Techdirt media bias and reliability
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place Techdirt as leaning left. We have seen it on 23 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Techdirt biased?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place Techdirt as leaning left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Techdirt left or right?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place Techdirt as leaning left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is Techdirt reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Techdirt are Ad Fontes Media: Low factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What Techdirt has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Techdirt’s own report linked underneath.
President Donald Trump has declared imports of robots and industrial machinery a national security threat. He has ordered the Commerce Department and USTR to negotiate with trading partners, with a report due in 180 days, but has not imposed immediate tariffs.
Techdirt reported it asThe Trump Admin Isn’t Bright Enough To ‘Ban’ Foreign Robots And Drones, And The Press Should Stop Pretending Otherwise (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
An FBI anti-corruption team investigated allegations of a bribery scheme involving Senator Lindsey Graham and a Hawaii-based defense contractor. The probe reportedly went dark after the Trump administration reduced resources for the FBI and Department of Justice.
Techdirt reported it asHow Trump’s FBI Purge Saved Lindsey Graham And James Clyburn From A Bribery Investigation (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
Meta temporarily suspended the Instagram account of the No Kings Coalition during nationwide protests. The company apologized, stating an automated security system mistakenly identified bot-like activity. The coalition criticized the timing and demanded an explanation.
Techdirt reported it asAccident Or Not, The No Kings Takedown Is Why You Shouldn’t Rent Your Megaphone From Zuck (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that taxpayer-funded television advertisements promoting the president are illegal government propaganda. The ads have cost more than $12 million.
Techdirt reported it asDNC Sues Trump For Wasting $20 Million In Taxpayer Dollars On Ineffective Midterm Propaganda (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a temporary stop to Minnesota’s AI “nudification” law, which bans realistic nude images of identifiable people. The injunction follows xAI’s lawsuit claiming the ban infringes constitutional free speech, and follows a prior ruling by Judge Donovan Frank on the case.
Techdirt reported it asAppeals Court Pauses Minnesota’s Nudify Law, Which Ignored Its Own Supreme Court’s Roadmap. (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
A judge has permanently dismissed the case against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The judge cited political pressure from President Donald Trump and evidence of a flawed installation as reasons for the dismissal.
Techdirt reported it asCourt Permanently Dismisses Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case Against David Hearn (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr stated that taxpayer-funded advertisements featuring Donald Trump do not warrant FCC review, likening them to public service announcements. The White House defended the ads, while Democratic senators have asked the Department of Homeland Security to stop spending funds on them.
Techdirt reported it asTrump Breaks Law(s), Uses $20 Million In Taxpayer Money To Fund Midterm Propaganda (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
The Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own. The court will hear arguments on the policy in December, with three liberal justices dissenting from the decision.
Techdirt reported it asSCOTUS Once Again Allows Trump Administration To Keep Deporting Migrants To Random Countries (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
An ICE officer shot and injured Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in Austin, Texas. Pérez's attorney stated agents 'sideswiped' his car before firing shots and that he had entered the U.S. legally. The officer involved was reportedly a new recruit and not wearing a body camera.
Techdirt reported it asDHS Starts Dicking Around After Blowing Past Its Deadline For ICE Body Cam Rollout (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
The FBI sought to launch a pay-to-play investigation into interactions between Senator Susan Collins and a top donor, Martin Kao, but the probe reportedly ended after Donald Trump returned to office. Kao was indicted for illegal campaign contributions.
Techdirt reported it asThe FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got In The Way (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
Paramount Global and California's attorney general have discussed potential concessions as part of settlement talks. These discussions reportedly include a $1.5 billion investment in production within the state, as detailed by The Wall Street Journal.
Techdirt reported it as‘Independent CNN Oversight Board’ To Be Hand Picked By Paramount (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
Paramount has settled lawsuits brought by state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America concerning its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The settlements pave the way for the $81 billion deal to proceed, pending final court approval.
Techdirt reported it asCalifornia AG Rob Bonta Caves, Paramount Merger To Proceed With Flimsy Conditions (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
Paramount has threatened to leave California since July, when the state sued to block its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is taking the threat seriously, while California's Attorney General Rob Bonta calls it blackmail.
Techdirt reported it asParamount Funds, ‘Leaks’ Dodgy Study Saying California Will Suffer If Its Merger Is Blocked (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security from issuing further warning notices to David Streever. Streever had sent an email to the former acting director of ICE comparing him to a Nazi. The judge ruled the warning notice likely violated Streever's First Amendment rights.
Techdirt reported it asCourt: The First Amendment Allows You To Tell The ICE Director He’s A ‘Sad, Despised Man’ (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro refused to answer reporters' questions about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case, which President Donald Trump has urged her to revisit. Pirro became visibly frustrated, at one point yelling, 'No! No and no! How many times do I have to say no?!'
Techdirt reported it asJudge Demands Answers From DOJ For Refusing To Dismiss Reflecting Pool Case With Prejudice (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
Jimmy Kimmel announced his interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico would not air on ABC due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pressure. The interview will instead be posted on YouTube. The decision comes amid a broader dispute between ABC's parent company, Disney, and the FCC over broadcast licenses.
Techdirt reported it asJimmy Kimmel Won’t Air James Talarico Interview On ABC For Fear Of FCC Reprisal (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has excluded two measles-associated deaths reported by Pennsylvania from its latest weekly update. The agency stated the decision was made pending further investigation into the cause of the deaths.
Techdirt reported it asRFK Jr. Goes Full Anti-Vaxxer Conspiracy Theorist Over 2 PA Measles Deaths (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourism visas for up to 200,000 foreigners seeking asylum in the US. The State Department expects to announce the action, which would be the largest mass visa revocation in US history, in the coming weeks.
Techdirt reported it asTrump Told Asylum Seekers To Do It “The Legal Way.” Now He’s Revoking 200,000 Of Their Visas. (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
President Trump personally intervened to push the Justice Department toward a settlement with Live Nation in an antitrust case, according to reports. The intervention reportedly occurred shortly before a trial was set to begin, following meetings between the company's CEO and White House officials.
Techdirt reported it asMore Details Emerge On How Trump Cronyism Ruined The Attempt To Break Up Ticketmaster (opens Techdirt in a new tab)
Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta’s $1bn 'Future is for Everyone Fund' to support communities hosting data centres, alongside plans to offer free AI tools to billions. The essay also outlined a vision for personal AI agents and open-source models, while addressing concerns about job displacement and privacy.
Techdirt reported it asZuckerberg Is Right About Open, Decentralized AI. He’s Also The Last Person You Should Trust To Deliver It (opens Techdirt 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.
Mixed factuality
Who owns it
- Floor64, Inc.Billionairedirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Redwood City, San Mateo County, California, United States
- Official site
- techdirt.com
- Seen publishing on
- techdirt.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
- 23
- Reports listed
- 23
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 7 August 2026
23 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 5 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Techdirt ran the story anyway.
Across the 23 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of Techdirt: its report arrived a median of 2 days after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 8 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 3 November 2026. Ratings pulled 10 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Techdirt, 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 Techdirt 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.