Last updated on May 28th, 2021 at 04:01 pm
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 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 and poor sourcing, a lack of transparency, and the routine publication of fake news.
Detailed Report
Questionable Reasoning: Conspiracies, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Fake News
Bias Rating: EXTREME RIGHT
Factual Reporting: LOW
Country: USA (45/180 Press Freedom)
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY
History
Founded in 2009, Before It’s News is a citizen journalism website where individuals can provide stories 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 are omitted or ignored by the mainstream media 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.”
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
Before It’s News does not reveal ownership on the website. Advertising and sponsored content generate revenue.
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. They are also on Politifact’s fake news list. Finally, during the Coronavirus outbreak, they frequently promoted false and misleading information.
Failed Fact Checks
- No, George Soros not arrested in Switzerland in February 2019. – Pants on Fire
- The newly elected mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, a Muslim, and did he cancel “government involvement” in Christmas? – False
- “The Government has released their initial plans to force a vaccine on everyone”; “Three potential vaccines are currently in Stage 3 trials in the United States and could be ready in weeks” – Inaccurate
- Gates Foundation stands to make nearly £31.5 billion on a coronavirus vaccine in U.K. – False
- Wisconsin counted 3,239,920 votes but only has 3,129,000 registered voters. – False
- CDC reports 1739 deaths and 6286 serious injuries from Covid-19 vaccine – False
Overall, we rate Before It’s News Questionable based on the promotion of pseudoscience and right-wing conspiracy theories and poor sourcing, a lack of transparency, and the routine publication of fake news. (7/20/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 03/23/2021)
Source: http://beforeitsnews.com/
Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources
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