares Ex-Advisor for Covid-19 Anthony Fauci Guilty of Contempt of Congress (opens RTBF in a new tab)
Who says so
No rating organisation we draw on has placed RTBF. We asked on 5 September 2026.
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.
We hold no factual-reliability rating for this outlet.
Who owns it
- French Community of BelgiumGovernmentdirect 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
- 13
- Reports listed
- 13
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
13 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.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. RTBF has not been placed on the spectrum, so there is no side to count against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 13 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of RTBF: its report arrived a median of 18 hours after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 20 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 13 September 2026. Ratings pulled 5 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 RTBF 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.