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Ad Fontes Media Review

Depends

Should I use Ad Fontes Media?

Ad Fontes Media is the home of the Media Bias Chart®. We rate the news and news-like sources for bias and reliability. - adfontesmedia.com

· 1 month ago

Buy if you are an advertiser, educator, or researcher who needs bias/reliability data and can accept that ratings are publicly disputed. Skip if you just want to check a source — the interactive chart and apps are free.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~20 public sources; no published prices or independent security review found.

Ratings

  • Value for moneyNo published pricing to judge.
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo evidence on support.
  • Security posture

Pricing

Not published

Data licensing / API

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Advertisers doing news brand-safety
  • Educators teaching media literacy
  • Researchers needing bias datasets
  • Publishers showcasing credibility

Not for

  • Consumers just checking a headline — the free chart covers you
  • Anyone wanting uncontested objective truth — ratings are publicly disputed
  • Buyers needing published pricing or security assurances
  • Orgs that require a proven, well-funded vendor

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

No security page; ask about data handling before licensing anything.

medium

Critics, including journalists, dispute specific ratings; expect challenges to placements of sources you follow.

medium

Pricing not public; budget time for a sales process before getting data or API access.

medium

Poynter raised broader doubts about whether any media bias chart deserves trust.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free interactive Media Bias Chart on web plus iOS and Android apps
  • Article-level bias and reliability ratings with published methodology
  • Ratings used in academic research, including peer-reviewed studies
  • Advertiser tooling: Pixability partnership for YouTube news brand safety

Cons

  • Methodology publicly criticized by a journalist as biased and flawed
  • Rating placements disputed even by sympathetic users
  • No published pricing; data licensing requires sales contact
  • No public security page for due diligence
  • Small vendor: $4.2M total funding, longevity risk

Sources & method

- 10 sources - No security page found; no known vulnerabilities in sources reviewed.

official x4review x2news x4

Key stats

  • Ease of use: 4/5

    Rating

  • Not published

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money. No published pricing to judge.
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Free interactive chart plus mobile apps.
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Article-level ratings, TV charts, advertiser data.
  • Support quality. No evidence on support.
  • Security posture: 2/5. No public security page found.
  • 2018 Founded By Vanessa Otero, Colorado
  • $4.2M Funding Raised 2023, Aion Ventures-led
  • Yes Free tier Interactive chart, iOS/Android apps
  • $258.4K Est. annual spend Crunchbase projection; small vendor

Pricing

Data licensing / API

Not published

  • Bias and reliability data for businesses and advertisers
  • Contact-sales model

Security

No security page found; no known vulnerabilities in sources reviewed.

What users say

Users adopt it widely for media literacy, but critics and some former fans dispute specific bias placements.

“The Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart is full of bias and problems”
Tamara Pearson, Medium
“My understanding is those are AllSides, Ad Fontes”
Reddit, r/Journalism

Alternatives

Compare Ad Fontes Media with each alternative.

Companies that use it

  • Pixability
  • Oxford Road
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources; no published prices or independent security review found.

Free chart is enough for consumers; businesses buying the data face hidden pricing and loud methodology critics.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources; no published prices or independent security review found.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Ad Fontes Media: Homeadfontesmedia.com
    official
  2. Methodologyadfontesmedia.com
    official
  3. Pricing & Servicesadfontesmedia.com
    official
  4. Interactive Media Bias Chartapp.adfontesmedia.com
    official
  5. Ad Fontes Media — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    news
  6. The Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart is full of bias and problemstamarapearson.medium.com
    review
  7. Should you trust media bias charts? — Poynterpoynter.org
    news
  8. The Media Bias Chart (Ad Fontes Media) — Reddit r/centristreddit.com
    review
  9. Ad Fontes Media Closes $4.2M in Fundingadfontesmedia.com
    news
  10. Top Ad Fontes Media Alternatives — CB Insightscbinsights.com
    news

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