New Guardian Benefit: Learn More About the Sources You're Reading

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We're rolling out a new feature to our Guardian members to help them understand the sources shared on Websleuths: the Source Credibility Checker.

When you hover over a link posted in a thread, Guardians will now see additional information about that source - including its factual reporting history and overall credibility rating. Think of it as a quick reference card for the news sources you encounter every day.

What You'll See​

For supported sources, you'll see three ratings:

Credibility Rating - An overall assessment of the source

• Low - Approach with significant caution
• Medium - Generally acceptable but verify important claims
• High - Well-established, reliable source

Bias - Does the source lean politically, or is it categorized in another way?

• Left - Promotes left-leaning stories, but rarely provides opposing viewpoints.
• Left-Center - Favors left-leaning framing, but makes an effort to balance perspectives.
• Least Biased / Pro-Science - Straight news stories equally represent all perspectives without discernible bias.
• Right-Center - Favors right-leaning framing, but makes an effort to balance perspectives.
• Right - Promotes right-leaning stories, but rarely provides opposing viewpoints.
• Questionable - Displays extreme bias, propaganda, unreliable sourcing, or a lack of transparency.
• Conspiracy-Pseudoscience - Disseminates unverified information related to known conspiracies or pseudoscientific claims.
• Satire - Uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of political and other topical issues.

Factual Reporting - How reliable is this source's track record?

• Very Low / Low - Significant history of failed fact-checks or poor sourcing
• Mixed - Inconsistent accuracy; some reliable reporting, some not
• Mostly Factual - Generally accurate with occasional errors
• High - Strong track record of accurate, well-sourced reporting

How the Ratings Work​

Factual Reporting is calculated from four weighted factors:

• Failed fact-checks (40%) - Has this source published debunked claims?
• Sourcing (25%) - Does this source cite its information properly?
• Transparency (25%) - Is ownership, funding, and editorial process clear?
• One-sidedness/Omission (10%) - Does this source leave out key facts?

Bias is inherently subjective, and while no universally accepted scientific formula exists to measure it, our methodology uses objective indicators to approximate and represent bias. The placement of a source on the Left-Right Bias Scale is determined by a weighted composite score derived from four categories:

• Economic System (35%) - the economic ideology the source promotes, from communism to no-regulation capitalism.
• Social Progressive Liberalism vs. Traditional Social Conservatism (35%) - the source’s stance on social values and advocacy.
• Straight News Reporting Balance (15%) - how well a source reports all sides in its straight news stories.
• Editorial Bias (15%) - he use of loaded emotional language that favors one side of the ideological spectrum, and bias expressed through opinion pieces and editorials.

Credibility Rating prioritizes factual reporting first, then considers bias and the source's track record (traffic and longevity). Note that left-leaning and right-leaning sources are scored equally - what matters is accuracy, not political perspective. Least-biased sources score higher because they tend to present more complete information.

Why Some Sources Don't Have Ratings​

If you see a link without any rating, it means the source isn't in our database. This doesn't mean it's unreliable - it just means it hasn't been evaluated. Non-news sources like Namus, YouTube channels, podcasts, very small, local, or niche sources may not be included.

About the Data​

Our ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check, an independent organization that has been evaluating news sources since 2015. You can read about their methodology here: Methodology

Why We're Doing This​

Websleuths has always been about facts over speculation. This tool gives you more context about the sources being shared - helping you understand where information is coming from and how reliable it tends to be.