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Should I Use Ad Fontes Media?

adfontesmedia.com·Analyzed 1 hour ago·Based on 10 sources

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

Depends

Depends

Buy if you are an advertiser, educator, or researcher who needs bias/reliability data and can accept that ratings are publicly disputed.

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

Confidence: Medium

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

Ease of use4

Free interactive chart plus mobile apps.

Feature depth4

Article-level ratings, TV charts, advertiser data.

Security posture2

No public security page found.

Pros

  • Free interactive Media Bias Chart on web plus iOS and Android apps
  • Article-level bias and reliability ratings with published methodology²
  • 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 flawed⁶
  • Rating placements disputed even by sympathetic users⁸
  • No published pricing; data licensing requires sales contact³
  • No public security page for due diligence
  • Small vendor: $4.2M total funding, longevity risk

Gotchas

  • highNo security page; ask about data handling before licensing anything.
  • mediumCritics, including journalists, dispute specific ratings; expect challenges to placements of sources you follow.⁶
  • mediumPricing not public; budget time for a sales process before getting data or API access.³
  • mediumPoynter raised broader doubts about whether any media bias chart deserves trust.⁷

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

Companies that use it

  • Pixability
  • Oxford Road

Pricing

Data licensing / API

Not published

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

Security

No known public vulnerabilities found in the 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.

Media Bias/Fact Check

Free source-by-source bias and fact-check ratings.

Full analysis

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

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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