RIGHT BIAS
These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward conservative 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 reporting of information that may damage conservative causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Right Bias sources.
- Overall, we rate the NRA – Institute for Legal Action Right Biased based on near 100% endorsement of Republican candidates. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to one sided reporting, occasional use of poor sources, and two failed fact checks.
Detailed Report
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
World Press Freedom Rank: USA 45/180
History
Founded in 1975, The Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the lobbying arm of the NRA. According to their about page “ILA is committed to preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” They further state “While the NRA is a single-issue organization, the Institute is involved in any issue that directly or indirectly affects firearms ownership and use.”
Chris W. Cox was the Executive Director from 2002 until June 2019, when he resigned after purportedly being placed on administrative leave. According to an ABC News report “The group has been under both internal and external scrutiny of late amid reports of alleged financial mismanagement. Its former president, Oliver North, resigned in April and the fallout has continued in connection to ongoing lawsuits.” As of this date, a new executive director has not been appointed.
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
The Institute for Legislative Action is funded through donations from corporations and individuals. The website does not disclose donors, however in 2012, The Koch Organization donated approximately 5 million dollars to the ILA. According to OpenSecrets the ILA spends 99% benefiting Republican candidates.
Analysis / Bias
In review, the NRA-ILA website publishes press releases and news related to guns and gun rights. Under the News section, you find articles related to gun rights that often use emotional wording such as this: Hollywood Fantasy v. Reality on Firearm Suppressors. Like most stories on the website they do not name the author and use minimal sourcing. Under the Get the Facts tab they report on issues that can be backed with evidence such as this: “Assault Weapons” and “Large” Magazines. While this fact check is sourced to credible outlets such as the FBI, it also follows the pattern of only reporting the positives of guns. This of course makes sense since they are a part of the gun lobby. Lastly, they have a section where they republish gun related news from external sources. Most of the sources are credible, such as local TV stations and the Washington Post, however, some appear on our factually Mixed list such as Townhall and questionable sources such as Breitbart. In general, the NRA-ILA is right biased in reporting.
A factual search reveals they have failed two fact checks.
- Says “the jurisdictions with the strictest gun control laws, almost without exception … have the highest crime rates and the highest murder rates.” – FALSE
- NRA Exec’s False Gun Claim – FALSE
Overall, we rate the NRA – Institute for Legal Action Right Biased based on near 100% endorsement of Republican candidates. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to one sided reporting, occasional use of poor sources, and two failed fact checks. (D. Van Zandt 8/3/2019)
Source: https://www.nraila.org
Last Updated on June 28, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources