SME media bias and reliability
The bias data this site ingests places SME as leaning left. It does not name the organisation that made that assessment, so we publish it as an unattributed rating and nothing more. We have seen it on 73 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is SME biased?
The bias data this site ingests places SME as leaning left. It does not name the organisation that made that assessment, so we publish it as an unattributed rating and nothing more. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is SME left or right?
The bias data this site ingests places SME as leaning left. It does not name the organisation that made that assessment, so we publish it as an unattributed rating and nothing more. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is SME reliable?
The factuality data this site ingests describes SME as high factuality. It reaches us without a named assessor, so it is an unattributed rating rather than our verdict. It does not guarantee that every report is correct.
What SME has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with SME’s own report linked underneath.
US President Donald Trump described the midterm election results as a 'giant step back' for the United States. Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate. Trump also attributed a significant stock market decline to the election outcomes and vowed a Republican comeback.
SME reported it asHow Will Trump Quack Like a Lame Duck? (opens SME in a new tab)
Iranian state media reported hearing five explosions on Qeshm Island, near Bandar Lengeh in Hormozgan province. Some residents reported seeing two aircraft in the sky. No official confirmation of the source has been released.
SME reported it asThe United States Attacked Iran Again. The War Should Have Been Won Before the Election. (opens SME in a new tab)
Donald Trump has stated he believes a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is nearing completion. He suggested a deal could be finalized at the G20 summit in December, which is scheduled to take place at his resort in Doral, Florida.
SME reported it asSME Online: Trilateral Talks to End the War Will Take Place in Abu Dhabi Next Week (opens SME in a new tab)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine war after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Erdogan made the remarks to journalists on his return flight from South Korea on November 5, 2026.
SME reported it asSME Online: Trilateral Talks to End the War Will Take Place in Abu Dhabi Next Week (opens SME in a new tab)
Donald Trump stated that the US conducts intelligence operations against China and Russia, asserting that American spying capabilities surpass those of its adversaries. He made these remarks at a rally in Iowa.
SME reported it asRubio Spoke Briefly with Lavrov About a Possible Meeting Between the US and Russian Presidents in November (SME Online) (opens SME in a new tab)
The Russian Defence Ministry announced that its drones struck a workshop producing unmanned boats in the Chernomorsk port and hit several vessels, a cargo ship bound for Chornomorsk, a dry cargo ship carrying goods for the United States, and a supply ship heading to Odessa. No casualties were reported.
SME reported it asSME Online: Ukraine Launches Large-Scale Drone Attack, Refinery in Russia's Samara Region Is on Fire (opens SME in a new tab)
Russia launched a ballistic missile and drone attack on Kyiv on October 26-27, 2026. The strikes resulted in at least one death and multiple injuries, damaging key infrastructure like the Southern Bridge and subway lines.
SME reported it asSME Online: Ukraine Launches Large-Scale Drone Attack, Refinery in Russia's Samara Region Is on Fire (opens SME in a new tab)
Ukraine has requested five European partners provide 10% of their existing interceptor missile stocks for Patriot and IRIS-T air defence systems. Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara proposed an exchange for future deliveries, while also highlighting the urgent need for MANPADS.
SME reported it asSME Online: Ukraine Launches Large-Scale Drone Attack, Refinery in Russia's Samara Region Is on Fire (opens SME in a new tab)
Ukrainian drones struck the Samara Linear Production and Dispatch Station in Russia's Samara region on the night of 2 November 2026. The facility, described as Europe's largest oil tank farm, has been targeted multiple times previously.
SME reported it asSME Online: Ukraine Launches Large-Scale Drone Attack, Refinery in Russia's Samara Region Is on Fire (opens SME 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.
SME reported it asBehind Patrick Stewart. "Be Fearless" (opens SME in a new tab)
President Donald Trump announced that Audi will invest $4.2 billion in its first U.S. factory in Georgia. The plant, planned for Middle Georgia Megasite, is expected to create 4,500 jobs and begin production in the early 2030s.
SME reported it asSlovakia could lose production of Audi SUVs that make up 30% of VW plant’s output (opens SME in a new tab)
A report by House Democrats includes a new allegation from Beatrice Keul, who claims Donald Trump raped her in 1993. The report also alleges Trump was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse. The White House denies the claims.
SME reported it asNew Epstein Files Point to Trump. Models Speak Out About Rape (opens SME in a new tab)
Democratic lawmakers have called for a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump's alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. A new report details accusations against Trump and claims the DOJ sought to protect him.
SME reported it asNew Epstein Files Point to Trump. Models Speak Out About Rape (opens SME in a new tab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Moscow for talks, with assurances of safety. Ukrainian officials confirmed Zelensky's readiness for a meeting and a partial ceasefire, though they noted Russia's continued attacks.
SME reported it asSME Online: Leaders of Finland and Norway Spoke by Phone with Putin About the War in Ukraine (opens SME 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.
SME reported it asIsrael Prepares Largest Military Operation in West Bank in Nearly 60 Years After Hebron Shooting (opens SME in a new tab)
Women demonstrated across Poland against the country's restrictive abortion laws. Activists accuse Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government of not fulfilling promises to relax legislation, with protests occurring in over 20 cities.
SME reported it asWomen's Hell Continues. Polish Women Protest Again, Showing Tusk's Government a Red Card over Abortion (opens SME in a new tab)
Vladimir Putin proposed a summit with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin confirmed discussions are underway, but no agreement has been reached on the meeting or its agenda.
SME reported it asSME Online: It's Time for Someone Else to Negotiate for Ukraine Instead of Zelensky, Trump Says (opens SME in a new tab)
On 19 October 2026, US President Donald Trump said it might be time for President Zelensky to hand over peace talks, claimed earlier peace was possible if Zelensky had followed his advice, defended lifting sanctions on Russia and criticised Kyiv’s attacks on Moscow’s energy sites, noting the US continues to share intelligence with Ukraine.
SME reported it asSME Online: It's Time for Someone Else to Negotiate for Ukraine Instead of Zelensky, Trump Says (opens SME in a new tab)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with Bloomberg that steps have been taken to persuade Ukraine to surrender to Russia. He believes relations with the US may calm after the upcoming elections and indicated potential meetings with Trump envoys.
SME reported it asSME Online: It's Time for Someone Else to Negotiate for Ukraine Instead of Zelensky, Trump Says (opens SME in a new tab)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that the United States is delaying some vital military supplies, including Patriot missiles that Ukraine has already paid for. He attributed these delays to the US Department of Defense and unfulfilled political agreements, suggesting a potential shift in US priorities.
SME reported it asSME Online: Some Deliveries at the US Department of Defense Level Are Delayed, According to Zelensky (opens SME in a new tab)
Who says so
The lean above is carried in the coverage data this site ingests, which names no rater for it. We publish it because it is what the rest of the site groups SME on, and we will not present it as an assessment by anyone in particular until we hold one.
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
The rating above reaches us without a named assessor, and is published as that rather than as anyone’s verdict.
Who owns it
We hold no ownership record for SME.
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Bratislava, Bratislava Region, Slovakia
- Seen publishing on
- sme.sk, eubrief.sme.sk, sportnet.sme.sk, spectator.sme.sk
- 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
- 73
- Reports listed
- 73
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
73 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.
On 27 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and SME ran the story anyway.
Across the 73 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than SME’s on 1 of them. Overall it filed a median of 33 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 10 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 10 November 2026. Ratings pulled 3 November 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 SME 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.