What are the most credible conservative news sources?
Out of the thousands of news outlets in the world, there are far more left-leaning than right-leaning news outlets. As the public increasingly looks for unbiased news and different perspectives to get the full story, many struggle to find reputable conservative sources. The average news reader can probably guess Fox News and Breitbart are right-leaning, but both, according to The Factual, have mediocre credibility ratings (56.5% and 54.5%, respectively). So, what are the best sources for credible conservative news?
We analyzed 58,000 articles between May 1 and May 21 to uncover the top 10 right-leaning sources that have posted at least six times (or twice per week) during the time period. Here is the breakdown of the top 10 publications based on their average Factual credibility grade:
The Factual’s algorithm analyzes individual articles for credibility based on the author’s topical expertise, the diversity of sources (links and quotes), the neutrality of the writing tone, and the historical reputation of the publishing site. To learn more, see How It Works.
Top 10 Conservative News Sources
1. Check Your Fact • Moderate Right • Average Credibility Grade: 80.3% • 10 articles published
- Check Your Fact is a for-profit derivative of The Daily Caller that has partnered with social media groups such as Facebook.
- Top Article: “FACT CHECK: Do Only Viruses Made In Laboratories Require Vaccines?” by Trevor Schakohl (Grade 85%)
2. Washington Examiner • Moderate Right • Average Credibility Grade 71.2% • 1,238 articles published
- A political news website and weekly magazine with the original goal of being a conservative competitor to The Washington Post.
- Top Article: “Failure to educate the public': Stanford University doctor outlines 'gross failure in policy' on reopening states” by Emma Colton (Grade 90%)
- A non-profit think tank headquartered in New York City specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs.
- Top Article: “Mapping China’s Health Silk Road” by Kirk Lancaster, Michael Rubin, and Mira Rapp-Hooper (Grade 84%)
- An online-only newspaper owned by Jared Kushner, the New York Observer covers topics from business trends to celebrity news.
- Top Article: “Brooklyn Nets: Despite Tsai’s Promise, Some Workers Claim to Be Unpaid” by Andy Hirschfeld (Grade 80%)
- A news source focused on informing service members at home and deployed around the world.
- Top Article: “Ex-Green Beret pitched Venezuela plot to Colorado investors last year, claiming links to Trump insider and DC consultants” by Howard Altman and Kyle Rempfer (Grade 84%)
- A monthly Jewish magazine of religion, politics, and sociopolitical issues centered around the U.S. and Israel.
- Top Article: “It Turns Out ‘1619 Project’ Was ‘Commentary’ All Along” by Noah Rothman (Grade 77%)
7. AL.com (Alabama News) • Moderate Right • Average Credibility Grade 69.4% • 11 articles published
- While there is coverage of local news, this site also addresses breaking news across the United States.
- Top Article: “Coronavirus killed the party; Alabama halts reopening of night clubs and bar games” by John Sharp (Grade 83%)
8. Reason • Moderate Right • Average Credibility Grade 68.8% • 284 articles published
- A monthly American libertarian magazine. They sport the motto “Free minds and free markets.”
- Top Article: “Sen. Josh Hawley's Plan To Abolish the World Trade Organization Is Based on Fake Economics and False History” by Eric Boehm (Grade 90%)
- Similar to Alabama News, the news coverage at the Orlando Sentinel spans from Central Florida to national sports.
- Top Article: “Manager of Florida’s coronavirus dashboard says she was removed after disputing order to ‘censor’ data” by Steven Lemongello and Tiffini Theisen (Grade 81%)
- Founded by Australian journalist Claire Lehmann, the online magazine touts a platform for free thought, expression, and exchange of ideas.
- Top Article: “Towards a Better Urbanism” by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky (Grade 77%)
To put this into perspective, popular left-leaning publications such as the New York Times or Washington Post have an average credibility grade of 68.6% and 67.8%, respectively, which would put them just below the top 10 here. As a rule of thumb, any article rated by The Factual above 75% is highly credible.
Conclusion
We hope that by gaining access to quality news across the political spectrum, you can make better-informed decisions, whether it be in regards to masks, vaccines, or even what to do in a polling booth. Considering perspectives that both align with and diverge from your own is a necessary step to understanding the multifaceted nature of many issues in the news today. In a polarized world, society needs readers like you to pave the way for a common middle ground.
Finally, we know that finding multiple credible perspectives on every topic, every day, can be exhausting. That’s why The Factual applies its algorithm to over 10,000+ articles published every day to uncover the most credible stories across the political spectrum, curating the best articles in our daily newsletter (subscribe here). You can also see articles graded and grouped by topics or political bias on our news site.
Appendix I
Here are all of the Right-leaning sites used in this analysis, along with their average credibility score and the number of articles we analyzed.
Note: We removed sources with less than 5 articles published during this time period, since there was not enough data to make an accurate representation of their average score. Also, some outlets, like The Wall Street Journal, are behind a paywall which makes it difficult to access all their articles to analyze.
Publisher | Bias | Number of Articles | Average Credibility Grade |
1600 Daily | Right | 10 | 29% |
AL.com (Alabama News) | Moderate Right | 11 | 69% |
American Greatness | Right | 15 | 48% |
American Spectator | Right | 108 | 64% |
American Thinker | Right | 9 | 49% |
Arab News | Moderate Right | 9 | 50% |
Arizona Republic | Moderate Right | 26 | 60% |
Boston Herald | Moderate Right | 8 | 61% |
Breitbart | Right | 1884 | 54% |
Check Your Fact | Moderate Right | 10 | 80% |
Chicago Tribune | Moderate Right | 83 | 64% |
Christian Post | Right | 20 | 53% |
Christianity Today | Moderate Right | 14 | 63% |
Church Militant | Right | 5 | 52% |
City Journal | Right | 63 | 64% |
Commentary Magazine | Right | 10 | 69% |
Council on Foreign Relations | Moderate Right | 14 | 71% |
Daily Caller | Right | 21 | 60% |
Daily Express | Right | 43 | 43% |
Daily Mail | Right | 4469 | 35% |
Daily Sabah | Right | 5 | 35% |
Daily Telegraph | Moderate Right | 75 | 64% |
Dallas Morning News | Moderate Right | 26 | 60% |
Detroit News | Moderate Right | 43 | 61% |
Forbes | Moderate Right | 526 | 49% |
Fox News | Right | 4331 | 57% |
Gulf News | Moderate Right | 11 | 51% |
Heritage Foundation | Right | 5 | 49% |
Hot Air | Right | 5 | 61% |
ITV News | Moderate Right | 9 | 53% |
Las Vegas Review Journal | Moderate Right | 7 | 58% |
London Broadcasting Company (LBC) | Moderate Right | 5 | 31% |
London Evening Standard | Moderate Right | 17 | 57% |
Louder With Crowder | Right | 25 | 36% |
Military Times | Moderate Right | 41 | 70% |
National Interest | Moderate Right | 17 | 68% |
National Post | Moderate Right | 20 | 54% |
National Review | Right | 326 | 48% |
New York Observer | Right | 7 | 71% |
New York Post | Moderate Right | 192 | 49% |
Newsbusters | Right | 12 | 49% |
Oil Price | Moderate Right | 9 | 65% |
Orange County Register | Moderate Right | 9 | 59% |
Oregonian | Moderate Right | 89 | 66% |
Orlando Sentinel | Moderate Right | 14 | 69% |
Ottawa Citizen | Moderate Right | 5 | 45% |
PJ Media | Right | 11 | 45% |
Quillette | Moderate Right | 25 | 68% |
Real Clear Investigations | Moderate Right | 7 | 62% |
Real Clear Politics | Moderate Right | 93 | 63% |
Reason | Moderate Right | 284 | 69% |
Red State | Right | 11 | 43% |
RT News | Moderate Right | 6 | 40% |
San Diego Union Tribune | Moderate Right | 17 | 62% |
Spiked Magazine | Right | 7 | 45% |
The American Conservative | Moderate Right | 97 | 61% |
The Blaze | Right | 39 | 54% |
The Bulwark | Moderate Right | 28 | 64% |
The Daily Wire | Right | 63 | 51% |
The Economist - 1843 | Moderate Right | 10 | 51% |
The Epoch Times | Right | 704 | 59% |
The Federalist | Right | 255 | 62% |
The Globe and Mail | Moderate Right | 105 | 50% |
The National (UAE) | Moderate Right | 10 | 61% |
The New American | Right | 5 | 47% |
The New Atlantis | Moderate Right | 11 | 67% |
The Spectator (UK) | Moderate Right | 10 | 48% |
The Spokesman-Review | Moderate Right | 6 | 60% |
The Straits Times | Moderate Right | 91 | 62% |
The Sun | Right | 24 | 45% |
The Tennessean | Moderate Right | 11 | 55% |
Times of India | Moderate Right | 164 | 56% |
Toronto Sun | Right | 6 | 60% |
Townhall | Right | 56 | 47% |
Wall Street Journal | Moderate Right | 51 | 66% |
Washington Examiner | Moderate Right | 1238 | 71% |
Washington Free Beacon | Right | 8 | 48% |
Washington Times | Moderate Right | 2940 | 46% |
Western Journal | Right | 14 | 53% |
World Net Daily (WND) | Right | 6 | 56% |
Note: The Factual does not always capture all publication output for each news site. The scores presented only reflect the articles that we've analyzed. Some sites, such as the Wall Street Journal, are only partially accessible to our algorithm.
Written by Angela Zhong
As a debater, Angela is focused on learning all facets of current issues and cutting through to the truth. She is also an incoming freshman at Harvard University. In her free time, she enjoys figure skating.