About Labels

Explore the methodology behind Perspectify's fact-based system for labeling news outlets.

LEARN ABOUT THE PERSPECTIFY FACT-BASED LABELS

Perspectify assigns a political bias label to each news outlet and displays it alongside that outlet’s articles. These labels are designed to give readers helpful context about an outlet’s ideological lean, editorial independence, and overall character. In making these assessments, a range of factors are considered, including ownership, affiliations, funding, article content, and the media freedom environment in the outlet’s home country. For more in-depth details about how our labels work, visit the FAQ page on the Perspectify website.

Left-wing

A Left-wing label is used for liberal and progressive news outlets whose content predominantly adopts positions favoring the state/Social intervention in the economy with a redistributive aim, or advocates for positive discrimination to support marginalized groups, and/or is written from these groups’ perspective.

It also includes news outlets that openly endorse or are affiliated with political actors that share these ideological frames.

Examples: Greenpeace International, World Socialist Web Site.

Center-left

A Center-left label is used for news outlets whose content occasionally offers critical views on the free market and social inequalities. However, these news outlets also present alternative perspectives and much of their content tends to be neutral or only mildly editorialized.

Examples: The Guardian, Le Monde.

Neutral

A Neutral label is used for those news outlets whose content presents a balanced range of perspectives or is free from left-wing and right-wing ideological frames. These news outlets prioritize factual reporting, impartiality, and transparency, and do not actively support or oppose political actors.

Examples: Associated Press, Reuters.

Public Broadcaster

A Public Broadcaster label is used for those news outlets that are largely financed by the state but retain editorial independence.

These news outlets' content is Neutral, as it presents a balanced range of perspectives or is free from left-wing or right-wing ideological frames. These news outlets prioritize factual reporting, impartiality, and transparency, and do not actively support the state’s current government.

Examples: BBC, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).

Gov't Institution

A Government Institution label is used for the official websites of Governmental bodies or Intergovernmental Organizations.

Examples: Government of the Virgin Islands, World Health Organization.

Center-right

A Center-right label is used for news outlets whose content occasionally offers critical views on state intervention in the economy, and adopts conservative views. However, these news outlets also present alternative perspectives and much of their content tends to be neutral or only mildly editorialized.

Examples: National Post, Boston Herald.

Right-wing

A Right-wing label is used for conservative and libertarian news outlets whose content predominantly supports the concept of a minimal state and/or advocates for upholding traditionalist conceptions of family, religion, and nationhood.

It also includes news outlets that openly endorse or are affiliated with political actors that share these ideological frames.

Examples: The Daily Mail, Fox News.

Pro-Government

A Pro-Government label is used for those news outlets subjected to editorial interference, either directly or through self-censorship, by a country’s government.

These news outlets' content presents a predominantly positive picture of the government. This label is used for news outlets operating in contexts of limited media freedom or that have recently experienced a stark erosion in media freedom.

Examples: Al Jazeera, Hurriyet Daily News.

Gov't Propaganda

A Gov't Propaganda label is used for those news outlets subjected to editorial interference, either directly or through self-censorship, by a country’s government.

These news outlets' content presents an exclusively positive picture of the government. To this aim, they often include false, radical, and hateful narratives against domestic opposition or foreign governments.

This label is used for news outlets operating in contexts of limited media freedom or that have recently experienced a stark erosion in media freedom.

Examples: Xinhua, Fars News Agency.

Indeterminate

An Indeterminate label is used for news outlets that do not fit into the above category structure. They may be unreliable, conflicting, or not provide enough information about funding and ownership.

Note: Political labels represent the opinions of Newsmatics staff based on the facts available to us at the time of review; others may differ in their assessments. These opinions are protected by the First Amendment rights of Newsmatics as a U.S. corporation. We make every effort to accurately document other information from publicly available sources. We encourage users to report corrections or make suggestions to our staff.

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