The Propaganda FilesHow we score journalists
The Slant Score measures one thing: which direction a journalist's documented public record points. It is computed by formula from the evidence on each profile, and nothing else. No score is set by hand, and every item behind it is linked so you can check it yourself.
The evidence
Each item is a documented fact with a source: a job, a correction, a retraction, a donation, a statement on the record. Each one is tagged with the side it served and given a fixed weight:
| Evidence | Weight | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Partisan job | 6 | Worked for a party, campaign, partisan administration or party official. |
| Retracted / proven false | 5 | A story or claim they reported or pushed that was retracted or proven false. Counted for the side its false version served. |
| Partisan opinion role | 4 | An opinion host or columnist who openly argues for one side. Counted once. |
| Political donation | 4 | A documented political donation (press report or FEC record). |
| Correction / walk-back | 3 | A correction, editor's note, apology, walk-back, or a fact-checker rating their claim false. |
| On-record statement | 2 | An on-record quote, post or on-air remark that plainly takes a partisan side. |
| Broke with own side | 2 | A documented break with the side they usually favor. It pulls the score back toward center, but never past it: it counts only up to the points already on the side they broke with. |
The formula
Right points = sum of weights of items that served the right
Slant = 100 × (Left − Right) ÷ (Left + Right + 8)
Recent record counts most. Each item's weight halves every 15 years (never below a quarter), so a press job from the 1990s counts less than a correction from last year, and people whose politics changed are scored on what they do now.
The 8 in the bottom keeps someone with only one or two items from landing at an extreme. A score of 10 or more either way is shown as a lean; anything between is Center. Profiles with fewer than 6 total points are marked Thin record.
What it isn't
It isn't a measure of accuracy, talent or honesty, and it isn't a judgment of anyone's private views. A reporter can score left or right because of a single job or a single correction. Read the receipts.
What we don't use
We don't score from anonymous claims, rumors, or "critics say" without a named source. X posts count only when a news outlet or archive has reported them. Every person's record is searched in both directions, and breaks with their own side count.
Know of a documented item we missed? Send it in with the link.