- Lean
- Lean Left (AllSides)
- Reliability
- High factual reporting (MBFC)
- Founded
- 2017
- Headquarters
- Arlington, Virginia
- Owner
- Cox Enterprises (about 70%)
- Funding
- Axios has been about 70% owned by Cox Enterprises since 2022; its founders and staff hold the rest.
On this page
Is Axios Left or Right?
AllSides gives Axios a Bias Meter score of -1.70 (Lean Left), Media Bias/Fact Check rates it Left-Center (-2.8), and Ad Fontes Media scores it -3.34, inside its Middle band. Averaged, Axios sits just left of our center zone. Its house format, a few lines and bullet points per story, leaves little room for commentary.
Axios was founded in 2017 by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, who had helped build Politico. In 2022 Cox Enterprises bought a 70% stake in a deal that valued Axios at about $525 million; the founders kept running the newsroom and Cox added funding for local coverage.
See where Axios sits next to other outlets on our media bias chart.
How Reliable Is Axios?
Media Bias/Fact Check rates Axios's factual reporting High, and Ad Fontes Media rates it Reliable for analysis and fact reporting (42.53).
Axios Bias: What the Ratings Show
AllSides rates Axios Lean Left; Ad Fontes Media scores its bias at -3.34 (Middle) and its reliability at 42.53 (Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting); and Media Bias/Fact Check rates it Left-Center with High factual reporting.
Compare Axios with every other outlet on the media bias chart.
Axios Bias Rating From Independent Raters
All bars use one shared scale: the shaded band is each rater's own center zone, lined up. How we combine the raters
| Rater | Bias rating | Factual / reliability |
|---|---|---|
| AllSides | Lean Left | Not rated (lean only) |
| Ad Fontes Media | Middle (-3.34) | 42.53: Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting |
| Media Bias/Fact Check | Left-Center (-2.8) | High, High Credibility |
Who Funds Axios?
Axios has been about 70% owned by Cox Enterprises since 2022; its founders and staff hold the rest. Revenue comes from advertising and subscription products such as Axios Pro.
Why Axios Is in Aplomb
Axios covers US politics, business and technology in a format built for phones, which suits a short-video feed. Its videos sit in the app's United States tab; Latest is kept for international newsrooms. Axios meets all six of our source criteria. What to watch for: its short format leaves out context, so turn to a fuller source such as AP or NPR when a story matters to you. Axios publishes few short videos, so it appears in the feed only occasionally.
Looking for other apps that take bias seriously? See our comparison of the best unbiased news apps.
Watch Axios next to Reuters, BBC and AP, one swipe at a time.
Latest Axios Videos
There is no recent short video from Axios in Aplomb right now. Watch today's news videos from the other newsrooms in Aplomb.
Compare Axios With Similar Sources
Axios FAQ
Is Axios biased?
Slightly left of center, according to AllSides (Lean Left, -1.70) and Media Bias/Fact Check (Left-Center). Ad Fontes Media's score of -3.34 falls inside its Middle band.
Who owns Axios?
Cox Enterprises has owned about 70% of Axios since 2022. Its founders and staff hold the rest.
What is Smart Brevity?
Axios's house style: a short headline, one key sentence, then bullet points on why the story matters and what comes next.
Is Axios reliable?
Yes: High factual reporting according to Media Bias/Fact Check, and a Reliable score of 42.53 from Ad Fontes Media.
Vetted news, in the format you already scrollA vertical news feed from vetted newsrooms only.