The National Desk media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give The National Desk one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Right; Ad Fontes Media: Leans right; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. We have seen it on 40 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is The National Desk biased?
The rating organisations do not give The National Desk one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Right; Ad Fontes Media: Leans right; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is The National Desk left or right?
The rating organisations do not give The National Desk one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Right; Ad Fontes Media: Leans right; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Right.
Is The National Desk reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for The National Desk 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 The National Desk has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with The National Desk’s own report linked underneath.
Far-left streamer Hasan Piker stated that the United States causes more deaths globally than al-Qaeda. His remarks have drawn criticism from Republicans and scrutiny for Democrats associated with him, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
The National Desk reported it asHasan Piker says U.S. is worse than al-Qaeda 'pound for pound' in 'number of deaths' (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
The US Space Force has confirmed the deployment of weapons in Earth orbit, marking the first public acknowledgement of such capabilities. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink stated the weapons are intended for defence against hostile actions, though specific details remain undisclosed.
The National Desk reported it asThe fight for military advantage is increasingly moving into space (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
The United States has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in orbit. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the Space Force placed "space control weapons" to deter adversaries, drawing accusations from China and Russia.
The National Desk reported it asThe fight for military advantage is increasingly moving into space (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour has seen all supporting artists withdraw after the removal of rapper Macklemore. Macklemore was reportedly dropped due to his pro-Palestine stance. Greta Thunberg and Shane MacGowan's widow have commented on the situation.
The National Desk reported it asGreta Thunberg tells Ed Sheeran the Palestinian people are the 'one victim here' (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
US Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the FBI has new information regarding the attacker in the 2024 attempt on Donald Trump's life. Trump claimed on social media that the assassination attempt was a "Democrat plot" to remove him from the election, though investigations concluded the shooter acted alone.
The National Desk reported it asTrump says Butler assassination was a 'Democratic Plot' to get him out of the election (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Newly released FBI documents offer further insight into Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump on July 13, 2024. The records, obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee, include interviews with Crooks' father and describe his withdrawn personality and growing interest in weapons.
The National Desk reported it asTrump says Butler assassination was a 'Democratic Plot' to get him out of the election (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Donald Trump alleged the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a 'Democratic Plot' to remove him from the election. The FBI has found no connections between the suspect and others, and Trump offered no evidence for his claim.
The National Desk reported it asTrump says Butler assassination was a 'Democratic Plot' to get him out of the election (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding in the Bahamas was funded by Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, who is close to Vladimir Putin. Kremlev paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, including renting a private island. National security experts expressed alarm.
The National Desk reported it asDonald Trump Jr.'s wife defends wedding present given by Russian oligarch (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Senator Mitch McConnell cast a vote to advance the farm bill in committee on September 16, after receiving voting instructions from Senator John Hoeven. The bill passed the committee 12-11 along party lines.
The National Desk reported it asMcConnell still silent on Senate return as colleagues filter in (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with an exhibit of artifacts. The display includes personal items from the day, presented openly due to fragility, as museum leadership navigates political criticism.
The National Desk reported it asAmerica remembers 9/11 25 years later at Ground Zero, Pentagon and Flight 93 memorial (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman has filed a lawsuit against streamer Hasan Piker, alleging antisemitism and incitement of violence. Klayman seeks over $150 million in damages and an injunction, citing Piker's alleged statements about Hamas and Jews.
The National Desk reported it asJudicial Watch founder sues Hasan Piker over alleged antisemitism, 'violence against Jews' (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico has revised past statements regarding gender and transgender athletes. He now states he opposes transgender girls competing in sports if it compromises safety or fairness, a shift from his previous stances.
The National Desk reported it asTalarico backtracks controversial gender comments, pushes for Supreme Court overhaul (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
The Justice Department and Treasury Department have taken action against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace operating on Telegram. Authorities seized Telegram channels and cryptocurrency wallets tied to the platform, which allegedly served as an escrow service for online scam centers.
The National Desk reported it asDOJ takes down Chinese scam network targeting 'every American with a retirement account' (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Families of victims of the 9/11 attacks are calling for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to not attend the 25th anniversary memorial ceremony at Ground Zero. A petition to ban him has gathered over 98,000 signatures, and families plan to ignore him if he attends.
The National Desk reported it as9/11 victim families; 100,000 other petitioners don't want Mamdani at memorial ceremonies (opens The National Desk 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.
The National Desk reported it asTrump launches midterm blitz ahead of GOP convention in Dallas, eyes certain races (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Vice President JD Vance told Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed to stop mentioning his wife, Usha Vance, during a campaign rally. Vance also accused El-Sayed of promoting a divisive ideology.
The National Desk reported it asEl-Sayed hits back hard against Republican attacks in raucous Senate race (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
Former President Donald Trump has strongly advocated for data centers, stating that communities opposing them risk becoming "backwards and poor." He suggested that such opposition could benefit China and urged support for the facilities as a path to prosperity.
The National Desk reported it asTrump pushes back against data center rejection: 'Let Data Reign' (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
The Trump administration announced new drug pricing agreements with nine pharmaceutical companies. These deals are intended to align U.S. prices with those paid in other developed countries, impacting state Medicaid programs.
The National Desk reported it asTrump expected to share new slate of drug pricing deals during healthcare announcement (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
A multi-agency operation in Arizona arrested 95 undocumented truck drivers holding state-issued commercial licences, most from California. The broader operation detained 143 people from 18 countries and seized methamphetamine and marijuana. The US Department of Transportation finalised a rule to block unqualified foreign drivers from obtaining licences.
The National Desk reported it as95 illegal immigrant truck drivers arrested in August, most with California licenses: CBP (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
New documents obtained by the Associated Press and The Guardian appear to contradict statements made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding his 2019 visit to Samoa. Kennedy had told lawmakers the trip was unrelated to vaccines, but a letter he sent mentions vaccines eight times.
The National Desk reported it asRFK's role in Samoan measles outbreak resurfaces in Congress (opens The National Desk 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
- Sinclair Broadcast GroupMedia Conglomeratedirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Official site
- thenationaldesk.com
- Seen publishing on
- thenationaldesk.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
- 40
- Reports listed
- 41
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
41 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 8 of those stories, outlets rated right were largely absent from the coverage and The National Desk ran the story anyway.
Across the 40 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than The National Desk’s on 5 of them. Overall it filed a median of 26 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 20 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 19 September 2026. Ratings pulled 7 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as The National Desk, 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 The National Desk 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.