SBS News media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give SBS News one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 77 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is SBS News biased?
The rating organisations do not give SBS News one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are 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 SBS News left or right?
The rating organisations do not give SBS News one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are 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 SBS News reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for SBS News 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 SBS News has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with SBS News’s own report linked underneath.
A gunman killed six people and wounded 16 in Krakow's Main Square. Polish officials described the attack as an act of terror, and stated the perpetrator held radical far-right views. Police shot and apprehended the suspect, who was taken to hospital.
SBS News reported it asPolish gunman who killed at least six was 'fascinated' by far-right ideologies, authorities say (opens SBS News in a new tab)
US forces carried out limited strikes on Iran's air defence systems, President Donald Trump confirmed. The strikes followed reports of two projectiles hitting Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz, with Iranian media also claiming a US drone was shot down.
SBS News reported it asIran says its military is 'stronger' than before war, as US offers $20m reward for nuclear info (opens SBS News in a new tab)
New Zealanders voted on the final day of their general election, with a unique law prohibiting political commentary in effect. Over 3.7 million voters participated, and final results are anticipated by November 27.
SBS News reported it asThese Kiwis were driven to Australia by rising costs. Could an election bring them home? (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Cory Booker has won re-election to the U.S. Senate representing New Jersey, defeating Republican candidate Justin Murphy. This victory marks Booker's third full term in the Senate.
SBS News reported it asThe last time the Democrats won this seat, Donald Trump hadn't been born. What changed? (opens SBS News in a new tab)
US President Donald Trump has announced that Washington will cease financial aid to Israel by the end of the year. The decision has drawn criticism from Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan and revealed surprise among Israeli defense and finance officials.
SBS News reported it as'They don't need it': Trump signals early end to $5.4 billion Israel military aid deal (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Donald Trump stated that Republicans would have won the midterm elections in a landslide if he had been on the ballot. A White House official echoed this sentiment, attributing the results to candidate quality and Trump's absence from voting.
SBS News reported it asDemocrats set to control Congress; Trump says he's 'willing to accept' results (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Jesús de Miguel, a 30-year-old Tenerife attacker, died on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. He had suffered a cardiac arrest following a collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a second-division match on Monday. The player was taken to hospital after the incident.
SBS News reported it as'Heartbroken': Spanish footballer dies after collision during match (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Supermarkets in at least nine European countries experienced cyberattacks on their refrigeration systems on November 2. The European Union warned the incidents were a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain, leading to spoiled food and investigations.
SBS News reported it asWho's behind Europe's freezer hacks — and is Australia next? (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his coalition's parliamentary majority following recent elections. Neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc nor the opposition secured the 61 seats needed for a majority, leading President Isaac Herzog to begin consultations with parties to form a government and avoid further elections.
SBS News reported it asIsraeli president to begin coalition talks in hopes of finding path to government (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Canada and the European Union are engaged in high-level discussions in Montreal, seeking to expand their partnership into new areas like strategic minerals and digital trade. The summit is viewed as a move to create an independent global stance.
SBS News reported it asAs the world grows more divided, Canada and Europe are betting on each other (opens SBS News 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.
SBS News reported it asStar Trek and X-Men star Patrick Stewart dies aged 86 (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a fourth term as Brazil's president, defeating right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro challenged the election results, while international leaders congratulated Lula on his victory and commitment to democracy.
SBS News reported it asBrazil rejects Bolsonaro heir to re-elect Lula in closely fought election (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Israeli forces raided multiple towns in the northern West Bank and forced dozens of Palestinians to evacuate their homes in Hebron. The operation, which began after two soldiers were killed, is expected to continue for several days.
SBS News reported it as1,200 Palestinians displaced in West Bank operation after Israeli soldiers killed (opens SBS News in a new tab)
US intelligence assesses that Iran has significantly intensified efforts to target American diplomats and senior officials, with plots reaching advanced stages. This assessment is cited as a reason for the State Department reducing its diplomatic presence in several Middle Eastern countries.
SBS News reported it asIran's latest threat against the US takes aim at new targets (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Federal MP Helen Haines' condition has improved from critical to serious but stable after being struck by a vehicle. She lost both legs in the incident. More than $1 million has been donated to Save the Children Australia in her honour.
SBS News reported it asHelen Haines' condition improves following alleged attack, but remains serious (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Eight people were killed and 40 wounded in an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan. Jordanian authorities have labelled the incident as extremist terrorism, and investigations into the attackers' potential links to known groups are ongoing. The US embassy announced increased security measures across Jordan.
SBS News reported it asSeven killed as gunmen open fire at Jordan church funeral (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Israeli soldiers shot and killed two men near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. At least five people were injured. Israel's military stated the men carried firearms. Following the incident, Israel ordered its army to prepare for a full closure of the West Bank.
SBS News reported it asIsrael orders closure of occupied West Bank after two suspected attackers killed (opens SBS News in a new tab)
The United States has quietly reduced its military presence at bases across the Middle East in recent days. The State Department has also ordered a reduction of non-essential staff and their families from diplomatic posts in Saudi Arabia, citing Houthi attacks.
SBS News reported it asUS orders embassy staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia amid Houthi attacks (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Russia has indicated readiness to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States after November 4. Presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov described the potential next round as exploratory, suggesting initial meetings might not yield significant outcomes.
SBS News reported it asPutin agrees 'in principle' to revive trilateral talks with US and Ukraine (opens SBS News in a new tab)
Russia's position on an energy truce with Ukraine remains unchanged, with Moscow seeking lasting peace rather than a temporary ceasefire, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. His remarks precede a meeting between President Putin and US special representative Steve Witkoff.
SBS News reported it asPutin agrees 'in principle' to revive trilateral talks with US and Ukraine (opens SBS News 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
- Special Broadcasting Serviceunknowndirect owner
- Australian GovernmentGovernmentparent group
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Artarmon, Willoughby City Council, New South Wales, Australia
- Official site
- sbs.com.au
- Seen publishing on
- sbs.com.au
- Access
- Free to read
- Wikipedia
- Entry
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
- 77
- Reports listed
- 78
- We could read
- 1
- First seen
- 11 August 2026
77 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 27 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and SBS News ran the story anyway.
Across the 77 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than SBS News’s on 2 of them. Overall it filed a median of 26 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 10 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 10 November 2026. Ratings pulled 12 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as SBS News, also publishing from Australia, 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 SBS News 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.