Variety media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give Variety 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 79 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Variety biased?
The rating organisations do not give Variety 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 Variety left or right?
The rating organisations do not give Variety 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 Variety reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Variety 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 Variety has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Variety’s own report linked underneath.
The Kennedy Center has announced its 2026 honorees: Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet, and Barbara Mandrell. The ceremony will be moved from the venue for the first time due to a legal dispute involving President Donald Trump's renovation plans.
Variety reported it asKennedy Center Sets 2026 Honorees: David Mamet, Paul Anka, Andy Garcia and More (opens Variety in a new tab)
Actor Bill Murray interrupted a live CNBC interview with Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to Donald Trump, asking him to say the words 'My dog just died' in an attempt to wipe the smile off his face. Hassett complied without smiling.
Variety reported it asBill Murray Asks Trump’s Top Economic Adviser to Say ‘My Dog Just Died’ to Wipe Smile Off His Face in Bizarre Exchange on CNBC (opens Variety in a new tab)
Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens appeared at a Detroit church with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. This occurred after internal party tensions escalated over an advertisement linking U.S. support for Israel to grocery prices.
Variety reported it asHaley Stevens’ Unsettling CNN Interview Proves Why She’s Unfit for Public Office (opens Variety in a new tab)
A federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump's lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch. The case concerned a story about Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein and a sexually suggestive birthday letter. The judge found Trump did not prove actual malice.
Variety reported it asJudge Dismisses Trump’s Wall Street Journal Defamation Lawsuit Over Published Epstein ‘Birthday Book’ for a Second Time (opens Variety in a new tab)
Musician Kid Rock compared Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the 9/11 hijackers during an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher. Maher challenged the comparison, stating the hijackers were not assimilated and were from Saudi Arabia.
Variety reported it asBill Maher Fact-Checks Kid Rock After He Compares Abdul El-Sayed to 9/11 Hijackers on ‘Real Time’ (opens Variety 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.
Variety reported it asPatrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’s’ Captain Picard and ‘X-Men’s’ Charles Xavier, Dies at 86 (opens Variety in a new tab)
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against conservative commentator Scott Jennings, seeking $72.5 million. Piker alleges Jennings used an edited video to falsely portray him as advocating for the lynching of Black Americans.
Variety reported it asHasan Piker Sues Scott Jennings for $72 Million Over Out-of-Context Lynching Quote (opens Variety in a new tab)
Rapper Nicki Minaj announced her continued support for Donald Trump at a Republican rally in Michigan. She stated she would back him if he runs for president again, appearing alongside him at the event.
Variety reported it asJon Stewart Trolls Trump’s Nicki Minaj Fixation After ‘Beautiful Ass’ Comment: ‘He’s Like Yogi Bear Floating Towards a Pie’ (opens Variety in a new tab)
Neil Young has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Donald Trump's political committee, Trump 47 Committee Inc., for copyright infringement. The suit claims the unauthorized use of his song 'Rockin' in the Free World' at rallies violates a prior settlement.
Variety reported it asNeil Young Files $10 Million Suit Against Trump for Using ‘Rockin’ in the Free World,’ Six Years After a Prior Settlement Over the Same Song (opens Variety in a new tab)
Asian stock markets saw a significant rise following Anthropic's initial public offering filing, which disclosed strong revenue growth alongside substantial losses. Meta Platforms' large equity fundraising also contributed to the positive sentiment.
Variety reported it asAnthropic Hopes Potential Investors Do Not Fret About AI’s ‘Catastrophic’ Risks in Its IPO Filing (opens Variety 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.
Variety reported it asLula’s Election Win: How Taylor’s Swift’s Advice to Fandom Helped Him to a Historic Victory and Defeat for Trump (opens Variety in a new tab)
Saturday Night Live has announced its next slate of hosts for season 52. Inde Navarrette will host the Halloween episode, followed by Druski and John Mulaney in early November. Musical guests for these episodes include Gracie Abrams, The Strokes, and Phoebe Bridgers.
Variety reported it as‘SNL’ Sets John Mulaney’s Seventh Time Hosting With Phoebe Bridgers as Musical Guest, Plus Druski and the Strokes (opens Variety in a new tab)
Jon Stewart will continue as host of 'The Daily Show' on Monday nights through December 2028, Skydance announced. His return in February 2024 led to increased ratings for the show.
Variety reported it asJon Stewart to Remain ‘Daily Show’ Host Through 2028 (opens Variety in a new tab)
Christiane Amanpour will depart CNN in June 2027 after 43 years. Her daily shows on CNN and PBS will end by the close of 2026, with a weekly CNN show continuing through May 2027. She will also continue her podcast with ex-husband Jamie Rubin.
Variety reported it asChristiane Amanpour to Exit CNN in June After 43 Years (opens Variety in a new tab)
TikTok has permanently banned the account promoting Alex Gibney's documentary about Elon Musk, citing political content policy violations. The distributor plans to appeal the decision as the film expands to more theaters.
Variety reported it as‘Musk’ TikTok Account Permanently Suspended from Platform Ahead of Documentary’s Wide Release (opens Variety in a new tab)
Private donations for Donald Trump's White House ballroom project have reached $333 million, according to internal documents. Tech giants Nvidia and Apple each contributed $25 million, among other significant corporate and individual pledges.
Variety reported it asComcast Donated $7.5 Million for Donald Trump’s Lavish New White House Ballroom (opens Variety in a new tab)
Novelist Sally Rooney's books will no longer be supplied in the UK by her publisher, Faber. Rooney stated that fulfilling publishing contracts in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence due to her support for Palestine Action, a group banned in the UK.
Variety reported it asSally Rooney Speaks Out on Her Books Being Removed from U.K. Shelves Over Palestine Action Support: ‘I Am Wholly Prepared to Accept the Consequences’ (opens Variety in a new tab)
Former Fox News executive Ken LaCorte has accused the network of ignoring corruption allegations against Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News employee now serving as ambassador to Greece. LaCorte stated the lack of reporting was a conscious choice by middle management.
Donald Trump has criticised the Norwegian Nobel Committee for not awarding him the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. He posted on Truth Social on Saturday, listing his claimed achievements in settling wars and securing hostage releases.
Variety reported it as‘SNL’ Weekend Update Brutally Mocks Trump for Losing Nobel Peace Prize (opens Variety in a new tab)
The USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego on October 8, 2026, after nearly 11 months at sea. The deployment supported operations in the Middle East and Pacific, including actions related to the Iran war, and the crew received a Presidential Unit Citation.
Variety reported it asPete Hegseth Welcomes Soldiers Back From Operation Epic Fury in ‘SNL’ Cold Open That Mocks Christa Pike’s Botched Execution and RFK Jr. (opens Variety 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
- Penske Media CorporationMedia Conglomeratedirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States
- Official site
- variety.com
- Seen publishing on
- variety.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
- 79
- Reports listed
- 83
- We could read
- 36
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
47 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 36 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 11 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Variety ran the story anyway.
Across the 79 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than Variety’s on 3 of them. Overall it filed a median of 14 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 4 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 4 November 2026. Ratings pulled 4 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Variety, 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 Variety 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.