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 Open The Books as right-biased due to their emphasis on fiscal conservatism and scrutiny of government spending. We rate them mostly factual in their research as they rely on official documents, but also rely on poor sources when reporting news.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY
History
Open The Books was founded to enhance government transparency by tracking and publishing all disclosed government spending at the federal, state, and local levels. The organization was established by former Republican candidate Adam Andrzejewski and operates under the nonprofit American Transparency. Its mission is to provide detailed data on public spending and expose waste, fraud, and abuse. They are based near Chicago, Illinois.
Read our profile on the United States media and government.
Funded by / Ownership
Open The Books is a project of American Transparency, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization is funded through tax-deductible donations and does not accept government funding. It has a 3-star rating on Charity Navigator and has its financial details and comprehensive reports in its 2022 Annual Report.
Analysis / Bias
Open The Books focuses on fiscal transparency and government accountability, often highlighting instances of wasteful spending and financial mismanagement. Their reports tend to scrutinize government expenditures, frequently uncovering and critiquing inefficiencies. Open The Books compiles its reports using a mix of official data sources, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and investigative journalism. Its emphasis on data-driven analysis aims to provide objective insights into government spending.
Open The Books has published important reports such as the 2017 Federal & State Government’s Gender Hiring Gap – Gender Study of Highly Compensated Public Employees, which exposed Democrats to hypocrisy. For instance, the report shows that Rep. Nancy Pelosi pays men $124,000 and women $94,000 in her own payrolls. On New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s payroll, only three women are among the 200 top-paid city employees. In Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s payroll, only 12 women are among the 100 top-paid employees. Additionally, at the federal level, male employees outnumber female employees at a ratio of 2-to-1 among the most highly compensated employees.
Another report from 2017 highlights funding for sanctuary cities. Although the researchers do not offer an opinion, the research itself indicates a right-leaning bias.
In a recent report from 2024 Open the Books published a report titled Schools for Radicals | OpenTheBooks Oversight Report. This report clearly exhibits a right-leaning bias by criticizing DEI initiatives and related practices. It suggests that DEI efforts within DoDEA are secretive, ideologically radical, and intrusive, portraying them as problematic and unaccountable. The text also highlights the lack of transparency, potential misuse of resources, and the imposition of DEI practices on students and staff, which aligns with common right-leaning critiques of DEI policies.
The website also features news summaries that almost always favor the right and sometimes rely on poor sources like Sean Hannity, Breitbart, and the Daily Mail. In general, Open the Books publishes well-researched information on government accountability that favors the right, while news reporting sometimes relies on poor sources, limiting their credibility.
Failed Fact Checks
- None in the Last 5 years.
Overall, we rate Open The Books as right-biased due to their emphasis on fiscal conservatism and scrutiny of government spending. We rate them mostly factual in their research as they rely on official documents, but also rely on poor sources when reporting news. (D. Van Zandt 08/08/2024)
Source: https://www.openthebooks.com/
Last Updated on August 7, 2024 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources