Xinhua media bias and reliability
Media Bias/Fact Check places Xinhua on the left. We have seen it on 78 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Xinhua biased?
Media Bias/Fact Check places Xinhua on the left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Xinhua left or right?
Media Bias/Fact Check places Xinhua on the left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is Xinhua reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Xinhua are Media Bias/Fact Check: Mixed factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What Xinhua has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Xinhua’s own report linked underneath.
Global freshwater reserves have fallen significantly, with the World Meteorological Organization reporting 2025 as one of the driest years for river flows in 35 years. The UN warns the water cycle is becoming more unpredictable, potentially exacerbated by El Niño.
Xinhua reported it asGlobal freshwater storage declines, glaciers continue to retreat: WMO (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Yemen's Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for shooting down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib province. He also alleged Saudi Arabia conducted over 450 airstrikes this week and that other Saudi aircraft were forced to withdraw. Saudi authorities have not confirmed these claims.
Xinhua reported it asHouthis claim downing Saudi armed reconnaissance drone in Yemen's Marib (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that rapidly advancing artificial intelligence poses significant risks that require global coordination and stronger oversight. This comes as public alarm about AI's potential dangers grows, while former US President Donald Trump maintains existing safeguards are sufficient.
Xinhua reported it asUN chief calls for global effort to set up guardrails for AI (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 3 travel advisory for Saudi Arabia, urging citizens to reconsider travel due to risks including Iranian drone and missile attacks, armed conflict, and terrorism. The border region with Yemen is designated a 'Do Not Travel' area.
Xinhua reported it asU.S. urges citizens to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia amid Iran war (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to visit China this week for talks with his counterpart Wang Yi. The meeting is set for Wednesday, shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected trip to the US.
Xinhua reported it asChina's top diplomat holds talks with Iranian FM (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Representative Thomas Massie has introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Massie alleges Hegseth continued U.S. military operations in Iran without congressional approval and criticizes his actions in Venezuela and Yemen.
Xinhua reported it asU.S. Republican lawmaker moves to impeach Hegseth over Iran war (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Failure to reform the World Trade Organization could reduce global GDP by approximately 10% by 2050, according to a new WTO report. The organization faces challenges from geopolitical tensions and shifts in trade dynamics.
Xinhua reported it asWTO warns weakened trade rules could leave global GDP up to 10 pct lower (opens Xinhua 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.
Xinhua reported it asChina urges U.S. to stop expanding military build-up in outer space: spokesperson (opens Xinhua 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.
Xinhua reported it asChina urges U.S. to stop expanding military build-up in outer space: spokesperson (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
A multi-vehicle crash on South Africa's N1 highway in the Western Cape Province has resulted in at least 21 fatalities. Three individuals sustained serious injuries and were transported to hospital.
Xinhua reported it as21 killed in road accident in South Africa's Western Cape (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Twelve European countries met in Finland to call for a strengthened EU presence in the Arctic. They cited Russia as a significant threat and also mentioned Donald Trump's past actions. No official decisions were made, but a new EU strategy for the region is anticipated.
Xinhua reported it asEU leaders call for stronger Arctic role at summit in Finland (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Foreign ministers from Gulf states are planning to meet with their Iranian counterpart in Salalah, Oman, on Monday. The meeting's objective is to exert pressure on Oman and Iran to reach a temporary agreement concerning shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Xinhua reported it asMeeting between Iran, Gulf states scheduled for Monday in Oman postponed (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
An Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 people has been reported missing after losing contact on Sunday, September 13, 2026. The vessel was travelling from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, and its last known position was in the Java Sea. Rescuers have launched a search operation.
Xinhua reported it asMissing Indonesian passenger ship found, around 110 rescued (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Foreign ministers from Gulf states are planning to meet with their Iranian counterpart in Salalah, Oman, on Monday. The meeting's objective is to exert pressure on Oman and Iran to reach a temporary agreement concerning shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Xinhua reported it asIran says Gulf littoral states to meet in Oman on Monday for regional issues (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
A fire at a school in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, killed at least 17 people, including children. Over 50 students were hospitalised, with some later dying from injuries. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Bukavu is controlled by the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels.
Xinhua reported it asAt least 15 students killed in fires in eastern DR Congo: local media (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Algeria has announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and the closure of its airspace to UAE-registered civilian and military aircraft. Commercial flights will be exempt until 2026. The UAE expressed hope the decision is temporary.
Xinhua reported it asFlash: Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with UAE -- Algerian state media (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Explosions were reported near Iran's Kharg Island and the port city of Jask. A US official confirmed strikes on Iranian oil tankers, while Iran's military warned of retaliation if its vessels are attacked. Oil prices rose following the news.
Xinhua reported it asIran strikes U.S. base in Jordan in retaliation for attacks on tankers (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
President Donald Trump stated the war in Iran will conclude immediately after the US midterm elections in November. He accused Iran of prolonging the conflict to influence the election outcome and suggested the country seeks nuclear weapons.
Xinhua reported it asIran strikes U.S. base in Jordan in retaliation for attacks on tankers (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham held their first phone conversation on September 8. They discussed pragmatic cooperation, economic growth, and global challenges, with both leaders expressing a desire to strengthen bilateral ties.
Xinhua reported it asXi holds phone talks with British PM (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Houthi rebels in Yemen have accused Saudi Arabia of striking a prison in the northern Jawf province. The rebels claim the attack killed seven people, including a child, and wounded at least seven others. The incident occurred as government forces advanced on multiple fronts.
Xinhua reported it asUpdate: 7 killed, 7 injured in airstrike on prison in N. Yemen: Houthi media (opens Xinhua in a new tab)
Who says so
One organisation has published a rating for this outlet. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
- Media Bias/Fact CheckleftCheck it
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.
Mixed factuality
- Media Bias/Fact CheckmixedCheck it
Who owns it
- Chinese Communist PartyGovernmentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Beijing, China
- Official site
- news.cn
- Seen publishing on
- english.news.cn, news.cn
- 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
- 78
- Reports listed
- 81
- We could read
- 6
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
75 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 6 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 46 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and Xinhua ran the story anyway.
Across the 78 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than Xinhua’s on 5 of them. Overall it filed a median of 17 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 20 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 20 September 2026. Ratings pulled 5 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Xinhua, also publishing from China, 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 Xinhua 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.