Overview

Ad Fontes Media rates Smithsonian Magazine in the Middle category of bias and as Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting in terms of reliability. Smithsonian Magazine is a journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., since 1970. Content focuses on topics such as history, science, arts/culture and travel.

Overall Score

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

Reliability: 45.28

Bias: -4.16

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.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/with-patents-or-without-black-inventors-reshaped-american-industry-180962201/	-9.33	44.67
The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson	-4.67	47.33
The Northern Lights Could Dazzle the U.S. This Week	0	42.67
New Extinct Species of ‘Ridiculously Cute,’ Tiny Penguins Discovered in New Zealand	0	44.67
Suspects Finally Charged for Museum Robberies Spanning 20 Years	0	43
NASA Won’t Rename New Space Telescope Despite Anti-LGBTQ Controversy	-4.67	46
California’s Central Valley and the Colorado River Delta Are Epicenters for North America’s Migratory Birds	-2	49
History Shows Americans Have Always Been Wary of Vaccines	0	43.33
Who Was Charles Curtis, the First Vice President of Color?	-7.67	44
Meet Amanda Gorman, the U.S.’ Youngest Inaugural Poet	-6.67	43.67
Monument to Coretta Scott and MLK Is Coming to Boston, City Where They Met	0	46
Could Indoor Vertical Farms Feed Livestock?	0	46
How the Rugged F4F Wildcat Held the Line During World War II	0	44.67
Starting Conversations that Support Children Before Traumatic Events Happen	-1.33	44.33
The Rise and Fall of America's Lesbian Bars	-4	45.33
When Radio Stations Stopped a Public Figure From Spreading Dangerous Lies	-4.5	43.33
What Scientists Are Learning About Covid-19 Using the Nation’s Blood Supply	0	47.67
Turkish Archaeologists Discover Grave of Sultan Who Defeated Crusaders	0	46.67
45,000-Year-Old Pig Painting in Indonesia May Be Oldest Known Animal Art	0	46.67
A New Film Details the FBI’s Relentless Pursuit of Martin Luther King Jr.	-3.33	46
Why Kamala Harris’ Pearls Have a Special Significance	-5.67	45.83