The Local - De media bias and reliability
Media Bias/Fact Check places The Local - De as leaning left. We have seen it on 15 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is The Local - De biased?
Media Bias/Fact Check places The Local - De as leaning left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is The Local - De left or right?
Media Bias/Fact Check places The Local - De as leaning left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is The Local - De reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for The Local - De are Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What The Local - De has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with The Local - De’s own report linked underneath.
CDU Secretary General Franziska Hoppermann has put forward specific figures for proposed fuel price relief, suggesting a reduction of 21, 23, or 25 cents per litre. She indicated these measures could be implemented at the start of October, following discussions with federal states.
The Local - De reported it asGerman government agrees fuel tax cut (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
The European Commission plans to propose a ban on social media for children under 13. Those aged 13 to 15 would have restricted access, potentially via parent-supervised 'mini-accounts'. The legislation is to be known as the 'EU Kids Act'.
The Local - De reported it as'Europe has power to act': EU to ban social media for under 13s (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz campaigned for the Berlin CDU alongside candidate Stefan Evers. He addressed approximately 150 party members at the CDU headquarters, speaking about federal politics and praising Evers. The event was held behind closed doors.
The Local - De reported it asGermany's Merz plans high-stakes party meeting after Sunday's state polls (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
CDU Secretary General Franziska Hoppermann has put forward specific figures for proposed fuel price relief, suggesting a reduction of 21, 23, or 25 cents per litre. She indicated these measures could be implemented at the start of October, following discussions with federal states.
The Local - De reported it asGermany plans price relief for drivers amid rising fuel costs (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
German investigators have identified two suspects in the attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, with at least one allegedly linked to Russia's GRU military intelligence. The drone, found near Ukrainian cargo aircraft, was laden with explosives.
The Local - De reported it asGermany suspects Russian intelligence involved in airport 'hybrid attack' (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Calls for action against smart glasses are growing in Europe due to privacy concerns over covert recording. Norway is considering a ban or stricter regulations, while Oslo has already banned the devices in schools.
The Local - De reported it asEurope eyes battle over 'pervert' AI glasses (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has won state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, according to exit polls. This marks the first time a far-right party has achieved such a result in modern German history, though it is unclear if the AfD can form a government alone.
The Local - De reported it as'Wake-up call': Greens in Magdeburg vow to continue fight against right-wing extremism (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Denmark expects to be ready by the end of 2027 to send migrants without legal residency to a return hub outside the European Union. Five EU countries are meeting in Copenhagen to discuss the establishment and practical functioning of these deportation centres.
The Local - De reported it asFive EU countries aim to send rejected migrants to 'return hubs' by 2027 (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
As Europe grapples with severe heatwaves, attention turns to whether EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will prioritise climate change in her upcoming policy speech. Environmental advocates are pushing for concrete plans to phase out fossil fuels, while some lawmakers suggest defence and industry concerns have overshadowed climate goals.
The Local - De reported it asWill the European Union take up the climate fight after brutal heatwaves? (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Ryanair lowered its fiscal 2027 passenger target from 216 million to 214 million, citing high fuel costs. It hedged 80% of its fuel needs at $67 a barrel but warned that persistently high oil prices could push up European airfares and strain less-hedged rivals.
The Local - De reported it asRyanair to cut winter flights in Europe to save on fuel costs (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Left-rated outlets in seven EU countries reported on national stories including a drone attack linked to Russia, a fatal crash study on winter tyres, a school explosion in Denmark, and a tree-planting plan in Spain. No centre- or right-rated outlet carried any of the stories.
The Local - De reported it asToday in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Germany recorded approximately 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer, a new record, estimates from the Robert Koch Institute show. People aged 75 and over were the most affected group. The previous record was 14,000 deaths.
The Local - De reported it asGermany reports record 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
The summer of 2026 was the hottest in the Netherlands since national records began in 1901. The average temperature reached 19.3°C, exceeding the previous record set in 2018. The season included several heatwaves and unusually warm nights.
The Local - De reported it asGermany reports record 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court has upheld the withdrawal of Swiss citizenship from a 36-year-old man convicted in France for planning ISIS attacks. The man, born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was naturalised in Switzerland in 2000 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in January 2021.
The Local - De reported it asToday in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
Six European Union countries have formally requested the introduction of an EU-wide tax on exceptional profits made by oil companies. The ministers argue that these companies are experiencing profit margins that outpace the rise in crude oil prices, exacerbated by the Middle East conflict.
The Local - De reported it asSix EU countries urge windfall tax on energy firms (opens The Local - De in a new tab)
A drone carrying approximately 800 grams of Semtex was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport on 5 August 2026. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a 'new threat scenario', while outlets diverged on attributing responsibility and the plane's cargo.
The Local - De reported it asLeipzig airport suspends flights after suspicious object sighting (opens The Local - De 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.
- Media Bias/Fact CheckleanLeftCheck 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.
High factuality
- Media Bias/Fact CheckhighCheck it
Who owns it
We hold no ownership record for The Local - De.
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden
- Official site
- thelocal.de
- Seen publishing on
- thelocal.de
- 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
- 15
- Reports listed
- 16
- We could read
- 3
- First seen
- 9 August 2026
13 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 3 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 7 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and The Local - De ran the story anyway.
Across the 15 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of The Local - De: its report arrived a median of 24 hours after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 24 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 23 September 2026. Ratings pulled 10 September 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 The Local - De 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.