United Daily News (UDN) is rated Right-Center with Mostly Factual factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER (3.8)
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL (3.9)
Country: Taiwan
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website/Newspaper
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

History

UDN (United Daily News / 聯合新聞網) is one of Taiwan’s largest Chinese-language news websites and the digital platform of the United Daily News. The newspaper was founded in 1951 by Wang Ti-wu and developed into the broader United Daily News Group, which operates newspapers, digital media, publishing, cultural, and information businesses. The group reports more than 16 million monthly unique visitors to UDN.

UDN is headquartered in Xizhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Read our profile on Taiwan media and government.

Funded by / Ownership

UDN is part of the privately owned United Daily News Group. The newspaper has historically been controlled by the family of founder Wang Ti-wu, with his daughter Wang Shaw-lan identified as owner. UDN’s online operations are managed through United Online and related companies within the group. Revenue comes primarily from advertising, subscriptions, digital services, publishing, and other commercial activities.

Analysis / Bias

UDN publishes extensive coverage of Taiwanese politics, business, China, international affairs, culture, and breaking news. Politically, it has historically aligned with Taiwan’s Pan-Blue coalition and generally favors the Kuomintang (KMT), a more conservative political orientation, and closer cross-strait engagement with China. The Reuters Institute identifies United Daily as part of Taiwan’s pro-unification or China-friendly media bloc, contrasting it with pro-independence outlets such as the Liberty Times.

This orientation is particularly visible in editorials. For example, an April 2026 editorial strongly criticized the Democratic Progressive Party’s approach toward China while portraying renewed KMT engagement with Beijing as an opportunity for peace. Another June 2026 editorial praised the KMT’s effort to balance relations with the United States and China while accusing the governing DPP of pursuing an overly confrontational approach. UDN also publishes criticism of the KMT, demonstrating that its editorial alignment is not unconditional.

Straight-news reporting is generally more neutral than its editorial pages and frequently relies on staff reporters, international wire services, government agencies, official documents, and named sources. However, politically sensitive cross-strait reporting can reflect the outlet’s Pan-Blue orientation and skepticism toward the DPP government.

A significant sourcing failure occurred in 2023 when UDN reported that the United States had pressured Taiwan to develop biological weapons based on purported government meeting records. Asia Fact Check Lab found the claim unsupported, and Taiwanese prosecutors later determined that the alleged meeting records were forged. UDN subsequently apologized to readers. (rfa.org)

Failed Fact Checks

• Claim that the United States pressured Taiwan to develop a biological weapon targeting Chinese people — UNSUPPORTED/FALSE. Prosecutors later determined that the underlying documents were forged, and UDN apologized for the reporting.

Overall, we rate UDN (United Daily News) Right-Center Biased based on its longstanding Pan-Blue orientation, generally favorable treatment of the Kuomintang, support for closer cross-strait engagement, and frequent criticism of the Democratic Progressive Party. We rate it Mostly Factual for generally well-sourced mainstream reporting while deducting for partisan editorial framing, one-sided coverage of some cross-strait issues, and a significant 2023 reporting failure involving forged documents. (D. Van Zandt 09/26/2026)

Source: https://udn.com/

Last Updated on September 26, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check

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