The 13 Best News Sites You Can Trust for Credible Stories
By Dan Price
On May 7, 2023
Want the best news sites around? Here are the top-ranked news sites that publish credible content, not fake news stories.
Fake news is a big issue right now. News companies are in the pockets of mega-billionaires. Media bias, inaccurate reporting, and sensationalism are on everyone’s mind. We are in an age where we don’t trust the people reporting the news.
Fake news is a big issue right now. News companies are in the pockets of mega-billionaires. Media bias, inaccurate reporting, and sensationalism are on everyone’s mind. We are in an age where we don’t trust the people reporting the news.
What We Mean When We Say “Trustworthy”
This is going to be a controversial article, no matter which news sites we suggest. Some people will disagree with the ones we choose. Others will be offended that we didn’t include their favorite media outlets.
Unfortunately, there’s no objective metric of trustworthiness. Most of the sites you’ll see listed made their way onto this list because they’ve developed a solid reputation for unbiased news, and not-politically-motivated reporting.
Yes, you can contest a reputation as it is also in flux always. It can’t be easily quantified (though we’ve cited sources where we can), and people will always have different opinions. That being said, we stand by the assertions we make here. Note that we are presenting these credible news websites in alphabetical order and not ranking by trustworthiness.
In many of the entries below, we mention AllSides ratings. The ratings are from AllSides, which dedicates itself to exposing bias and providing multiple perspectives on issues. The site determines its ratings in a number of ways—you can check out its methodology for more information.
AllSides is itself a great place to get news, as it clearly labels each story as left-leaning, center, or right-leaning. We highly recommend it when you want to see what different people are saying about the same issue. It’s eye-opening and can help you learn to pick out news bias, even on your most trusted news source.
AP is a non-profit, has no corporate sponsorship, and is not government-funded. The crowd-sourced bias rating at AllSides is “left-leaning,” as of writing. While you’ll most often see AP cited in other news outlets, you can get news directly from the source.
2. BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest broadcaster in the world. The British government funds the organization, and so it is not beholden to corporate interests. The BBC has a history of over 90 years with a well-earned reputation for accurate, unbiased reporting.
AllSides classifies it as a center news source—meaning if you want balance, it’s one of the unbiased independent news sites. Despite being center, US citizens may find that “center” in the UK is notably to the left of what they might be used to.
3. C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) has been around since 1979. The channel provides unbiased news coverage of the US federal government, US political events, and limited coverage from the governments of the UK, Canada, and Australia.
C-SPAN is a private, non-profit organization that has never failed a single fact check in the past five years from mediabiasfactcheck.com.
4. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Though it has a focus on politics, the Bureau’s stories will likely be of interest to people even outside the British political beat. As a non-profit, independent media organization, it has few ties to groups that might influence its political leanings. The Bureau publishes its stories in conjunction with other outlets—from both sides of the spectrum.
The Bureau isn’t listed on AllSides. But van Zandt, again, calls it among the most unbiased news outlets. Its stated mission is to “hold power to account,” and its goal certainly comes through in its journalism. It also aims to drive change through journalism.
5. The Christian Science Monitor
Because it’s a news magazine, the format of the Christian Science Monitor is a little different from the other best news sources on this list. It runs fewer stories, but those stories tend to be very in-depth. It was founded in response to the sensationalist press of the early 1900s, and it’s maintained a strong reputation over 100 years later, maintaining its independence from mainstream media corporations.
There are two ways you can get news from CSM: through the daily edition (which gives you unlimited access to the site, key daily stories sent each evening via email, along with an explanation of why they’re important) or the weekly version (which is also available in print and includes access to the daily edition).
Unfortunately, neither is free. The daily will run you $11/month, and the weekly is $15/month. Before Amazon discontinuing magazine and newspaper subscriptions, you could also grab it on your Kindle. However, the good news is that CSM also has several free newsletters you can subscribe to, including Today’s Highlights and several others dedicated to different topics sent out on different days of the week.
Although AllSides states that while The Economist tends to lean left, it does have a reputation for high-quality reporting. The publication “considers itself the enemy of privilege, pomposity, and predictability.”
Throughout its history, the Economist has championed issues on both sides of the political spectrum. Today, it does tend to have a bit more of a left lean. That being said, it’s not afraid to align itself with the party it believes best supports its ideals, which focus on free trade and free markets.
One of the unique features of the Economist is the lack of bylines. According to the news outlet’s About Us page, “collective voice and personality matter more than the identities of individual journalists.”
7. NPR
This is likely to be a controversial one, as public broadcasting is strongly associated with liberal political views in the US. However, NPR has a reputation for journalistic excellence. It’s invested in continued government funding, but it remains free of corporate bias.
AllSides rates NPR as left-leaning, with a blind survey, third-party data, community feedback, and secondary research supporting the classification. The Pew survey shows that conservatives tend to mistrust NPR, but its journalistic acumen is high. It’s known for rejecting sensationalism, issuing corrections when necessary, and fair reporting.
8. ProPublica
If you get your news from NPR, you’ve probably heard ProPublica mentioned. Like the AP, ProPublica is a non-profit, non-government-funded news organization. The fact that it was the first online news organization to win a Pulitzer Prize also gives it some credence (it’s gone on to win several more since then). Similar to NPR, AllSides rates ProPublica as left-leaning.
ProPublica was founded in 2007-2008 with a mission to “expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions” through investigative journalism. This is a smaller organization than some of the others mentioned on this list, but it’s absolutely worth checking out. We have a feeling it’s going to continue to grow, both in size and reputation, so you should definitely add it to your trusted news outlets list.
9. Reuters
Like the AP, other news outlets often cite Reuters—and that’s largely because it has a long and solid reputation for good reporting. The organization is owned by Thomson Reuters. This gives it added resistance to corporate influence.
Reuters strives to use a “value-neutral approach” to guard against bias in its reporting (so much so that it has courted controversy, especially after refusing to use the word “terrorist” after the September 11 attacks in New York).
While you may not be as familiar with Reuters as some of the other outlets listed here, it has a long-standing reputation for good journalism. Its Hallmarks of Reuters Journalism is a great resource for anyone reporting the news, and Reuters editors hold their journalists to its tenets.
10. USA Today
In 2016, USA Today shared the crown of widest circulation in the US with The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. It’s read all over the world and is a major source of news for millions of people every day. The op-eds in USA Today are clearly labeled and present a range of viewpoints (a refreshing change from the opinion pieces in some other publications).
AllSides gives the publication a left-leaning rating, although it notes that there’s been some disagreement. The fact that two blind surveys and three recent editorial reviews supported this rating adds weight, however. You might be used to seeing USA Today in front of your hotel room door, but if you’re looking for good news, do check the site regularly.
This is likely to be another controversial inclusion on the list, due to the ownership of WSJ by News Corporation, the mega-media conglomeration helmed by the Murdoch family. Rupert Murdoch has developed a reputation for being ruthlessly conservative and using his considerable media power for political influence. Some of his news outlets also have a deservedly terrible reputation.
The Journal, however, has consistently ranked as highly trusted in the United States, even after its takeover by News Corp. AllSides gives it a strong center rating in its recent blind survey.
It’s important to note that the news and opinions section of WSJ has a strictly enforced separation and that op-eds tend to have a very strong right-leaning bias, which many agree with. Despite that, the news (especially financial news) published by the outlet is of high quality.
12. FAIR
If you’re interested in media bias—beyond finding media that’s minimally biased—you should definitely check out FAIR. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting is a watchdog group that writes about media bias. It publishes a number of remarkably stinging critiques of current news practices.
AllSides gives them a provisional left-leaning rating. FAIR is known for writing articles that critique even the largest media organizations, like The New York Times, CNN, and BBC. It doesn’t hold back, and no one is safe from its rhetoric.
Pew Research describes itself as a “nonpartisan fact tank” aiming to inform the public about the current issues and trends shaping the world. Pew Research derives its reporting from data through research and opinion polls. Like several outlets in this article, Pew Research is a non-profit, nonpartisan, and nonadvocacy organization mainly funded by its founding organization, The Pew Charitable Trusts.
According to AllSides, Pew Research is center-leaning, which the community agrees with. Pew Research doesn’t publish new articles daily, so a good way to keep up with their reporting is by subscribing to their free newsletter.
Your Most Trusted News Outlets
These news sites have earned themselves reputations for being trustworthy. That said, news, in general, tends to have a negativity bias, which you can counteract by seeking out positive news.
Reporters and editors also have their own biases, so it’s impossible to find 100 percent unbiased news—and that probably wouldn’t be very fun to read anyway. But, in general, you can trust what you read from these outlets. The key is to read multiple publications that include a few credible news sources from the other side of the fence.
This piece was republished from Make Use Of.