Reliability scores for articles and shows are on a scale of 0-64. Scores above 24 are generally acceptable; scores above 32 are generally good. Sources with overall scores over 40 are the most reliable and have the highest news value in our system; these publishers are eligible for our Ad Fontes Certified(TM) audit and certification program

Bias scores for articles and shows are on a scale of -42 to + 42, with higher negative scores being more left, higher positive scores being more right, and scores closer to zero being the most neutral, centrist, and/or balanced.

We have thousands of examples of exactly what kind of content receives a particular score. To see them, simply hover over and click on any of the dots in the chart application above. The links are to the actual rated articles for a source. For example, if you want to see what kind of article scores in the 8-16 range for being misleading, simply click on one of the dots in that area.

Recommendations on Reliability Scores

Scores between 0-16

Ad Fontes Media strongly recommends that marketers avoid any sources with an overall reliability score below 16. We make these recommendations because sources that score between 0-8 frequently include disinformation, between 8-16 frequently include misinformation.

Scores between 16-24

We also recommend that they seriously consider avoiding news sources below 24 as well, because sources that score between 16-24 are frequently problematic for misinformation and/or other reasons.

Scores between 24-40

There are many reasons that sources that fall within this range. Some are simply analysis and opinion content which almost never contain misinformation. Others fall in that range because they have a certain percentage of trustworthy news content mixed with somewhat significant amounts of misinformation. We recommend that marketers consider their media planning around these sources in a more nuanced manner, taking other brand values into consideration.

Recommendations on Bias Scores

Note that bias scores are distinct from reliability scores, even though in many cases, they are highly correlated (i.e., higher bias correlates with lower reliability). But this is not always the case. For example, there are some sources near the bottom of the reliability scale which only skew a little bit one way for bias.

Therefore, very low reliability scores, rather than bias scores, are the most important indicator of content likely to cause brand safety problems.

Sources with bias scores in the “hyper-partisan” categories or greater (e.g., outside of +/- 18) are not recommended.