The Washington Post media bias and reliability
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place The Washington Post as leaning left. We have seen it on 323 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is The Washington Post biased?
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place The Washington Post as leaning left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is The Washington Post left or right?
AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place The Washington Post as leaning left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is The Washington Post reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for The Washington Post 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 Washington Post has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with The Washington Post’s own report linked underneath.
A federal judge has blocked the creation of a $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate political allies of former President Donald Trump. The judge stated the issues underlying the case remain relevant, despite the administration's claims the fund is defunct.
The Washington Post reported it asJudge is skeptical Trump administration has fully abandoned payout fund (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The United States, Denmark and Greenland plan to sign a security pact at the UN General Assembly next week. President Donald Trump says the deal gives the US permanent control over security matters, while other outlets report no sovereign US control. A joint working group will discuss future cooperation.
The Washington Post reported it asTrump hails Greenland security deal that falls short of takeover (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican congresswoman from Florida, released a campaign advertisement accusing President Trump of over‑reaching on immigration. The ad cites that half of ICE detainees in July lacked criminal records and appears amid polls showing Trump’s support among Hispanic voters at roughly 30 percent.
The Washington Post reported it asTrump criticizes Florida Republican who said he’s losing Latino support because of immigration enforcement (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
A coalition of civil rights and union groups has filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from being deployed to polling locations. This is the second such legal challenge this month.
The Washington Post reported it asNAACP files lawsuit seeking to bar federal agents from polling places (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order mandating state agencies to develop recommendations for strengthening AI safety laws. The order calls for a team of experts to propose new regulations within two months, potentially including a 'kill switch' for AI programs.
The Washington Post reported it asCalifornia governor signs order pushing for an AI ‘kill switch’ (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
A Washington DC preservation official has urged the Trump administration to abandon plans for a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. C. Andrew Lewis proposed building slender columns instead, citing original designs from 1924.
The Washington Post reported it asBuild columns, not Trump’s arch, D.C. official tells administration (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Earl Charles Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' in a phone call shortly after Princess Diana's death in 1997. Buckingham Palace has responded, stating that grief can affect memory.
The Washington Post reported it asPalace rejects claims King Charles was ‘elated’ after Princess Diana’s death (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
President Donald Trump reportedly had a heated exchange with Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty during a Kennedy Center board call. A federal judge blocked attempts to add Trump's name to the building, a decision the Justice Department has appealed.
The Washington Post reported it asAnalysis | What to know about the Kennedy Center closing under Trump (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Researchers have identified a new wild cat species, Leopardus tilcayo, in Bolivia's Yungas forest. The small feline, measuring about 45-46 cm and weighing 1.4 kg, is the first new wild cat species described in more than 100 years.
The Washington Post reported it asNew cat species discovered in Bolivia for first time in over 100 years (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to address the European Parliament. This follows a proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for Canada to become the EU's first associate member, a move US President Donald Trump has criticised.
The Washington Post reported it asCarney to address EU Parliament after Trump calls Canada associate ... (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
President Donald Trump was photographed on Air Force One looking at a poster that appeared to read 'Kennedy Center DEMOLIS[HED]'. The image emerged as the Kennedy Center has been surrounded by fencing and amid a court examination of its controversial closure.
The Washington Post reported it asPhoto of Trump shows printout that seems to refer to Kennedy Center demolition (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The animated series South Park began its 29th season with a name change to South America, a new theme song, and a plot involving e-bikes and a Donald Trump cameo. The episode saw Kenny die when his e-bike exploded.
The Washington Post reported it as‘South Park’ returns as ‘South America’ in mocking rebrand (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The United Nations General Assembly has voted to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the 81st session via video link. The decision follows the United States' denial of a visa to Abbas, preventing his in-person attendance in New York.
The Washington Post reported it asU.S. denies visas to Palestinian officials ahead of U.N. General Assembly (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Three supporting acts have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran's tour following the removal of rapper Macklemore. Macklemore was dropped by tour promoters for pro-Palestinian comments made during a performance. The departing acts cited solidarity with Macklemore and opposition to perceived silencing of voices speaking out against Israeli actions.
The Washington Post reported it asSheeran’s tour chaos: What to know as Macklemore pledges $1M in Palestinian aid (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs or halt trade with the European Union if Canada is granted associate membership. He described the prospect as 'laughable' and a 'hostile act', while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed a desire for Canada to be the bloc's first associate member.
The Washington Post reported it asTrump suggests Canada joining the E.U. could be a ‘hostile act’ (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a keynote address at a conference for the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, which he formerly chaired. He told attendees they had a friend in the Trump White House and highlighted administration actions to alter vaccine guidance.
The Washington Post reported it asRFK Jr. to give keynote speech at conference for anti-vaccine group he founded (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated the United States is open to discussing shared risks with China in upcoming AI talks scheduled for this weekend. The discussions aim to prevent the bifurcation of AI systems between the two countries.
The Washington Post reported it asA global AI safety strategy depends on US-China cooperation. They each see the other as the problem (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. India's Ministry of External Affairs stated the nation will take necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests.
The Washington Post reported it asHouse approves sweeping Russia sanctions bill, sending it to Trump (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The Trump administration has awarded contracts to begin work on President Donald Trump's planned takeover of the East Potomac Golf Links. Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee have demanded project documents, citing a lack of public announcement.
The Washington Post reported it asDemocrats demand records from Trump’s ‘methodical’ D.C. golf takeover (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The board of the Kennedy Center voted to close the performing arts venue due to financial problems and a disagreement about naming the building after President Donald Trump. A judge had previously blocked the venue from being renamed.
The Washington Post reported it asWhat’s next for the Kennedy Center now that it’s closed (opens The Washington Post 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
- Jeff BezosBillionairedirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Official site
- washingtonpost.com
- Seen publishing on
- washingtonpost.com, wapo.st
- Access
- Paywalled
- 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
- 323
- Reports listed
- 330
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
330 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 81 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and The Washington Post ran the story anyway.
Across the 323 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than The Washington Post’s on 10 of them. Overall it filed a median of 16 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 19 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 19 September 2026. Ratings pulled 3 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as The Washington Post, 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 Washington Post 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.