Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is rated Left with High factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.
LEFT BIAS
These media sources are moderate to strongly biased toward liberal/progressive causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports, and omit information reporting that may damage liberal/progressive causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Left Bias sources.
- Overall, we rate the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as left-biased based on strong environmental activism. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to no failed fact checks in the last 5 years and a generally pro-science approach.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: LEFT (-5.8)
Factual Reporting: HIGH (1.5)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
History
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a New York City-based, nonprofit international environmental advocacy group, with offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bozeman, Montana, and Beijing, China. Founded in 1970, “NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and other environmental specialists to confront the climate crisis, protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places, and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.”
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit funded through donations and grants. The website clearly displays financial information. According to the right-leaning Influence Watch, which explicitly monitors left-leaning activist groups, they claim to have received funding from the Energy Foundation, which promotes a new energy economy.
Analysis
In review, the NRDC publishes news and information related to the environment, climate change, and sustainable energy. Information is broken into categories such as Our Work, which shows the topics they advocate for and how they do it. The following section links to experts in different fields such as energy, climate change, and health. The last section is called Our Stories, which publishes both original articles written by NRDC staff and republished work from OnEarth.
News articles utilize moderately loaded language, such as Tackling Climate Change Through Diet Change, and are generally well-sourced to credible outlets such as the New York Times and research journals.
Bias
Editorially, the environmental positions of the NRDC align with the left through concern for climate change, chemicals, and conservation of resources. When reporting on the Trump Administration, they frequently use loaded emotional language to negatively portray Trump: Trump’s Cabinet of Horrors. On the flip side, they tend to report positively on Democrats who support climate action, such as this: Secretary Clinton’s Announcement: A Shot of Adrenalin for Climate Talks.
When it comes to science, the NRDC is generally pro-science and supports the consensus. However, in 1989, the NRDC was involved in the “great apple scare,” where they claimed that the chemical Alar, applied to apple trees, was a potent cancer-causing agent. The result of this claim was a loss of 250 million dollars to the apple industry. However, in the end, they were vindicated in court.
Failed Fact Checks
- None to date
Overall, we rate the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as left-biased based on strong environmental activism. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to no failed fact checks in the last 5 years and a generally pro-science approach. (D. Van Zandt 7/18/2017) Updated (05/23/2026)
Source: https://www.nrdc.org/
Last Updated on May 23, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check
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