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 appeals 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 Trace left-center biased based on its political positions supporting gun control and high for factual reporting due to using highly credible sources and a clean fact check record.

Read Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY

History

The Trace is an American non-profit journalism outlet devoted to gun-related news in the United States. It was established in 2015 with seed money from the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, founded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

The Trace is a nonprofit organization funded through donations. The primary donors consist of Everytown for Gun Safety, McCormick Foundation, George Lucas Family Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation. They are fully transparent.

Funded by / Ownership

The Trace describes their mission as “exclusively dedicated to reporting on our country’s gun violence crisis. We use the power of journalism to improve public understanding, increase accountability, and identify solutions that can lead to safer homes and communities for all Americans.”

In review, The Trace publishes statistics and news stories that highlight the dangers of guns and the need for gun control. The Trace is highly factual through official and scientific sources such as the CDC, Open Secrets, and the FBI. There is minimal use of loaded words as The Trace is evidence-based in presentation.

Editorially, they align more with the left based on their concern for guns and increased regulations. In general, they are factual and lean left in bias.

Failed Fact Checks

• None in the Last 5 years

Overall, we rate The Trace left-center biased based on its political positions supporting gun control and high for factual reporting due to using highly credible sources and a clean fact check record. (D. Van Zandt 12/31/2017) Updated (01/05/2022)

Source: https://www.thetrace.org