NBC News
Bias and Reliability

Relatedly, in an article titled, “Bad credit shouldn’t affect car insurance, experts say. States are listening.” NBC News provides perspectives from liberal lawmakers but not conservative ones. It also relies on data from a left-leaning social policy think tank rather than a more unbiased source.

Policy and Issue Framing

Some of the more consistent examples of NBC News bias in policy can be examined through the lens of voting rights. The article referenced above, “‘Do or die’: Democrats plan revisions to sweeping voting rights bill in Senate committee,” focuses more on the positive aspects of the Democratic bill and expresses greater favor for the Democratic position. Another example is the article, “Texas House passes restrictive election bill after Democrats’ all-night fight.” In this case, efforts by Republicans to adjust voting rights are labeled as “restrictive” while Democrats are characterized as ‘fighting’ against these restrictions.

Coverage and Relevance

NBC News is one of the primary national media organizations in the United States. As such, they have an outsized responsibility to provide accurate news to everyday Americans. This underscores the importance of analyzing and highlighting potential biases in their work.

Readers who wish to further explore how NBC News compares with other publications can visit Biasly’s Media Bias Chart to analyze tone and word choice in real time.

By examining content patterns and the broader context of media influence, we aim to offer a balanced perspective on NBC News’s political bias—and contribute to the ongoing discussion about bias in the news.

How Does Biasly Rate News Sources?

Biasly uses proprietary algorithms and a team of analysts to provide comprehensive bias evaluations across thousands of news outlets. Over 200,000 articles from more than 3,200 sources have been analyzed to identify the most accurate and unbiased stories.

Biasly assigns each outlet three key scores:

• Reliability Score – Reflects factual accuracy
• AI Bias Score – Generated via natural language processing
• Analyst Bias Score – Assessed by human political analysts

These scores are based on seven core metrics: Tone, Tendency, Diction, Author Check, Selection/Omission, Expediency Bias, and Accuracy. These elements help analysts and algorithms evaluate the political attitude conveyed by each article.

Biasly’s Bias Meter ranges from -100% (most left) to +100% (most right), with 0% indicating neutrality. The system evaluates individual articles based on political terms, policies, figures, and sentiment to calculate precise bias ratings.

Is NBC News Politically Biased?

NBC News earns a Somewhat Left rating for its AI Bias Score and a Somewhat Left for its Analyst Bias Score. The Analyst Bias Score is generated by reviewers from liberal, moderate, and conservative backgrounds. Analyst scores are based on an average of at least 15 articles, with each being reviewed by one liberal, moderate, and conservative analyst. The more articles rated by Biasly’s analyst team for a particular source, the more accurate the analyst score. As Biasly rates more articles, the scores will become more accurate. Praise for liberal politicians and policies, as well as dislike toward Republican policies and politicians, contribute to this rating. Biasly’s scores closely align with determinations by other third-party bias research agencies.

Readers may sometimes struggle to identify these biases since NBC News generally maintains journalistic integrity, and the biases tend to be more subtle. In the remainder of this article, we’ll talk about ways to identify these subtleties so you can become a more informed consumer of news.

Analysis of Bias in NBC News Online Articles

Media Polarization, Pew Research Center

A study done by Pew Research Center on media polarization categorized NBC News’s audience as being politically slightly left of center. Pew also grouped NBC News with USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, meaning these publications share a similar audience. Although the audience’s political affiliation is slightly liberal, does NBC’s news resemble such now? And, what does this very liberal position, rated by Biasly, mean exactly? We will help identify this by examining examples that provide insights into NBC’s ratings.

When assessing bias, the most common metrics are as follows:

• Tone: The general attitude conveyed in the article
• Author: The background of the author and the character of their social media presence
• Diction: Specific words that the author chooses to utilize
• Tendency: How frequently the author leans one way or the other politically in the article
• Expediency bias: Visual or text cues, such as headlines or photo choice, that may imply bias

The first article we will look at is “Biden policies have benefited Latinos but there’s still a hefty to-do list, group says,” which is rated by Biasly at “Somewhat Liberal”. Part of the reason for this rating is its positive portrayal of Socialized Healthcare, DACA, and Public Education Spending. The author also includes 6 positive sentiments for Joe Biden and 1 negative sentiment for Donald Trump.

Biasly’s Politician Portrayal rating for this article is 18% Positive, and it shows a slight preference towards President Biden.

The article examines President Biden and the work he and his administration have undertaken to support the Hispanic community in the United States. The author Suzanne Gamboa uses UnidosUS as her primary source on the Biden administration’s work with the Latino and Hispanic communities. UnidosUS is the largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States, and it uses a combination of research, advocacy, programs, and a national network of Affiliate organizations to:

“challenge the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos in the United States across a range of key issues…”

The author uses this organization to both criticize and praise President Biden’s policies affecting Hispanics in the United States. Below are some of the criticisms the author notes in the article:

“After the last four years, the first 100 days have given the Latino community restored hope, a fresh start and a path to a better future,”… ”But we are just at the beginning and concerns remain.”

“But UnidosUS placed high on Biden’s “to-do” list the need to collect and disseminate complete and accurate COVID-19 race and ethnicity data at the national and state levels.”

“The simple fact is, because of the disproportionate role Latinos have played as essential workers, we must get Covid-19 under control or our community will be left behind,”

“The list also calls for more action on housing, worker benefits such as paid sick leave, and strong advocacy for immigration legalization legislation.”

These are some examples of the author’s negative sentiments towards President Biden. Although the article is critical, the author does include some of Biden’s positive accomplishments for the Latino community, framing them as a good starting point while acknowledging that more work remains. The author adopts a favorable tone at times toward the Biden administration and progressive policies for the Latino community.

Source: NBC News

Let’s take a look at the article’s headline and accompanying image. The headline “Biden policies have benefited Latinos, but there’s still a hefty to-do list, the group says” slightly favors the Biden administration on economics for Latinos. The image at the top of the article is a simple image of President Biden in front of a microphone. The image shows no political bias.

All of this suggests that the article is left-leaning overall, consistent with our analysis that NBC News favors publishing liberal-leaning articles, although it can occasionally be neutral.

A review of Suzanne Gamboa’s Twitter activity further supports the article’s left-leaning orientation, though her posts largely remain within the bounds of professional reporting. Gamboa’s feed is dominated by links to her own reporting and related coverage from NBC News, with a consistent focus on immigration, labor, and the effects of federal policy on immigrant communities.

Several posts emphasize the negative consequences of policies associated with President Donald Trump, particularly on vulnerable populations. For example, she shared an article titled “Venezuelans in U.S. call Trump’s move to end deportation protections a ‘betrayal,’” which frames the policy change primarily through the perspective of affected immigrants and activists. Other posts, such as the article titled “Gas prices set to rise as Trump tariffs hit Canadian and Mexican oil” highlight economic and institutional fallout from Trump-era decisions. Specifically, this article accuses the president of implementing a policy that ‘runs counter’ to his campaign promises.

Venezuelans in U.S. call Trump’s move to end deportation protections a ‘betrayal’ https://t.co/A5fMKUz79L

— Suzanne Gamboa (@SuzGamboa) February 4, 2025

While Gamboa does not inject overt personal opinion into her tweets, the repeated selection and amplification of stories that foreground harm, disruption, or criticism tied to conservative policies suggest a subtle ideological lean. Overall, her social media presence aligns with her reporting focus and reflects a progressive framing of immigration and public policy issues, reinforcing the slight liberal bias observed in the article itself rather than contradicting it.

Another example can be seen in the article, “As Senate moves forward, it’s now up to Democrats to sell massive reconciliation bill.” Consider this quote:

“The problem is, it doesn’t have the parts of President Biden’s agenda that progressives care about the most: Trillions of dollars in investments in health, education, caregiving, housing, and especially climate (more on that below), as well as tax hikes on the rich and corporations to pay for it.”

While it is fair to characterize the positions of particular political factions or ideologies, leading with “the problem” suggests a criticism that the bill is not as left-wing as it could be.

Otherwise, parts of the remainder of the article read as the author, Chuck Todd, providing Democrats advice on how they can get the bill passed:

“The decision by President Biden and Democratic leaders to go for a two-track approach has its upsides — it greased the wheels for bipartisan legislation and allowed Democrats the chance to get one more bite at the apple to pass wish-list items without relying on GOP votes.”

“If the debate about the bill remains about the price tag and how it is aimed at mollifying progressives, Democrats will have lost the messaging fight.”

“But if Democrats can get buy in from the public on the substance of the bill — an expanded child tax credit, universal pre-K, more Medicare coverage and things like that — then they’ll be on far more stable ground.”

An unbiased article from a reputable news organization should focus solely on the facts and not provide recommendations or advice on how a specific political faction can succeed. This highlights a slightly liberal bias in this case. Despite this, the article does explain how both Republicans and Democrats were framing the bill, underscoring that NBC News’s bias tends to be more subtle than excessive.

Analysis of NBC News Opinion Articles

Before we answer this question, we need to distinguish between opinion and reporting. While reporting is intended to be neutral, providing the reader with facts and quotations from primary sources allows them to form their own opinion. Opinion-based journalism provides journalists with a platform to convey their opinions and convictions. Normally, it’s advisable to steer clear of excessive bias when crafting impartial news pieces, but opinion articles are inherently subjective. Therefore, they are often less reliable but remain a valuable resource because they can offer insights into complex issues from multiple perspectives.

Consider the opinion article, “The Supreme Court’s originalism is white supremacy.” The title alone demonstrates bias because it conveys a negative view of the United States Supreme Court. The opening line of the article is extremely negative in tone:

“The conservative supermajority has weaponized this harmful judicial philosophy as a way to embrace a racist, patriarchal narrowing of political rights.”

The author, Baynard Woods, continues to display a negative opinion of the Supreme Court and also offers a negative opinion of the U.S. Founding Fathers:

“…motivated by a reliance on the white supremacist patriarchy of the Constitution’s framers.”

“originalist judges express a belief that we should interpret the U.S. Constitution according to the legal opinions of 18th-century white men — the same white men who denied the right to vote or own property to anyone but themselves.”

These articles, in addition to those above, are only a small representation of all of NBC News’s content. NBC THINK Opinion pieces tend to be liberal-leaning, but some are neutral. They prefer to publish liberal-leaning opinions while avoiding conservative-leaning opinions. We know that opinion pieces are riddled with bias, but the news organization itself could reduce bias by publishing opinion pieces from across the political spectrum.

How to Evaluate Bias

Although Biasly rates NBC News as Somewhat Left, it’s important to remember that bias can vary from article to article. So, let’s learn how to evaluate media bias.

Recognizing media bias requires awareness and critical thinking. Often, readers trust news sources that affirm their existing beliefs—a psychological tendency known as confirmation bias. This makes it harder to identify slanted narratives or one-sided reporting.

To combat this, it’s essential to challenge your assumptions by consulting multiple viewpoints and verifying news through third-party analysis. Tools like Biasly’s media bias ratings allow readers to compare the same news story across the political spectrum.

Ultimately, bias isn’t always a matter of what is said—it’s also about what is left out, how topics are framed, and which stories are chosen for coverage. Learning to recognize these patterns can help readers make more informed decisions and develop greater media literacy.

To start comparing news outlets and gain a better understanding of bias, sign up for Biasly’s Media Bias & News Analytics Platform to see how stories vary between sources.

How to Evaluate Reliability?

Reliability refers to how trustworthy or accurate a news source is. If we can’t trust what we read, then continuing to consume content from that outlet serves little purpose. So how do we evaluate a news outlet’s reliability?

There are several potential measures of reliability to look out for when trying to determine whether a media source is reliable or not. Red flags for an unreliable article can include the presence of wild, unsubstantiated claims, facts dependent on other unreliable sources, heavy use of opinionated language, and more. In contrast, hallmarks of a reliable source include:

• Absence of subjective language
• Citing credible sources (e.g., .gov, .edu, academic references)
• Verifiable facts and statistics from multiple outlets
• Use of primary sources, like interviews or transcripts
• Consistency with coverage across other platforms

Biasly’s reliability scores incorporate these elements in evaluating media outlets.

So How Does NBC News Fare in Its Reliability?

The political reliability index developed by Biasly assesses both accuracy and trustworthiness. NBC News currently holds Good Reliability Score, which is calculated as a weighted average of:

• Fact Analysis Score – Evaluates the accuracy of claims, facts, and evidence.
• Source Analysis Score – Assesses the number, diversity, and credibility of sources and quotes used.

NBC News’s Source Analysis Score is Average at 55% Reliable. This suggests moderate trustworthiness in its sourcing practices. The score is AI-generated and considers quote length, frequency, diversity, and quality.

The Fact Analysis Score of NBC News is Good at 89% Reliable. This further shows how well NBC News supports its claims, addresses selection and omission bias, and presents verifiable evidence.

While NBC News leans toward factual reporting, occasional lapses—such as unbalanced viewpoints or incomplete data—can affect its reliability rating. These nuances emphasize the importance of analyzing individual articles.

NBC News’s Accuracy and Reliability

According to Biasly’s analysis, NBC News maintains Good Reliability Score, but individual articles may vary significantly. Let’s dive into the details.

The credibility of news organizations is significantly impacted by bias and political orientation. We will assess the credibility of NBC News’s news articles and determine the extent to which the publication supports claims with evidence. We will assess selection and omission bias as we evaluate the articles’ accuracy and factual accuracy.

Selection bias occurs when stories and facts are selected or excluded, often on ideological grounds, to create a narrative that supports the new sources’ ideology. Omission bias, on the other hand, is when different opinions and political views regarding a situation are left out so that the reader is only exposed to the ideological perspective supported by the author. It’s important to keep in mind these two types of biases when trying to assess an article’s level of accuracy.

Biasly assigns a percentage score to accuracy, with one being the least accurate and 100 being the most. Ratings are calculated by weighing assertions against supporting evidence, the number of reliable internal sources, and the number of reliable external sources. A full page at Biasly’s website includes dependability and accuracy ratings for newly released NBC News stories. As we previously stated, according to the articles’ analytics, NBC News is generally 89% Reliable. This score can vary from article to article, though, and most variations in dependability are caused by bias, notably omission and selection bias.

Let’s compare another well-known National News organization, Fox News, which has a very conservative bias and has a reliability score of “Excellent” according to Biasly Analysts’ rating. For example, they had one article that had “Good” reliability titled “Trump launches new communications Platform months after Twitter, Facebook ban” and another article called, “Biden operatives begin opposition research on potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates”, which is “Fair” reliability. This shows that although the articles are published by the same news organization, the accuracy of the stories can vary by piece.

For instance, the NBC News article titled, “Biden policies have benefited Latinos but there’s still a hefty to-do list, group says” is rated by Biasly as “Somewhat Liberal”. Regarding selection and omission bias, the author Suzanne Gamboa uses UnidosUS as her primary source on the Biden administration’s work with the Latino and Hispanic communities. UnidosUS is the largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States, and it uses a combination of research, advocacy, programs, and a national network of Affiliate organizations to “challenge the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos in the United States across a range of key issues…”. The author uses this organization to both criticize and praise President Biden’s policies affecting Hispanics in the United States.

“Biden still needs to step up outreach and outreach funding to get more Hispanics vaccinated and enrolled in Obamacare. The administration also needs to improve enrollment of Latinos who are eligible but not participating in the federal food stamps program, Unidos said.”

Besides UnidosUS, Gamboa uses previously written NBC News articles as a source, a press release from the White House, a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, two separate publications by the United States Census, and a fact sheet by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The author could have considered more diverse sources besides UnidosUS, NBC News, and government agencies. The lack of opposing viewpoints makes the article one-sided, which is why it received a “Somewhat Liberal” bias score.

Biasly gives this article a computer-based Reliability rating of “Excellent” due to its high number and variance of sources used. The author also used several lengthy quotes. However, Biasly’s rating notes that the author could have used more opposing sources to present different viewpoints on this issue.

We will take a closer look at more examples like this below, providing a further investigation into the reliability of NBC News’s articles. This will include its use of selection bias, omission bias, and the quality of its sources and facts used.

Analysis of Reliability in NBC News’s Online News Articles

Opinion-based journalism provides journalists with a platform to convey their opinions and convictions. Normally, it’s advisable to steer clear of excessive bias when crafting impartial news pieces, but opinion articles are inherently subjective. Therefore, they are often less reliable but still a great resource because they can offer valuable insights into complex issues from different perspectives.

NBC News offers opinion pieces under its digital section called NBC THINK. It has been described as:

“The new home for fresh opinion, sharp analysis, and powerful essays.”

NBC THINK political opinion pieces are mostly liberal-leaning, but some are neutral. Although they do seem to post a balanced amount of Liberal and Neutral opinion pieces, there is a lack of opinion pieces from the conservative perspective. We know that opinion pieces are riddled with bias, but the news organization itself could remove bias by posting opinion pieces from opposite sides of the political aisle. Many of the opinion pieces are strongly liberal and rely only on quotes from other liberal sources, harming their reliability.

Quality of Sources and Facts Used

NBC News tends to be very factual when covering national news, but it can show bias when reporting on political news.

For instance, think about “Texas House passes restrictive election bill after Democrats’ all-night fight.“ In this article, Jane C. Timm used 11 quotes. Many of the quotes used in the article are from Texas Democrats and other liberal organizations, such as the Texas UCLA.

In addition to that, the author’s 15 sources for the article were as follows:

• NBC News, “Texas leaders, corporations form coalitions to fight voting restrictions”
• Houston Chronicle, “Ken Paxton’s beefed-up 2020 voter fraud unit closed 16 minor cases, all in Harris County”
• Texas Secretary of State, “Turnout and Voter Registration Figures (1970-current)”
• State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D)
• Briscoe Cain (R), Chair of the Elections Committee
• Charlie Bonner, communications director of advocacy group MOVE Texas a grassroots, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization building power in underrepresented youth communities through civic education, leadership development, and issue advocacy.
• Sarah Labowitz, policy and advocacy director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas
• NBC News, “Texas GOP recruiting ‘army’ to fight voter fraud in largely minority areas of Houston”
• NBC News, “Fla. becomes latest state to enact restrictive voting law as DeSantis signs bill on Fox News”
• The Florida Senate, SB 90 (2021)
• NBC News, “Georgia Republicans are pushing dozens of ‘election integrity’ bills. Black voters are the target, rights groups say.“
• NBC News, “Texas leaders, corporations form coalitions to fight voting restrictions”
• Governor Greg Abbott Tweet
• Rep. Joaquin Castro (D)
• James Talarico (D) Tweet

The overall quality of the sources listed in the article is good, ranging from state representatives to a U.S. representative to the Texas governor to nonprofit organizations, among others. Yet, the preponderance of these sources is left-leaning. For example, the only conservative-leaning sources cited in the article are a tweet from Governor Greg Abbott and a quote from Briscoe Cain. Meanwhile, James Talarico, Sarah Labowitz with the American Civil Liberties Union, Charlie Bonner with MOVE Texas, and State Representative Trey Fischer all represent the more left-leaning perspective.

Beyond individual politicians or nonprofit groups, other articles cited within this article also occupy a left-leaning space. The article titled, “Georgia Republicans are pushing dozens of ‘election integrity’ bills. Black voters are the target, rights groups say” again primarily focuses on liberal politicians and left-leaning advocacy groups. The title adopts the language of these groups to suggest that Georgia Republicans are attacking voting rights by advocating for limiting mail-in voting. In the article, “Fla. becomes latest state to enact restrictive voting law as DeSantis signs bill on Fox News,” the title characterizes the Florida voting law as “restrictive.”

The evidence points to the author’s bias, as the article contains no counterargument and offers no opposing quotes or sources on Texas voting laws.

Biasly’s rating system gives this article a Good reliability rating. Biasly’s Reliability Score rates the quality of sources and quotes used in the article, including their uniqueness and diversity. Biasly reached its “Grade B” rating by analyzing the sources used in the article. This article received a “Good” rating for using multiple sources and an “Excellent” rating for a very high total. Quote length and the number of quotes were also rated “Excellent”. However, it received a “Poor” rating for the number of opposite sources used. Note that the computer bias rating does not include fact-checking on claims and sources, as this is done through the analyst rating.

The article is rated “Center” for bias, as it includes positive sentiments toward Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis but negative sentiments toward Donald Trump.

Selection and Omission Bias

In another example from NBC News, we can see that their articles are sometimes less reliable than others. The article “U.S. sends hundreds of ventilators to Florida as Covid surge continues” by Shannon Pettypiece is a story that only uses a very limited number of sources. She links to both an NBC News news article and an article by Local10, a Florida local news organization.

The author only offers two quotes in this article:

“There is this rapid, accelerated rise that is unprecedented,” (University of Florida Health Shands CEO Ed Jimenez)

“I would honestly doubt that that’s true, but I’ll look. We have a lot of stuff that we stockpiled over the last year and a half through the Department of Emergency Management. I have not had any requests across my desk. I haven’t been notified of that.” (Florida Governor DeSantis)

Although the author cites facts from Florida public health officials and the federal government, she also includes a quote from DeSantis stating that he is unaware that the federal government is sending ventilators to Florida. The author offers one source for the claim that supplies were being sent to the state.

“The devices, which came from the federal government’s Strategic National Stockpile, included 200 ventilators and 100 smaller breathing devices and related supplies, said an official of the Department of Health and Human Services.”

The author attempts to remain neutral in her article. The Headline is extremely neutral, and she does not use certain words or phrases to push a narrative. Towards the end of the article, she notes that Governor DeSantis and the Biden administration have different viewpoints on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

“DeSantis has been in a sparring match with the Biden administration in recent days over his implementation of a ban on mask requirements. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the administration is looking into whether any federal action could allow Florida schools to require masks.”

Overall, the article received a Biasly reliability rating of Good. This rating is based on the number and diversity of sources used. It received a “Poor” rating for lacking varied viewpoints or sources. The article provided an average number of sources but had a very high word count per quote.

The articles we’ve covered so far mostly show a liberal bias, though some are center-leaning. As a news organization with a “moderately liberal” slant, NBC News does attempt to offer neutral coverage and can be factual, though at times it provides limited opposing viewpoints or sources. Now that we have covered some indicators of trustworthiness, you can feel more confident about staying informed with the most accurate news.

So, is NBC News Reliable?

Overall, NBC News can be considered to be an outlet that is very reliable. It demonstrates a consistent goal of journalistic integrity and typically supports claims with sources and quotes. Occasional omissions and framing bias do appear, particularly on culturally sensitive or partisan issues.

As media literacy improves, readers can more easily detect issues with selection bias, omission bias, and factuality. To strengthen your ability to assess reliability across the political spectrum, use Biasly’s News Bias Checker to compare how multiple outlets report the same story.

This empowers you to consume more accurate, balanced, and dependable news.

Who Funds NBC News?

NBC News operates under the NBCUniversal News Group, which is a unit of NBCUniversal. It also encompasses the Spanish broadcast Noticias Telemundo and the United Kingdom broadcast Sky News. NBCUniversal is owned and operated by Comcast Corporation.

In 2024, Comcast president Michael J. Cavanagh announced a plan to split NBCUniversal’s cable networks into a new company. As part of this plan, USA Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, E!, Syfy, and Oxygen were acquired by the new media group Versant. However, Comcast retained the rights to NBC News, NBC Sports, the Peacock streaming service, and the cable brand Bravo.

Related Tools and Resource Pages

To better understand how NBC News fits into the broader media landscape, we recommend exploring these helpful resources:

• Media Bias Chart: See where NBC News ranks among hundreds of media outlets across the political spectrum.
• Political Bias Chart: Visualize political slants of news sources across various policy areas.
• Journalist Bias Analytics Platform: Explore how individual journalists contribute to bias within their publications.
• Politician Bias Analytics Platform: Compare how politicians are framed differently by NBC News and other outlets.
• Media Literacy Education Platform: Learn how to critically assess media sources, bias techniques, and news reliability.