Semafor media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give Semafor one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Centre. We have seen it on 91 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Semafor biased?
The rating organisations do not give Semafor one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Centre. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Semafor left or right?
The rating organisations do not give Semafor one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Centre. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is Semafor reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Semafor are Ad Fontes Media: High factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What Semafor has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Semafor’s own report linked underneath.
Novo Nordisk and Anthropic have announced a collaboration to use artificial intelligence in drug discovery and development. Novo Nordisk will employ Anthropic's Claude models, including Claude Science, to advance its research and development efforts.
Semafor reported it asNovo to partner with Anthropic on drug discovery efforts (opens Semafor in a new tab)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated the United States is open to discussing shared risks with China in upcoming AI talks scheduled for this weekend. The discussions aim to prevent the bifurcation of AI systems between the two countries.
Semafor reported it asHopes dim for US-China détente during leaders’ summit (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Federal authorities have unsealed an indictment charging five individuals linked to Russian intelligence services with plotting targeted killings in the United States and European nations supporting Ukraine. The FBI announced it disrupted the alleged plot.
Semafor reported it asUS prosecutors charge five with plot to kill Russian dissident in DC (opens Semafor in a new tab)
The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, marking the first such increase in over three years. The unanimous decision aims to combat inflation, and was followed by a significant drop in gold prices.
Semafor reported it asWarsh breaks with Trump to raise rates (opens Semafor in a new tab)
The United States has imposed new visa restrictions on certain South African nationals, citing race-based discrimination and uncompensated land seizures. South Africa has rejected the US allegations, stating the measures are based on mischaracterised policies and fringe group information.
Semafor reported it asUS imposes new visa restrictions on South Africans (opens Semafor in a new tab)
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. India's Ministry of External Affairs stated the nation will take necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests.
Semafor reported it asCongress eyes final legislative push before midterms (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Donald Trump confirmed he uses artificial intelligence but declined to specify how, stating only that it can be used for "a lot of things." He also commented on the technology's future, saying "whoever wins in artificial intelligence wins."
Semafor reported it asTrump dismisses calls for AI guardrails (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Donald Trump has rejected calls for new regulations on artificial intelligence, stating that the U.S. government already possesses adequate power to control AI firms. He described efforts to implement guardrails as a "sick conspiracy" that could cede technological leadership to China.
Semafor reported it asTrump dismisses calls for AI guardrails (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Saudi Arabia has shut its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline following drone attacks launched from Iraq. The closure removes a key route for oil exports, potentially impacting four percent of global supply and driving up crude prices.
Semafor reported it asSaudi Arabia eyes more tanker transits through Strait of Hormuz (opens Semafor in a new tab)
President Donald Trump stated the United States should have the lowest interest rates in the world. He made the remarks ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting, arguing the nation's strong credit allows it to influence global economics.
Semafor reported it asTrump says US interest rates should be lowest in the world (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Algeria has announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and the closure of its airspace to UAE-registered civilian and military aircraft. Commercial flights will be exempt until 2026. The UAE expressed hope the decision is temporary.
Semafor reported it asView: Algiers cuts diplomatic relations and Abu Dhabi shrugs (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Brent crude futures reached a four-month peak of $109.97 a barrel following a 6% overnight increase. The surge in oil prices has heightened inflation concerns, leading to a spike in global bond yields and a slump in sharemarkets as investors anticipate further central bank tightening.
Semafor reported it asTreasury yields soar to almost 5% on inflation fears (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Senator John Fetterman delivered a prerecorded video to introduce Republican Senator Dave McCormick at the Republican National Committee's midterm convention in Dallas, then affirmed he will remain a Democrat and caucus with his party if they win the Senate. Rep. Madeleine Dean called the move a disappointing stunt and said her constituents are angry.
Semafor reported it asExclusive: Dems sharpen Fetterman criticism after RNC appearance (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Two protesters were arrested outside the Republican National Committee's midterm convention in Dallas. Mounted police and officers in riot gear were deployed as demonstrators marched near the venue. Organisers estimated up to 10,000 people would attend separate rallies.
Semafor reported it asRepublicans kick off ‘Trump-a-Palooza’ midterm convention (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his intention to sue the newspaper Haaretz and its journalist over a report claiming UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed warned him of a planned Hamas operation before the October 7, 2023 attacks. Netanyahu's office denies the report, calling it a 'lie'.
Semafor reported it asNetanyahu denies he ignored UAE’s warning ahead of Oct. 7 attacks (opens Semafor in a new tab)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has warned that artificial intelligence poses an 'existential' risk to humanity. He called for immediate action and 'cast-iron guarantees' to ensure AI safety and security, citing potential disruptions to critical infrastructure and democratic institutions.
Semafor reported it asAI researchers say industry is ‘gambling with our lives’ (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Jacob Coxon has resigned from AI company Anthropic, warning that the rapid development of artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to humanity. His departure and warnings have been reported across several outlets, highlighting concerns about AI safety and the race for superintelligence.
Semafor reported it asAI researchers say industry is ‘gambling with our lives’ (opens Semafor in a new tab)
Jacob Coxon, a researcher formerly with OpenAI and Anthropic, has resigned, stating that leading AI developers are acting irresponsibly and "gambling with our lives." His departure has drawn comparisons to the Skynet scenario from the Terminator film.
Semafor reported it asAI researchers say industry is ‘gambling with our lives’ (opens Semafor in a new tab)
A 27-year-old British researcher, Jacob Coxon, has resigned from Anthropic and the AI industry, citing concerns over the rapid, irresponsible development of self-improving superintelligence. He fears this race poses a significant risk to humanity, with some reports suggesting an existential threat by the end of the decade.
Semafor reported it asAI researchers say industry is ‘gambling with our lives’ (opens Semafor in a new tab)
An Anthropic researcher has warned of a greater than 10% chance of AI causing human extinction in the next ten years. The warning follows a colleague's resignation over concerns about reckless AI development.
Semafor reported it asAI researchers say industry is ‘gambling with our lives’ (opens Semafor 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.
High factuality
Who owns it
- SemaforIndependentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- New York, New York, United States
- Official site
- semafor.com
- Seen publishing on
- semafor.com
- Access
- Free to read
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
- 91
- Reports listed
- 92
- We could read
- 6
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
86 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 6 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 45 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Semafor ran the story anyway.
Across the 91 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of Semafor: its report arrived a median of 34 hours after the earliest one 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 Semafor, 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 Semafor 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.