Raw Story

These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward liberal 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 that may damage liberal causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Left Bias sources.

• Overall, we rate Raw Story Left Biased based on story selection that favors the left and Mixed for factual reporting due to half-true, false, and unproven claims, as well as the promotion of mild pseudoscience misinformation.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA (45/180 Press Freedom)
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

History

John K. Byrne founded raw Story in 2004 as a liberal alternative to the Drudge Report. According to their About Page, they describe themselves as “an investigative news nexus that highlights underreported news and rejects the traditional media narratives of power and influence.”

Currently, the Executive Editor and Publisher is Roxanne Cooper. For a full list of staff, please see their Masthead. Raw Story is headquartered in Washington DC. As of April 2018, Raw Story Media Inc. acquired the New Civil Rights Movement (politics and civil liberties site) and AlterNet.org (a left-leaning online news site).

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

John Byrne is the founder, CEO, and majority owner of Raw Story Media. Michael Rogers is a partner in Raw Story Media and publisher of the online news site, RawStory.com. Raw story uses third-party advertising for revenue.

Analysis / Bias

In review, Raw Story is mostly a news aggregation site that aggregates news from AFP and Reuters. Raw Story also summarizes news from other sources such as this: “Irate customer drags salon owner 50 feet to her death after running out on manicure without paying.” Infrequently, they publish original stories such as this: Trans activist detained in Arizona and threatened with deportation due to bureaucratic catch-22. Raw Story consistently utilizes strong emotionally loaded headlines such as “Trump insists border wall will be ‘all concrete’ — except where it’s ‘see-through’: ‘Makes sense to me!’” and “MSNBC’s Morning Joe mocks ‘confused’ Trump over shutdown boasts: ‘Voters are blaming him.’”

When it comes to sourcing, Raw Story generally sources credible media outlets such as the Washington Blade, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. In general, story selection always favors the left and frequently has an anti-Trump tone. Raw Story has published misleading articles that promote miracle cures such as this one: Scientists discover virus that kills all grades of breast cancer ‘within seven days.’ This headline is misleading, as, within the article, they clearly state “but not in normal mammary epithelial cells.” When it comes to consensus science, they sometimes promote anti-GMO propaganda; however, they also publish credible, scientifically sound information.

Failed Fact Checks

• A factual search reveals a Half-True claim from Politifact and a false claim and an Unproven claim with Snopes. They have also promoted misinformation during the 2020 election.
  

Overall, we rate Raw Story Left Biased based on story selection that favors the left and Mixed for factual reporting due to half-true, false, and unproven claims, as well as the promotion of mild pseudoscience misinformation. (5/15/2016) Updated (M. Huitsing 03/22/2021)

Source: https://www.rawstory.com/