Founded in March of 2008 by baseball analyst Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight originally began as a polling aggregator, its name derived from the number of electors in the U.S. electoral college. Well known for its election predictions, it successfully predicted the outcomes of both presidential races in 2008 and 2012. Silver pioneered unique methods incorporating statistics and demographic data not used before. As the organization grew, it would go on to receive many awards as its focus broadened under the rubric of data journalism, but it received significant flak in 2016 and 2020 for projections that significantly diverged from electoral results. Today, over half of Americans indicate they are skeptical of polling. Given this mixed reputation, how reliable is FiveThirtyEight?

Ars Technica — meaning “art of technology” — is the fitting name of a publication aimed at technology enthusiasts. A leading source for technology news, including technology policy, product launches, and the latest hardware and software, Ars Technica caters to a core readership, which they define as “Readers [who] have come to demand devotedness to accuracy and integrity, flanked by a willingness to leave each day’s meaningless, click-bait fodder by the wayside.” Given Ars Technica’s dedication to “accuracy and integrity,” The Factual asks: how factual are its articles and how biased is its content?

Foreign Policy was established in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington, a renowned political theorist and academic. Huntington wanted to provide alternative coverage outside of Washington’s “entrenched orthodoxies” during the Vietnam War. At the time, he characterized the paper as “serious but not scholarly, lively but not glib.” Since then, it has earned the respect of journalists and statesmen alike for its focus on current events, global affairs, and domestic and international policy, including six National Magazine Awards. In 2016, it broke with tradition by endorsing a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, which to some signaled a liberal bias. So, how reliable is Foreign Policy as a news source and how biased is its content? 

The American Spectator is a conservative magazine and website that grew in prominence in the 1990s publishing “political scandal” articles related to figures such as former President Bill Clinton and Clarence Thomas accuser Anita Hill. Internal strife, including debates about financial transparency, saw the magazine nearly collapse before being rebuilt over the 2000s and 2010s. Today, the publication hosts conservative thinkers, respected and controversial alike, but is also the subject of considerable scrutiny. So, how reliable are news articles from the American Spectator? 

The Daily Mail is the UK’s biggest newspaper by circulation and an internationally popular online tabloid and source of information. However, many criticize the paper as inaccurate and guilty of spreading disinformation, with an often right-leaning bias. The site has also come under fire for a variety of controversies, including accusations of homophobia, racism, and sexism. So, just how reliable is the Daily Mail?

As one of the biggest names in news, ABC News is often classified as “mainstream media” and therefore has been the subject of some scrutiny in recent years. The news organization has substantial resources, an extensive network of reporters and journalists, and a clear commitment to journalistic principles, but it has also been accused of having a liberal bias. So, how reliable and biased is ABC News?

Note: This article is specific to online content from ABC News, not its television or other media presence.

Correction: This article originally stated that The Daily Caller is run by the Daily Caller News Foundation, which is in fact a separate entity. The original article also suggested that the Daily Caller did not directly employ its own team of journalists, which is false.

The Daily Caller is an independent, for-profit news organization established in 2010 by conservative media personality Tucker Carlson. Today, the publication reaches 20 million unique monthly visitors and distributes news through official partners like MSN and Yahoo. However, the organization has faced controversy in the past following accusations that it exploits a legal loophole to avoid taxes through its relationship with the Daily Caller News Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) news organization. It has also drawn fire for publishing content that casts doubt on climate change. Given the site’s controversial background, how biased and factual is the Daily Caller?