The Michael Fanone Show is rated Left-Center with High factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.
LEFT-CENTER BIAS
These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by appealing to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information but may require further investigation. See all Left-Center sources.
- Overall, we rate The Michael Fanone Show Left-Center biased based on its strongly anti-MAGA editorial agenda, progressive positions on several social issues, and frequent criticism of Republican politicians, while recognizing Fanone’s independent and formerly conservative political background. We rate it High for factual reporting due to generally evidence-based commentary and a clean fact-check record, though highly loaded language and strongly one-sided political framing warrant deductions.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER (-3.0)
Factual Reporting: HIGH (1.5)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
History
The Michael Fanone Show is a political commentary newsletter and podcast published by retired Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone. Fanone became nationally known after being beaten and stunned with a Taser while defending the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021 attack. He later testified before Congress, authored the memoir Hold the Line, and worked as a CNN law-enforcement analyst.
According to the publication’s About page, Fanone created the newsletter to provide full episodes of his show, livestreams, interviews, and uncensored political commentary. The accompanying podcast focuses heavily on political extremism, democracy, law enforcement, January 6, and the Trump movement.
Fanone identifies politically as Independent and previously supported Donald Trump before becoming one of his most outspoken critics following January 6 and Trump’s subsequent treatment of the attack and its participants.
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
The Michael Fanone Show is independently published by Michael Fanone through Substack. Revenue comes from paid subscriptions, direct contributions through Buy Me a Coffee and GoFundMe, merchandise sales, and the podcast.
Analysis / Bias
The Michael Fanone Show is primarily commentary rather than conventional straight-news reporting. Its strongest and most consistent position is opposition to Donald Trump, MAGA politics, political violence, white nationalism, and attempts to minimize or rehabilitate participants in the January 6 attack.
In This MAGA Stooge Thinks J6ers Deserve Money, Fanone attacks Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins for initially appearing receptive to compensation for January 6 defendants. The underlying exchange occurred, and contemporary reporting also documented Collins’s subsequent effort to clarify that he did not support automatic payouts. Fanone’s presentation, however, is openly adversarial, referring to Collins as a “MAGA stooge” and “dishonest scumbag” while favorably contrasting him with Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.
In Leaked: America’s Largest White Supremacist Group Is Twice the Size We Thought, Fanone investigates organized white supremacy and political extremism. This focus is consistent with the publication’s broader emphasis on threats from the political right.
Likewise, “Trump is the President” is NOT a License to be Cruel uses a viral police encounter involving harassment of Mexican neighbors to argue that MAGA politics has encouraged racism, anti-immigrant hostility, and the political weaponization of law enforcement. The article clearly represents opinion and uses strongly loaded language, but it also distinguishes commentary from the events shown in the underlying body-camera footage.
Fanone has also advocated restrictions on AR-15 rifles, a position more commonly associated with the American left. At the same time, his background as a longtime police officer, previous support for Trump, political independence, criticism of Democrats, and participation in the center-right Principles First gathering make a conventional partisan-left characterization overly simplistic.
Therefore, the bias is best described as Left-Center based on the publication’s present-day story selection, framing, positions on guns and immigration, favorable treatment of some Democrats, and overwhelmingly negative coverage of the Trump-era Republican Party. Its anti-Trump position alone is not used as evidence of left bias.
Failed Fact Checks
- None to date.
Overall, we rate The Michael Fanone Show Left-Center biased based on its strongly anti-MAGA editorial agenda, progressive positions on several social issues, and frequent criticism of Republican politicians, while recognizing Fanone’s independent and formerly conservative political background. We rate it High for factual reporting due to generally evidence-based commentary and a clean fact-check record, though highly loaded language and strongly one-sided political framing warrant deductions. (D. Van Zandt 08/17/2026)
Source: https://michaelfanone.substack.com/
Last Updated on August 17, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check
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