QUESTIONABLE SOURCE
A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for the purpose of profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact checked on a per article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.
- Overall, we rate Before It’s News Questionable based on the promotion of pseudoscience and right wing conspiracy theories as well as poor sourcing, a lack of transparency and publication of fake news.
Detailed Report
Reasoning: Extreme Right, Conspiracies, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Fake News
Country: USA
World Press Freedom Rank: USA 48/180
History
Founded in 2009, Before It’s News is a citizens journalism website where stories are provided by individuals without credentials. Stories can range from moderately credible to tin-foil hat conspiracies. According to their about page “As we were following the 2008 election, we noticed something very interesting — bloggers covered many of the breaking stories days before the alphabet soup news outlets (NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, AP, MSNBC, FOX, etc.). Important facts were omitted or ignored by the mainstream media mainly because these facts inconveniently do not fit into the memes these outlets routinely promote. In other words, there is a strong bias amongst most corporate media outlets.”
Funded by / Ownership
Before It’s News does not reveal ownership on the website. Revenue is derived from advertising and sponsored content.
Analysis / Bias
In review, anyone can publish news on this website which has resulted in it becoming a haven for conspiracy theorists and pseudo-scientists. Although Before It’s News proclaims to vet articles for factual accuracy, it seems they actually choose to publish the opposite. For example, they promote anti-vaccination propaganda, chemtrails, false flags, anti-climate change info and the right wing Clinton Body count conspiracies. In general, Before It’s News is one of the most discredited sources on the internet that promotes pseudoscience and right wing conspiracy theories.
A factual search reveals they have failed numerous fact checks. For example this: No, George Soros was not arrested in Switzerland in February 2019. They are also on Politifact’s fake news list.
Overall, we rate Before It’s News Questionable based on the promotion of pseudoscience and right wing conspiracy theories as well as poor sourcing, a lack of transparency and publication of fake news. (7/20/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 10/27/2019)
Source: http://beforeitsnews.com/
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