How the Hell with Alex Wagner – Bias and Credibility

How the Hell with Alex Wagner is rated Left with Mostly Factual factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT (-6.7)
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL (4.0)
Country: USA
MBFC Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

History

How the Hell… with Alex Wagner is a Substack newsletter by Alex Wagner, a political commentator, journalist, author, and television host. According to the About page, the newsletter gives subscribers access to posts, archives, email updates, and community features through Substack.

Alex Wagner has worked in journalism and political commentary for outlets and organizations including The Fader, Politics Daily, The Huffington Post, MSNBC, The Atlantic, CBS, Showtime’s The Circus, and Crooked Media. She has described herself as progressive and is known for political analysis focused on Donald Trump, democracy, culture, media, foreign policy, and the Democratic Party.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

How the Hell… with Alex Wagner is owned and operated by Alex Wagner through Substack. Revenue is generated through free and paid Substack subscriptions, reader support, and related podcast or media work. 

Analysis / Bias

How the Hell… with Alex Wagner is rated Left biased based on Wagner’s openly progressive political perspective, consistent criticism of Donald Trump and Republican figures, support for liberal democratic institutions, and frequent use of emotionally loaded anti-Trump language. The publication is commentary-driven and does not present itself as neutral straight-news reporting.

For example, America In Crisis criticizes Donald Trump’s July 4th-related events and celebrity excess surrounding Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The article uses profane and highly opinionated language, including references to American politics as a “toilet swirl” and Trump’s event as an ego-driven spectacle. The piece blends cultural criticism with political commentary, reflecting a left-leaning critique of elite excess, Trumpism, and American political dysfunction.

In Pete Hegseth is (Maybe) the Worst of All, Wagner strongly criticizes Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration, using terms such as “dangerous clown,” “know-nothing TV stooge,” and “war crimes.” The article is overtly opinionated and uses inflammatory language, though it is framed as political commentary rather than neutral reporting.

Similarly, The Trump Crime Family uses a highly negative frame toward the Trump family and discusses Ivanka Trump’s planned resort project near Albania. The headline and framing are strongly editorialized, and the article relies on broader allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest associated with the Trump family.

Overall, How the Hell… with Alex Wagner is best understood as progressive political and cultural commentary. Its factual basis generally rests on real political events, public figures, and reported developments, but the writing is highly subjective, profane, and rhetorically aggressive. This prevents a High factual rating, but the transparent authorship, clear opinion format, mainstream journalistic background, and lack of known failed fact checks support a Mostly Factual rating.

Failed Fact Checks

• None found by IFCN-approved fact-checkers.

Overall, we rate How the Hell… with Alex Wagner Left biased based on its progressive, anti-Trump, and strongly opinionated political commentary. We rate it Mostly Factual due to transparent authorship, clear opinion format, and a clean fact-check record, offset by loaded language, profanity, and highly editorialized framing. (D. Van Zandt 07/18/2026)

Source: https://howthehellwithalexwagner.substack.com/

Last Updated on July 18, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check

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