About

We are proud to be 100% Independent and 100% Human-Driven

About Media Bias / Fact Check

Founded in 2015, Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) is an independent website that has promoted awareness of media bias and misinformation by rating the bias, factual accuracy, and credibility of media sources, large and small. Media Bias/Fact Check relies on human evaluators to determine the bias of media sources and the level of overall factual reporting through a combination of objective measures and subjective analysis using our stated methodology.

Dave Van Zandt is the founder and primary editor for sources. He is assisted by a collective of volunteers and paid contractors who provide research for many sources listed on these pages. Finally, MBFC also provides occasional fact-checks and original articles on media bias and publishes daily curated fact-checks from around the world.

Mission

The mission of MBFC is to educate the public on media bias and deceptive news practices. We inspire action and a rejection of overtly biased media resulting in a return to an era of straightforward fact-based news reporting. Our purpose is to give people the resources and tools needed to understand the bias and credibility of the sources they consume.

The AI Era (Not at MBFC)

The AI era is here. It is everywhere. Most likely, the last news article you read was partially or maybe fully generated with AI. Please note that MBFC does not use AI to generate our bias and credibility ratings. We believe bias is unique to humans and that only humans can accurately determine bias. While AI is a powerful tool with great potential, it cannot replicate a human’s ability to read between the lines and interpret intent. Sites that claim to use AI to rate bias should be double-checked with a human-based evaluator. We rely solely on AI-based tools like Grammarly to edit our own text, ensuring it is concise and readable.

Funding

Media Bias/Fact Check funding comes from reader donations, third-party advertising, and membership subscriptions. We use third-party advertising to prevent influence and bias, as we do not select the ads you see displayed. Ads are generated based on your search history, cookies, and the current web page content you are viewing. We receive $0 from corporations, foundations, organizations, wealthy investors, or advocacy groups. See details on funding.

Credibility

The credibility of a website/media source is not determined by who owns them but rather by its track record. Everybody starts as a beginner and, through experience, becomes an authority in their field. MBFC is no different. Over the last 10 years, we have proven to be a trusted authority on the rating of bias and the credibility of media sources. For example, MBFC is trusted by major media outlets and IFCN fact-checkers. This is evidenced by frequently being referenced by sources such as USA Today, Reuters Fact Check, Science Feedback, Washington Post, and NPR, among dozens of others. We are also frequently used as a resource in libraries, high schools, and universities across the United States.

Media Bias/Fact Check has also been used as a resource for research by the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Further, we have been utilized by numerous print books such as these:

• The Rise of the Alt-Right
• Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies: Find Trustworthy Information in the Digital Age
• Raising Humans in a Digital World
• Everyday Media Literacy An Analog Guide for Your Digital Life
• Hate Groups and Extremist Organizations in America: An Encyclopedia

About Dave Van Zandt

Dave Van Zandt is a registered Non-Affiliated voter who values evidence-based reporting. Though not a journalist, Dave has maintained a lifelong interest in politics and media bias. He originally pursued a Communications degree in college before ultimately earning a degree in Physiology. Since then, he has worked in the healthcare industry (Occupational Rehabilitation) while continuing to study media, language, and bias independently.

Dave’s background in science, combined with a passion for political observation and an early ability to recognize biased narratives, gave him the foundation to approach media analysis critically and methodically. Over the past 20 years, he has studied media bias and linguistics and has applied the scientific method to create a structured, evidence-based methodology for assessing media bias and factual reporting.

After years of people encouraging him to launch a website, Dave created MediaBiasFactCheck.com in late 2015—initially as a free WordPress site, without any outside investment or even personal financial input. From the beginning, the site was supported solely through third-party advertising, which allowed it to grow organically. Only after gaining traction and traffic did MBFC move to a paid hosting service. Over the past 10 years, Dave and his team have refined their methodology and improved their source reviews, building MBFC into a consistently high-traffic site and one of the most trusted authorities on media bias and credibility.

Political Independence & Common Misconceptions

Media Bias/Fact Check is frequently mischaracterized by those who disagree with its ratings. To clarify: MBFC is not aligned with any political party, advocacy group, or ideology. Our focus is on transparency, evidence-based evaluation, and critical thinking—not political outcomes.

Founder Dave Van Zandt is a registered unaffiliated voter with no ties to political organizations. His only political donation was a one-time $10 contribution to Bernie Sanders in 2016, driven by a personal objection to corporate influence in politics—not partisan loyalty. This remains his sole political contribution to date.

MBFC’s methodology regularly identifies bias across the political spectrum. We have rated and criticized both liberal and conservative media outlets when they fall short of factual accuracy or present extreme one-sided reporting. We expect disagreement with our ratings; however, personal attacks against individuals rather than critiques of our work reflect a misunderstanding of our mission.

We welcome scrutiny of our methodology and decisions—but we reject false political labeling designed to discredit independent analysis.

While individual volunteers and contributors may hold personal political beliefs—as all people do—our methodology is standardized, consistent, and applied uniformly to all sources, regardless of ideology.

The Team

Dave Van Zandt – Editor/Founder

Mike Crowe – Extensions – Filtered Search – Factual Search – API (Mike creates all of our cool tools for free. Please send him some love by donating to him.) Donate directly to Mike.

Dennis Kelley – Research

Michael Allen – Research

McKenzie Huitsing – Research

Jemal Corliss – Research

And all the people who submit sources and question our ratings.  Your feedback is vital.

Learn more on our Frequently Asked Questions Page.

Please submit questions and concerns to: editor@mediabiasfactcheck.com

MediaBiasFactCheck.com is hosted by Automattic Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California. Hosting and publishing operations are managed through this California-based platform.

Last Updated on April 10, 2025 by Media Bias Fact Check