The Trace Bias and Reliability

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Compare the scores of The Trace to other sources on our free Interactive Media Bias Chart®️. Click Here!

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Bias: Skews Left

Reliability: Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting

Overall Score

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

Bias: -7.09

Reliability: 45.57

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.

Reliability scores for articles and shows are on a scale of 0-64. Scores above 36 are generally good; scores below 24 are generally problematic. Scores between 24-36 indicate a range of possibilities, with some sources falling there because they are heavy in opinion and/or analysis, and some because they have a high variation in reliability between content pieces.

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 the bias score of a piece of content, we consider its language, its political position, and how it compares to other reporting 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 source’s overall bias score.

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 source’s overall reliability score.

The bias rating, demonstrated on the horizontal axis of the Media Bias Chart®️, 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, selective/incomplete, misleading, and inaccurate/fabricated information.

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
Kamala Harris’s Comments About Gun Ownership Belie the Risks, Researchers Say0.043.0
In America, Accidental Shootings Among Children Occur Nearly Every Other Day-13.3345.33
‘Up the Block’: A New Resource Hub for Philadelphians Affected by Gun Violence-245.33
Fearing COVID Chaos, Her Abuser Got a Gun. Now She’s the One Who Is Terrified.0.034.33
She Landed Her Dream Job as a Cop, But Soon Realized Policing Needs More Black Women-440.67
Working a Suicide Hotline When the Caller Says ‘Gun’0.045.0
Armed with an AR-15, He Escorted a Black Lawmaker. Now He’s Pushing His City to Confront Its Racism.-8.3346.0
‘Boogaloo’ Believers Think a Civil War Is Coming. These Gun Firms Are Openly Marketing to Them.-6.3346.67
The NRA and the Trump Campaign Appear to Be Flouting Election Laws. Again.-846.67
With Abuse Victims Trapped at Home, Detroit Moves Restraining Order System Online0.047.0
Gun Shops Flouted State Closure Orders in April as Industry Notched Another Big Month-748.67
Philly Teachers Try to Fit Trauma Care Into Virtual Learning-1.6749.33
Joe Biden’s Evolution on Gun Policy-947.33
The Demise — and Rebirth — of a Notorious Nevada Gunmaker-6.3349.0
How Many Guns Did Americans Buy Last Month? We’re Tracking the Sales Boom.-448.33
In Chicago, a Steep Rise in Suicide Among Black People-4.6746.33
Portland’s High Stakes Experiment to Shrink the Role of Police in Fighting Gun Violence-947.0
Mass Shootings Are Soaring, With Black Neighborhoods Hit Hardest-8.3344.33