Ad Fontes Media – Bias and Credibility

Ad Fontes Media is rated Least biased with High factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.

History

Founded in 2018, Ad Fontes Media is a Colorado-based public benefit corporation founded by Vanessa Otero. Its mission is to “rate all the news to positively transform society.” Ad Fontes is best known for its Media Bias Chart, which rates news sources for reliability and political bias.

According to its About Us page, Ad Fontes uses trained human analysts from across the political spectrum to evaluate news content according to a published methodology. The organization serves consumers, educators, publishers, researchers, advertisers, news aggregators, and social media platforms.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

According to its About Us page, Ad Fontes Media is a public benefit corporation founded and led by Vanessa Otero. It is funded through the sales of products and services, including individual subscriptions, education products, media literacy tools, data services, publisher audits, consulting, speaking engagements, and merchandise, as detailed on its Pricing & Services page.

Ad Fontes also discloses that it raised outside funding through crowdfunding, angel investors, mission-driven venture capital, and a Series A round. The company states that, since 2018, it has raised $6.4 million, including early IndieGogo and WeFunder campaigns, angel and seed funding, and a 2023 Series A led by Aion Ventures, with additional participation from New Community Transformation Fund-Denver and other investors.

Analysis / Bias

First and foremost, we did not want to review this website or the chart, as we consider this a friend or competitor depending on how you view it. We prefer friends, just as we view AllSides. All of us share the same mission: to inform readers about the bias and credibility of media sources. However, we have had many requests, so we felt we should weigh in for what it is worth.

In review, Ad Fontes Media rates news sources for reliability and political bias using a published methodology. The organization states that its team includes more than 40 analysts from across the political spectrum who rate news articles, shows, and podcasts based on content analysis rather than reputation alone. Its methodology page explains that analysts differentiate between news and opinion, select content samples, and score sources for reliability and bias.

In a review of the Media Bias Chart, it is generally within the ballpark of how Media Bias Fact Check rates sources. In other words, the sources on the right usually belong on the right, and the sources on the left usually belong on the left. For what it is worth, we think this is a useful chart that should be shared, especially for media literacy and classroom use.

Ad Fontes is not without limitations. Any media-rating system involves subjective judgment, source selection choices, and methodological tradeoffs. However, Ad Fontes discloses its funding, ownership, methodology, products, and mission more clearly than most media-rating organizations. In general, Ad Fontes rates the bias and credibility of media sources with a sound methodology that is low-biased and accurate.

Failed Fact Checks

• None to date

Overall, we rate Ad Fontes Media Least Biased based on a transparent, nonpartisan methodology and use of analysts from across the political spectrum. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to strong transparency, clear ownership and funding disclosures, and a clean fact-check record. (D. Van Zandt 8/16/2018) Updated (07/24/2026)

Source: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/

Last Updated on July 24, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check

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