The Conversation Bias and Reliability

Overall Score

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

Reliability: 40.86

Bias: -4.81

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
Why does the Senate confirm Trump’s picks for key posts — and how? A legal scholar explains the confirmation process and the ‘constitutional loophole’ of recess appointments	-1.33	47.33
The audacity of Kamala Harris’ laughter – and the racist roots of Trump’s derision	-17	41.67
College may not be the ‘great equalizer’ − luck and hiring practices also play a role, a sociologist explains	0	39.33
Can Trump be prosecuted? Supreme Court will take up precedent-setting case to define the limits of presidential immunity	0	44
New House Speaker Mike Johnson leads a GOP majority weakened by decades of declining party authority	-2	36.33
As the mental health crisis in children and teens worsens, the dire shortage of mental health providers is preventing young people from getting the help they need	0	46.67
Why the 2024 US presidential election will likely be a choice between Biden and Trump again	-3.33	34.67
U.S. gun violence is a symptom of a long historical problem	-9.67	19
The US has a child labor problem – recalling an embarrassing past that Americans may think they’ve left behind	-3.33	41.33
Cooking pollutes your home and increases your health risks – but better ventilation will help	0	37.33
Downshifting: why people are quitting their corporate careers for craft jobs	-0.67	37.67
Hay fever: why some people suffer from it and others don’t	-0.67	41
I met 60 suspects of war crimes committed in Rwanda and Yugoslavia: what they had to say reveal cracks in our international justice system	0	40
We can never truly separate our work and personal lives – and that isn’t necessarily bad	0	37.67
How to test if we’re living in a computer simulation	0	32
Restrictions on cultural hunting practices are limiting Indigenous people’s access to food during the pandemic	-1.33	44
Putin’s brazen manipulation of language is a perfect example of Orwellian doublespeak	0	40
What's NATO, and why does Ukraine want to join?	0	47.33
What is Hanukah and how is it celebrated in Britain?	0	42.33
Pandemic pushed defendants to plead guilty more often, including innocent people pleading to crimes they didn’t commit	-4	49.33
The science everyone needs to know about climate change, in 6 charts	0	48
Congress passes $1T infrastructure bill – but how does the government go about spending that much money?	-1.67	46
East Coast flooding is a reminder that sea level is rising as the climate warms – here’s why the ocean is pouring in more often	-3.33	46.33
Is COVID-19 here to stay? A team of biologists explains what it means for a virus to become endemic	0	45.33
Suburban voters responded to GOP culture war pitch in Virginia governor’s race, and showed all politics are now national	2.67	42.67