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 reporting that may damage liberal causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Left Bias sources.

• Overall, we rate Reading the Pictures as left biased through wording and story selection and Mostly Factual for reporting based on a lack of transparency despite a clean fact check record.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT
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

Reading the Pictures is a web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) educational and publishing organization dedicated to visual culture, visual literacy, and media literacy by analyzing news, documentary, and social media images. According to their about page, “We examine news and media images for meaning, trends, context, and fairness, to impart that appreciation to media consumers and professionals.”

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

Ownership and funding are not clear based on the website, and therefore they lack transparency. Sponsorships appear to generate revenue. Again, this is not made clear without additional effort.

Analysis / Bias

Reading the Pictures is always well-sourced; however, there is a strong use of loaded emotional language such as this: “Trump’s hellfire and brimstone and his baiting of N. Korea didn’t play well at the annual meeting of the United Nation’s General Assembly; neither did his inordinate need for attention. Certainly, the photographers made him pay.”

Editorially they tend to capture images that favor a liberal perspective while denigrating conservatives, such as this Picturing Vaccination Reluctance Among Conservative Christians. We cannot find any instances of failed fact checks, but there is a lack of transparency; therefore, we cannot rate high for factual reporting.

Failed Fact Checks

• None in the Last 5 years

Overall, we rate Reading the Pictures as left biased through wording and story selection and Mostly Factual for reporting based on a lack of transparency despite a clean fact check record. (D. Van Zandt 9/24/2017) Updated (9/03/2023)

Source: https://www.readingthepictures.org/