Virginia Mercury media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give Virginia Mercury one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 31 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Virginia Mercury biased?
The rating organisations do not give Virginia Mercury one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Virginia Mercury left or right?
The rating organisations do not give Virginia Mercury one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Leans left; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is Virginia Mercury reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Virginia Mercury 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 Virginia Mercury has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Virginia Mercury’s own report linked underneath.
Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment repealing the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The measure guarantees marriage rights for all couples, irrespective of sex, gender, or race, and replaces the original 2006 ban.
Virginia Mercury reported it asVirginia ripped up its gay marriage ban. They remember when it passed and more headlines (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
The House Freedom Caucus has presented Republican leadership with a roadmap for the lame-duck session, detailing priorities such as defense funding, tax relief, and spending cuts. The group urged lawmakers to remain in session until these objectives are met.
Virginia Mercury reported it asGOP Congress faces funding deadline, farm bill, lengthy to-do list in year-end session (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
More than 34 million Americans have cast early ballots in the current midterm elections. This figure is on pace to surpass the early voting turnout of the 2022 midterms, according to data tracked by the UF Election Lab.
Virginia Mercury reported it asIt’s Election Day in Virginia: Here’s what to know before heading to the polls (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
On Tuesday, Americans vote in the 2026 midterms that will decide whether Republicans keep their narrow House majority and Senate seats. Trump faces low approval ratings, a war with Iran and a costly cost‑of‑living squeeze, while polls show 54% of his base would back him even if he loses.
Virginia Mercury reported it asIt’s Election Day in Virginia: Here’s what to know before heading to the polls (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
President Donald Trump's campaign to exert power over elections is meeting resistance from various legal and civic groups. A series of court defeats has hampered these efforts as the US heads into a critical election period.
Virginia Mercury reported it asAs a potential Democratic wave looms, Trump's DOJ angles for last-minute power over midterms (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
US news outlets will announce midterm election winners before all votes are tallied, using data from the Associated Press or Decision Desk HQ. These providers use vote counts, statistical analysis, and modeling to project outcomes, though past race calls have been retracted.
Virginia Mercury reported it asWhere are the tightest races for US House control right now? Here's the rundown. (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, who challenged her dismissal by President Donald Trump. The court's decision upholds a lower court's ruling that validated Trump's executive authority in the firing.
Virginia Mercury reported it asUS Supreme Court allows gender-affirming care for trans people in federal prisons (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to promote women's health, establishing a new division within the National Institutes of Health and a specialized task force. Melania Trump spearheaded the initiative, which observers noted was accompanied by an apparent attempt to avoid a kiss from the President.
Virginia Mercury reported it asTrump order sets up new women’s health research initiative at NIH, White House task force (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
The United States has recorded more than 4,080 confirmed measles cases this year, the highest number in decades. Pennsylvania accounts for over 25% of these cases, and New York has declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak.
Virginia Mercury reported it asMeasles cases reach 4,080 for the year — the highest in decades (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
Backlash against data centers has become a flashpoint in state and federal races, with candidates backtracking on previous support. Voters in at least three dozen communities will consider ballot measures to ban the facilities.
Virginia Mercury reported it asData center backlash set to sway midterm elections (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
Voters are taking concerns about affordability to the polls in the midterm elections. Some are specifically blaming former President Donald Trump's tariffs for increased expenses, according to reports.
Virginia Mercury reported it asVoters in midterm elections identify a culprit for rising cost of living: Trump’s tariffs (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
Household water bills in the US have risen faster than inflation and income, according to a new analysis. The average annual cost for water reached $531 in 2025, a 62% increase from 2015.
Virginia Mercury reported it asAmericans’ water bills are growing faster than groceries, overall inflation (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
Global stock exchanges saw increases on Monday while oil prices declined. This trend emerged as concerns about inflation lessened, with investors expecting the US Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady. Weaker than expected US job creation data contributed to these expectations.
Virginia Mercury reported it asHiring slows in September with job growth of 29K (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
New York will participate in a federal scholarship tax credit program starting January 1. Taxpayers can receive federal credits for donations to nonprofit scholarship organizations, with individuals eligible for up to $1,700 and married couples up to $3,400. The program faces opposition from teachers unions.
Virginia Mercury reported it asFeds provide guidance on new federal K-12 scholarship tax credit program (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
The Department of Homeland Security used $20 million in taxpayer funds for advertisements that critics say glorify President Donald Trump and may violate anti-propaganda laws. The ads were funded through U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Virginia Mercury reported it asTrump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
The Trump administration is cancelling nearly $1 billion in federal spending approved by Congress. The White House announced the move on Friday, citing a rare and contested authority to cut funding for immigrant services and diversity-focused initiatives.
Virginia Mercury reported it asTrump administration revokes $810M approved by Congress for refugee aid and more (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
Record-high diesel prices have prompted Republican Senator Chuck Grassley to call for an embargo on exports. Farm state Republicans are pressuring the White House to stop exports, citing the impact on farmers and truckers.
Virginia Mercury reported it asDiesel prices shoot upward as top farm-state GOP senator begs Trump for export embargo (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
The Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration's request to enforce new U.S. Postal Service mail ballot regulations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The court's order leaves in place a lower court injunction blocking the rules.
Virginia Mercury reported it asUS Supreme Court blocks Trump rule limiting mail voting, sides with Dem states (opens Virginia Mercury 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.
Virginia Mercury reported it asFrustrations, remorse and pain surface on 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks (opens Virginia Mercury in a new tab)
Trump pressured officials to 'find' votes, loyalist Republicans sought to deny Biden presidency
Trust 33President Donald Trump pressured state election officials to "find" votes after his 2020 loss, while loyalist Republicans in Congress attempted to deny Joe Biden the presidency during the Electoral College certification. Concerns exist about future attempts to overturn election results.
Virginia Mercury reported it asHow the US House could overturn the midterm election results (opens Virginia Mercury 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
We hold no ownership record for Virginia Mercury.
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Richmond, Virginia, United States
- Official site
- virginiamercury.com
- Seen publishing on
- virginiamercury.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
- 31
- Reports listed
- 31
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 12 August 2026
31 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 6 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Virginia Mercury ran the story anyway.
Across the 31 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of Virginia Mercury: its report arrived a median of 2 days after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 10 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 10 November 2026. Ratings pulled 12 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Virginia Mercury, 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 Virginia Mercury 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.