Science Alert media bias and reliability
Ad Fontes Media places Science Alert in the centre. We have seen it on 16 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Science Alert biased?
Ad Fontes Media places Science Alert in the centre. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Science Alert left or right?
Ad Fontes Media places Science Alert in the centre. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is Science Alert reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Science Alert 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 Science Alert has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Science Alert’s own report linked underneath.
Scientists have identified an icy object, named 2026 ED138, orbiting the sun beyond Pluto. The object's size is estimated between 600 and 1,500 kilometres in diameter. Classification as a dwarf planet depends on further study.
Science Alert reported it asAstronomers Discover a Giant New Dwarf Planet Candidate Hiding Beyond Pluto (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A new Lancet report indicates 710,000 heat-related deaths occurred globally in 2023, with over 70% attributed to human-caused climate change. Researchers are urging a formal declaration of a global health emergency to address accelerating climate harms.
Science Alert reported it asHeat Deaths Reach Record High: 146 Experts Call to Declare Climate Change a Global Health Emergency (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
Eating late at night is associated with a 20-30% increased risk of liver disease, including fatty liver and cirrhosis, according to a US study of around 200,000 people. Researchers suggest timing of meals is key to liver health.
Science Alert reported it asOne Common Eating Habit Is Linked to Higher Risk of 2 Liver Diseases (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A report published in The Lancet has identified 17 major threats to human survival by the year 2100. Malicious use of artificial intelligence and nuclear conflict are highlighted as the most significant dangers, alongside issues like climate change, obesity, and pandemics.
Science Alert reported it asExperts Identified The Gravest Health Threats Facing Humanity – Two Have 'Extinction Potential' (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise, has had his genome sequenced by scientists studying the secrets of his longevity. The research identified genetic changes associated with DNA repair and telomere function, offering potential insights into aging.
Science Alert reported it asAfter Almost Going Extinct, Giant Tortoises Now Outnumber People in The Seychelles (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A planet described as a gas giant has been discovered orbiting a white dwarf star approximately 250 light-years away. This 'second-generation' planet is believed to have formed from material expelled by its dying star, offering new insights into planet formation.
Science Alert reported it as'More Might Be Out There': A Scorching Phoenix Planet May Solve a 3-Decade-Old Astronomical Cold Case (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A new study indicates that dogs, like humans, focus on consonants to identify individual words within spoken language. Researchers compared brain activity in dogs and people, finding that both species rely on consonant sounds to segment speech, suggesting that exposure to language can alter brain function.
Science Alert reported it asDogs Can Pick Out Word Patterns in Speech, a Trick Once Thought Uniquely Human (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
For the first time, astronomers have detected radio signals directly from an exoplanet, Beta Pictoris b, located 63.4 light-years away. The signals, likely from the planet's aurora, suggest a powerful magnetic field, offering new insights into planetary environments beyond our solar system.
Science Alert reported it asAstronomers Detect Radio Signals Coming Directly From an Exoplanet For The First Time (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
Stanford University scientists have found that the human brain develops from two distinct progenitor cell populations, suggesting an evolutionary merging of two ancient nervous systems. This discovery could aid research into neurological diseases.
Science Alert reported it asTextbook Rewrite: The Human Brain Has Two Distinct Origins, Scientists Discover (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
The White House's Rapid Response account posted "Thank you, President Trump!" in response to a meteorologist noting the lack of hurricanes in the North Atlantic. The post drew widespread mockery online, with scientists attributing the quiet season to El Niño.
Science Alert reported it asEerily Quiet: Hurricane Activity in The Atlantic Ocean Has Just Passed an Ominous Milestone (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A geomagnetic superstorm on 11 November 2025 caused GPS errors exceeding 10 metres across the continental United States, disrupting satellite signals for hours. Scientists warn the timing, outside planting season, averted agricultural losses estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Science Alert reported it asGPS Glitched Across The US by as Much as 33 Feet. Scientists Have Never Seen This Before. (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A major review of 80 randomized controlled trials found that nicotine e-cigarettes were more effective than nicotine replacement therapy for helping people quit smoking. The review involved nearly 30,000 participants and found no evidence of increased serious harm from using e-cigarettes to quit.
Science Alert reported it asMassive Study Says Vaping Really Is The Most Effective Way to Quit Smoking – But There's a Catch (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
Astronomers have identified a star, S301, orbiting the Milky Way’s central black hole at 25,000 kilometres per second, the fastest known in the galaxy. Its tight orbit may enable scientists to measure the black hole’s spin, testing Einstein’s general relativity.
Science Alert reported it asThe Fastest Star on Record Has Been Found Hurtling Past Our Galaxy's Black Hole (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A study led by University of Kansas physicist Daniel Tapia Takaki at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider provides the first multidimensional measurement of incoherent J/ψ photonuclear production, offering evidence for gluon saturation inside atomic nuclei and challenging the long-standing nuclear shadowing model.
Science Alert reported it asAfter 50 Years, Physicists Find Strong Evidence For What Really Holds Matter Together (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
Scientists using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii have captured the most detailed images yet of the Sun’s visible surface, showing vortex-like plasma patterns ranging from 19 to 170 kilometres in diameter. The findings, published in Nature, could improve understanding of coronal mass ejections and space weather.
Science Alert reported it as'Simply Astonishing': Record-Breaking Images Reveal The Sun Is Teeming With Whirling Vortices (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
A study of ancient DNA has provided the first direct genetic evidence that European colonisers introduced smallpox to the Americas. All six outlets reporting the story led on the confirmation of long-held historical accounts, with no left-rated outlet covering the findings.
Science Alert reported it as'Clear Evidence': Ancient DNA From Chilean Mummies Reveals Who Brought Smallpox to The Americas (opens Science Alert in a new tab)
Who says so
One organisation has published a rating for this outlet. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
- Ad Fontes MediacenterCheck it
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
- ScienceAlert Pty. Ltd.Independentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Official site
- sciencealert.com
- Seen publishing on
- sciencealert.com
- 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
- 16
- Reports listed
- 16
- We could read
- 1
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
15 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. Science Alert is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 16 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than Science Alert’s on 1 of them. Overall it filed a median of 21 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 3 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 3 November 2026. Ratings pulled 4 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Science Alert, 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 Science Alert 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.