The National media bias and reliability
Media Bias/Fact Check places The National as leaning left. We have seen it on 154 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is The National biased?
Media Bias/Fact Check places The National as leaning left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is The National left or right?
Media Bias/Fact Check places The National as leaning left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is The National reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for The National are Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What The National has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with The National’s own report linked underneath.
The Royal Navy tracked a Russian intelligence-gathering ship, the Viktor Leonov, off the coast of Scotland. The vessel was observed monitoring NATO military exercises, leading to the deployment of Royal Navy helicopters.
The National reported it asRoyal Navy track Russian spy ship off Scottish coast with helicopter assistance (opens The National in a new tab)
Environmental activists dressed in Halloween masks gathered at Bute House in Edinburgh on Saturday, protesting the Scottish Government’s decision to allow a new 900 MW gas‑fired power station at Peterhead. Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Kate Whitaker called the approval a catastrophic failure, while a government spokesperson reiterated the net‑zero 2045 commitment.
The National reported it asClimate campaigners warn 'no treats for John Swinney' in Halloween-themed protest (opens The National in a new tab)
Dockworkers in 22 countries launched a coordinated strike on October 30, 2026, protesting arms shipments and the use of ports for military purposes. Organizers estimate significant disruption to Mediterranean cargo and billions of dollars in freight.
The National reported it as‘Historic’ dockworkers anti-war strike shuts 113 ports worldwide amid wider protests (opens The National 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.
The National reported it asStar Trek actor Patrick Stewart dies aged 86 (opens The National in a new tab)
The Chancellor has announced plans to cut import tariffs on more than 100 products, including food staples, as part of a series of 'everyday fixes' ahead of the upcoming Budget. Other measures include changes to parental pay and carer's allowance.
The National reported it asFull list of food items to become cheaper under new UK Budget (opens The National in a new tab)
The World Bank forecasts a 23% increase in global commodity prices by the end of 2026, driven by the Middle East conflict and El Nino. Energy prices are noted to be at a four-year high.
The National reported it asEnergy prices to climb 32% this year as global shocks mount, World Bank says (opens The National in a new tab)
Nigel Farage has been mocked by political rivals after a Reform UK event in London was attended by few supporters. Images of empty seats were shared online, with the party leader blaming staff for the poor turnout.
The National reported it as‘Embarrassing’: Nigel Farage mocked over rows of empty seats for major speech (opens The National in a new tab)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a fourth term as Brazil's president, defeating right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro challenged the election results, while international leaders congratulated Lula on his victory and commitment to democracy.
The National reported it asLula declared winner of Brazil’s election as Bolsonaro rejects results (opens The National in a new tab)
Former Conservative candidate Jack Ross was suspended by the party after an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera. Footage appears to show him discussing violent attacks and introducing a reporter to a man linked to paramilitary groups.
The National reported it asTory suspended over 'contract killer' sting worked in Kemi Badenoch's office (opens The National in a new tab)
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for an open discussion about the UK readopting EU free movement rules. He plans to meet EU leaders on November 20 and wants to explore options for a closer relationship with the bloc.
The National reported it asAndy Burnham opens door to return of EU free movement (opens The National in a new tab)
Israeli forces raided multiple towns in the northern West Bank and forced dozens of Palestinians to evacuate their homes in Hebron. The operation, which began after two soldiers were killed, is expected to continue for several days.
The National reported it asIsrael forces Palestinians from homes in illegally occupied West Bank city (opens The National in a new tab)
Donald Trump announced that Ukraine's access to the Starshield military satellite communications system has been restored. The statement follows reports that Elon Musk had previously imposed speed restrictions on the service.
The National reported it asAndy Burnham tells Donald Trump Ukraine must have ‘full’ Starlink access (opens The National in a new tab)
France deployed thousands of police officers to manage protests over living costs and school funding. A planned march in Paris was rerouted to the city's southeastern edge, with authorities citing concerns over potential unrest and damage to businesses.
The National reported it asFrance shuts museums and deploys big security presence ahead of weekend protests (opens The National in a new tab)
Weekend unrest in France left roughly 3,000 shops damaged and could generate claims exceeding €13 billion. Authorities launched a digital tool to identify looters, and insurers prepared to assist, though coverage may be limited.
The National reported it asFrance shuts museums and deploys big security presence ahead of weekend protests (opens The National in a new tab)
Teddy Young, a 24-year-old Royal Navy sailor, appeared at the Old Bailey facing new charges concerning an alleged breach of classified information. He is accused of abusing his security clearance to access defence data and attempting to contact Russian authorities.
The National reported it asRoyal Navy sailor faces new charges after alleged classified information breach (opens The National in a new tab)
IndiGo has extended flight cancellations to Riyadh until October 31, 2026, and to Jeddah, Dammam, and Madinah until October 27, 2026. Affected passengers are being offered refunds or rescheduling options.
The National reported it asSaudi Arabia flight cancellations: Which airlines are suspending services and until when? (opens The National 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.
The National reported it asIsrael orders military to prepare to fully close illegally occupied West Bank (opens The National in a new tab)
An oil spill from a tanker has affected beaches in Umm Al Quwain, the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment announced. Coastal areas have been temporarily closed as a precaution, while residents reported unpleasant odours.
The National reported it asUAE confirms oil spill off coast causing strong fuel smell (opens The National in a new tab)
Saudi Arabia experienced two attacks on an airport and an oilfield, resulting in the death of one Indian national and injuries to others. India's Ministry of External Affairs has condemned the incidents.
The National reported it asOil tops $110 as Houthi drone strike near Saudi Shaybah field rattles markets (opens The National in a new tab)
A major security vulnerability discovered in the PHP programming language has led to widespread alerts and the precautionary shutdown of numerous websites globally. Developers are releasing patches to address the flaws.
The National reported it asNHS Scotland website down as major cyber-security flaws found on sites worldwide (opens The National 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
- Newsquestunknowndirect owner
- GannettMedia Conglomerateparent group
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Glasgow, Glasgow City, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Official site
- thenational.scot
- Seen publishing on
- thenational.scot, thenationalnews.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
- 154
- Reports listed
- 169
- We could read
- 10
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
159 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 10 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 45 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and The National ran the story anyway.
Across the 154 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than The National’s on 3 of them. Overall it filed a median of 23 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 2 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 2 November 2026. Ratings pulled 4 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as The National, also publishing from United Kingdom, 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 The National 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.