- Lean
- Lean Left (AllSides)
- Reliability
- Mostly Factual (MBFC)
- Founded
- 1980
- Headquarters
- Atlanta and New York
- Owner
- Skydance Corporation (since October 2026)
- Funding
- CNN is funded by cable fees, advertising and digital subscriptions.
On this page
Is CNN Left or Right?
AllSides rates the news on CNN.com Lean Left, with a score of -1.30 on its scale from -6 to +6, and says it has high confidence in that rating. The rating covers written online news only, not CNN's TV shows or opinion pieces. It has moved over the years: AllSides rated CNN Center in 2013, Lean Left in 2018, Left in 2020 and Lean Left again in 2023. Ad Fontes Media scores CNN's website -6.26, which it labels Skews Left. Media Bias/Fact Check rates CNN Left-Center, with a score of -3.6.
CNN Bias Ratings 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 | Skews Left (-6.26) | 41.90: Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting |
| Media Bias/Fact Check | Left-Center (-3.6) | Mostly Factual, High Credibility |
How Reliable Is CNN?
Ad Fontes Media rates CNN's website 41.90 for reliability, in its Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting range. Media Bias/Fact Check rates its factual reporting Mostly Factual and its credibility High, and lists no failed fact checks in the last five years. Public trust divides along party lines: in a Pew Research Center survey from March 2025, 58% of Democrats said they trust CNN for political and election news, compared with 21% of Republicans.
How CNN Handles Corrections
CNN adds correction notes to the stories concerned and has an online form for reporting errors. We did not find a published corrections policy on its website. CNN has also retracted stories when they did not meet its standards, as in 2017 (see its record below).
News and Opinion at CNN
CNN mixes several kinds of programming: straight news reports, interviews, analysis and panel discussions. AllSides rated CNN's online opinion section separately, as Left (-4.00), with medium confidence, and notes that the section closed in August 2024. The ratings on this page are for CNN's online news, which is what the raters assess; they do not rate individual TV shows.
Who Owns CNN?
CNN was founded by Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld and went on air on June 1, 1980, as the first 24-hour TV news channel in the US. It was part of Warner Bros. Discovery until October 6, 2026, when Paramount Skydance completed its purchase of the company, now called Skydance Corporation and led by David Ellison. Mark Thompson, who has run CNN since 2023, stayed on after the merger. Under a September 2026 settlement with a group of US states, Skydance agreed to set up a five-member News Editorial Independence Board covering CNN and CBS News; it had not been appointed as of October 2026. CNN is funded by cable fees, advertising and digital subscriptions.
CNN's Record: Awards and Disputes
CNN is one of the most awarded TV newsrooms in the US. It won a network-record 12 News Emmys in 2024 and six in 2026, including Outstanding Recorded News Program for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper and an award for Clarissa Ward's reporting on the search for Austin Tice. Its Peabody Awards include Shimon Prokupecz's investigation into the police response in Uvalde and Nima Elbagir's reporting on human rights abuses in Ethiopia.
CNN has also faced disputes over its reporting. In 2017 it retracted a story about Anthony Scaramucci, apologized, and three journalists involved resigned. In 2020 it settled, for an undisclosed sum, a defamation suit by Nick Sandmann over its coverage of a 2019 encounter in Washington. In 2021 it fired anchor Chris Cuomo after documents showed he had helped his brother, then governor of New York, respond to harassment allegations. In January 2025, a Florida jury found CNN liable for defaming Navy veteran Zachary Young in a 2021 segment, and CNN settled before punitive damages were set. A defamation suit by Donald Trump over CNN's use of the phrase "the Big Lie" was dismissed in 2023, a decision upheld on appeal in 2025.
Why CNN Is Not in Aplomb
Aplomb only shows newsrooms that meet all six of our criteria, and CNN is not one of them today. On the ratings criterion, CNN qualifies: Ad Fontes Media rates it Reliable. Two criteria are open. Its owner changed on October 6, 2026, and the editorial independence board promised in the merger settlement is not in place yet; we look at an owner's record before adding a newsroom. And we did not find a published corrections policy. We review the list every quarter.
Think we got something wrong? Report an error or suggest a source for review.
Compare CNN With News Sources in Aplomb
CNN FAQ
Is CNN biased?
The three raters we track place CNN left of center: AllSides rates its online news Lean Left (-1.30), Ad Fontes Media scores it -6.26 (Skews Left) and Media Bias/Fact Check rates it Left-Center (-3.6).
Is CNN reliable?
Ad Fontes Media rates CNN's website Reliable (41.90). Media Bias/Fact Check rates its factual reporting Mostly Factual and its credibility High, with no failed fact checks in the last five years.
Who owns CNN now?
Skydance Corporation, the company formed when Paramount Skydance bought Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal closed on October 6, 2026. Mark Thompson remains head of CNN.
Is CNN more biased than Fox News?
The raters place them on opposite sides, and further from the center for Fox News: Media Bias/Fact Check rates CNN Left-Center and Fox News Right, and AllSides rates CNN Lean Left and Fox News Right. Media Bias/Fact Check also rates CNN's factual reporting Mostly Factual and Fox News's Low. See our Fox News profile.
Why isn't CNN in Aplomb?
A newsroom joins Aplomb only when it meets all six of our criteria. CNN meets the ratings criterion, but its owner changed in October 2026, the promised editorial independence board is not in place yet, and we did not find a published corrections policy. We review the list every quarter.
Short news videos from newsrooms that meet our six criteriaSee the newsrooms in Aplomb and how we choose them.