A new AllSides bias analysis found NewsBreak has a Lean Left bias, as it predominantly curates from Left-Leaning media outlets.

AllSides conducted a three-week review of NewsBreak, a news aggregator, in September 2023. NewsBreak’s “National News” section displayed far more articles with a AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Lean Left than those with a Left, Center, Lean Right or Right rating. 

Overall, the bias of the top news sources that appeared on Newsbreak were 0% Left-rated, 80% Lean Left-rated, 10% Center-rated, 0% Lean Right-rated, 8% Right-rated, and 2% not rated by AllSides. 

NewsBreak says it “believes in highlighting diverse voices, stories, opinions, and sources.” But with 80% of its sources curated from Lean Left-rated outlets, users aren’t reading diverse voices. 

Fox News was the only Right-rated outlet Newsbreak displayed in its National News section during the analysis. No outlets that were Left-rated or Lean Right-rated were displayed. Top sources included ABC News (Lean Left), Associated Press (Lean Left), and CBS News (Lean Left).

On NewsBreak’s Community Standards page, it describes its commitment to fairness (emphasis ours): “NewsBreak believes in highlighting diverse voices, stories, opinions, and sources. We favor work that presents all relevant sides of a story and provides all necessary context. It is equally important that our contributors and partners do not draw false moral equivalencies where none exist… Excessive bias that distorts or misrepresents is not allowed.” While this AllSides analysis cannot speak to whether the biases found in NewsBreak’s feed are intentional, if NewBreak’s goal is to highlight diverse sources, then it falls short by presenting users with news that is 80% Lean Left-rated. 

Visit the full report to view AllSides’ methodology, in-depth findings, and see a full list of articles analyzed.

Many News Aggregators Show Bias

AllSides has found a similar pattern among other news aggregation services, including Google News, Bing News, Apple News, and Yahoo! News — all of which are rated Lean Left by AllSides, as they favor news outlets on the left.

Not all news aggregators are biased — RealClearPolitics’ aggregation shows 32% left sources, 22% center, and 35% right sources. Drudge Report, while mostly sourcing articles from outlets on the left, displays story choice that largely appeals to conservative or right-of-center narratives (and also shows sensationalism). AllSides’s balanced newsfeed curates 33% sources from the left, 33% from the center, and 33% from the right.

AllSides Media Bias Ratings™ reflect the average judgment of all Americans, not just a panel of insiders. Ratings are driven by a balance of input from experts and ordinary people across the political spectrum to reveal the average judgment of Americans. AllSides uses multiple methodologies to rate bias, including Editorial Reviews and Blind Bias Surveys of Americans.

Please contact AllSides for inquiries about this news aggregator bias analysis.

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging and Bias Specialist at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

Visuals by Andrew Weinzierl, Research and Data Journalist at AllSides (Lean Left bias).

Reviews and edits by Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings (Lean Right bias).

Bias Ratings, AllSides Media Bias Ratings, Media Bias