Detailed Report

Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

History

On 6/13/2020, Fox News ran digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

On 12/12/2021 – 18-year veteran journalist Chris Wallace resigned from Fox News and joined CNN+.

On 12/13/2021, it was reported that on January 6th, 2021, several Fox TV personalities texted Trump’s Chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to encourage Trump to stop the Capitol Riot, which contradicted their reporting later that evening that Antifa was involved in a false flag.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

Rupert Murdoch is the owner and a board member of News Corp 21st Century Fox. According to Reuters, James Murdoch (son) is chief executive of 21st Century Fox and recently left in May 2018. Lachlan (the other son of Murdoch) and Rupert Murdoch will serve as the new Fox co-chairman. Revenue analysis can be found at Investopedia and income reports here.  

Fox News Bias

According to a Pew Research Center survey, “Fox News was the main source for 40% of Trump voters” during the 2016 election. Further, another Pew Survey indicates, “When it comes to choosing a media source for political news, conservatives orient strongly around Fox News. Nearly half of consistent conservatives (47%) name it as their main source for government and political news.” Further, a Reuters institute survey found that 35% of respondents trust their news coverage and 46% do not, ranking them #11 in trust of the major USA news providers.

Fox News typically looks at the issues from a conservative perspective. Also, it has several on-air personalities that are strong supporters of Trump, such as Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Dan Bongino; thus, during the Trump Presidency, FNC typically skewed conservative as there was less criticism of Trump.

In review, FNC publishes stories with emotionally loaded headlines such as “’They Wanted It to Blow Up’: Limbaugh Says Success of Trump-Kim Summit Caught Media Off Guard” and “Tucker: 2016 Russia Collusion ‘Witch Hunt’ Now Extends to Jill Stein.” When it comes to sourcing, they typically utilize pro-Trump pundits such as Rush Limbaugh, who has an abysmal record with fact-checkers and credible sources such as the Wall Street Journal. Fox News is also known to publish right-wing conspiracy theories, although they retracted the story after being sued. FNC has also been deemed the least accurate cable news source, according to Politifact.

Failed Fact Checks

• Says John Bolton “fundamentally was a man of the left.” – PANTS OF FIRE
• “NASA scientists fudged the numbers to make 1998 the hottest year to overstate the extent of global warming.” – PANTS ON FIRE
• Obamacare is “one big fat VA system.” – PANTS ON FIRE
• Marie Yovanovitch is “dishonest” when she claimed she never personally responded to an email from a Democratic staffer. – FALSE
• “Biden’s climate requirements” will “cut 90% of red meat from diet” to a “max 4 lbs per year” and “one burger per month.” – PANTS ON FIRE
• “Black Lives Matter says it stands with Hamas terrorists in Israeli conflict.” – FALSE
• Clinton campaign paid to ‘infiltrate’ Trump Tower, White House servers to link Trump to Russia: Durham. – FALSE
• Natural immunity protects better than vaccination; “the mortality risk of an un-boosted person under age 30 was zero”; cloth face masks, school closures had zero benefits for children and some harm – MOSTLY FALSE

Overall Bias and Credibility Rating

We rate Fox News strongly Right-Biased due to editorial positions and story selection that favors the right. We also rate them Mixed factually and borderline Questionable based on poor sourcing and the spreading of conspiracy theories.  (7/19/2016) Updated (M. Huitsing 07/27/2022)

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/