USA Today media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give USA Today one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 290 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is USA Today biased?
The rating organisations do not give USA Today one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is USA Today left or right?
The rating organisations do not give USA Today one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Leans left; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is USA Today reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for USA Today are Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What USA Today has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with USA Today’s own report linked underneath.
President Donald Trump is hosting over 100 hunters and outdoor industry leaders for a White House dinner where he is expected to sign executive orders aimed at expanding access to public lands and waterways. The orders will also reverse certain Biden-era restrictions, including those on lead ammunition.
USA Today reported it asPresident Trump welcomes over 100 hunters to Rose Garden event (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asWatch Mitch McConnell cast deciding vote on Senate farm bill (opens USA Today in a new tab)
Lockheed Martin has revealed details of its new AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, designed to counter long-range air threats from China. The US Defense Department has signed an agreement to increase its production as part of munitions stockpile rebuilding.
USA Today reported it asGM Defense delivers first batch of components for Lockheed missiles (opens USA Today in a new tab)
LeJames Norman was executed by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday for a 2005 triple murder. On the same day, a Georgia judge issued a stay of execution for Stacey Humphreys, citing a new sentencing law.
USA Today reported it as1 lives, 1 dies: Georgia inmate wins last-minute reprieve as Texas carries out execution (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asPatriots owner Robert Kraft pledges $2 million to Palestinian region at Ed Sheeran's request (opens USA Today in a new tab)
US Representative Gregory Meeks has placed a hold on a $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel, citing concerns about the use of 40,000 bombs in densely populated areas. The Trump administration is planning the sale, which could be bypassed from normal congressional review.
USA Today reported it asA top House Democrat opposes sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asIs ‘South Park’ now ‘South America’? When is new season? (opens USA Today in a new tab)
Donald Trump is scheduled to campaign in North Carolina with Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley. This event marks Trump's first rally since his midterm convention in Dallas, as Republicans hope his presence will energize voters.
USA Today reported it asTrump tries to salvage 'tough' North Carolina Senate race for GOP (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asWhat's going on at the Kennedy Center? Its history, ownership and more (opens USA Today in a new tab)
House Speaker Mike Johnson has sent representatives home early for their pre-election recess. This move postpones a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which had been initiated by Rep. Thomas Massie over Hegseth's actions in Iran and Venezuela.
USA Today reported it asFacing Hegseth impeachment vote, House Republicans bail out early until November (opens USA Today in a new tab)
The Trump administration plans to erect signs outside the National Museum of American History. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is overseeing the initiative, which aims to warn visitors about perceived ideological bias within the museum's presentations.
USA Today reported it asTrump administration moving ahead with signs outside Smithsonian museum (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asICE's threat to critic 'likely violates' First Amendment, judge says (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asTrump threw 'tantrum' at Kennedy Center meeting, congresswoman says (opens USA Today in a new tab)
Two Republican members of the House of Representatives from Iowa voted in favour of a war powers resolution aimed at halting military action in Iran. This vote was the first of its kind for these two representatives.
USA Today reported it asNunn, Miller-Meeks break with GOP, vote to limit Trump's war powers (opens USA Today in a new tab)
The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, marking the first such increase in over three years. The unanimous decision aims to combat inflation, and was followed by a significant drop in gold prices.
USA Today reported it asFed hikes key rate, signals likelihood of another increase in 2026 (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asIs Ed Sheeran still playing Philadelphia? Openers drop from tour (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asTrump says Kennedy Center could be 'ripped down' without his support (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asTrump says in social post that 2024 assassination try was political plot (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asTrump says in social post that 2024 assassination try was political plot (opens USA Today 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.
USA Today reported it asTrump, without evidence, claims 2024 assassination try was political plot (opens USA Today 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
- Media Bias/Fact CheckhighCheck it
Who owns it
- USA TODAY Co., Inc.Media Conglomeratedirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- New York, New York, United States
- Official site
- usatoday.com
- Seen publishing on
- usatoday.com
- Access
- Metered: some articles are readable, some are not
- 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
- 290
- Reports listed
- 314
- We could read
- 12
- First seen
- 3 August 2026
302 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 12 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 80 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and USA Today ran the story anyway.
Across the 290 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than USA Today’s on 10 of them. Overall it filed a median of 20 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 18 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 18 September 2026. Ratings pulled 3 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as USA Today, 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 USA Today 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.