Overview

Ad Fontes Media rates Cato Institute in the Skews Right category of bias and as Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting in terms of reliability. Cato Institute is a libertarian public policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded as the Charles Koch Foundation in 1977 in Wichita, Kansas, the think tank's vision is to “create free, open, and civil societies founded on libertarian principles." The website publishes content related to politics, economics, law and current events.

Overall Score

The following are the overall bias and reliability scores for Cato Institute according to our Ad Fontes Media ratings methodology.

Reliability: 40.60

Bias: 6.02

Panels of analysts from Ad Fontes Media regularly review representative sample content to rate it for reliability and bias. Each panel of analysts comprises one left-leaning, one right-leaning, and one center-leaning analyst.

The team considers a variety of factors when rating content. To determine its reliability score, we consider the content’s veracity, expression, its title/headline, and graphics. We add each of these scores to the chart on a weighted scale, with the average of those creating the sample content’s overall reliability score.

To determine sample content’s bias score, we consider its language, its political position, and how it compares to other reporting or analysis from other sources on the same topic. We add each of these scores to the chart on a weighted scale, with the average of those creating the content’s overall bias score.

The bias rating, demonstrated on the Media Bias Chart^®️ on the horizontal axis, ranges from most extreme left to middle to most extreme right. The reliability rating, demonstrated on the chart’s vertical axis, rates sources on a scale from original fact reporting to analysis, opinion, propaganda and inaccurate/fabricated information.

Reliability scores for articles and shows are on a scale of 0-64. Scores above 40 are generally good; scores below 24 are generally problematic. Scores between 24-40 indicate a range of possibilities, with some sources falling there because they are heavy in opinion and analysis, and some because they have a high variation in reliability between articles.

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 minimally biased, equally balanced, or exhibiting a centrist bias.

Individual Content Sample Scores

These are the most recent content samples that Ad Fontes Media analysts have rated for this source.

Content Sample URL	Bias	Reliability
https://www.cato.org/commentary/fine-lets-talk-about-section-230	1.33	38
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/what-both-sides-miss-immigration-debate	4.67	33
President Biden and Labor Unions	12	31.33
If the Government Prohibits Bump Stocks, Do They Need to Compensate Owners?	4.33	42.33
Cultivating a Politics of Restraint	0	39.33
DOL Wage Rule Affects All Major Employers, 70% of H-1B Requests, After DOL Said Few Should Be Affected	2	48
Biden, Section 230, and the Response to Political Extremism	2.67	45.67
Algorithmic Bias Under the Biden Administration	2.67	46.67
GameStop, Payments for Order Flow, and High Frequency Trading	1	44.67
The House Could Vote on These 10 Immigration Bills in March	1	46
At‐​Home Self‐​Administered COVID Tests Without a Prescription May Finally Be Available–It Didn’t Have to Take This Long	2	41.67
1918: When the Feds Controlled the Conversation On A Pandemic	10	34.33
Modi Should Hold Firm against Farmers	4.33	35.33
Canada Designates “Proud Boys” Terrorists. Will Antifa Be Next?	9	33.33
Few Immigrants Among Capitol Insurrectionists	-6	37.33
Who Are “The People”?	-2.67	38.67
Marijuana Licensing Corruption	0.33	43
Biden Tells the State Department to Launch Private Refugee Sponsorship	5	44.33
How Many Lives Will We Save by Choosing Our Own Vaccination Programme, Not the EU’s? Let’s Start at Nine Thousand.	7	45.67
Antidumping, China and “Deindustrialization”	9	43.33