RANKED: The most biased news outlets in the US, according to Americans

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RANKED: The most biased news outlets in the US, according to Americans

CNN reporter Jim Acosta

Screenshot/CNN

CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta is a frequent target of President Donald Trump and his supporters' attacks on the media.

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  • A Gallup/Knight Foundation survey shows Americans think most of the news they consume is inaccurate and biased.
  • When ranking the most biased media organizations, Republicans said they only think Fox News and The Wall Street Journal are unbiased, while Democrats feel that way about most mainstream outlets.
  • Overall, survey respondents found that PBS News and the Associated Press were the least biased outlets.

Americans believe that 62% of the news they consume on TV, in newspapers, and on the radio is biased, according to a survey from the Knight Foundation and Gallup.

Those surveyed also believe 44% of news reporting and 64% of news on social media are inaccurate. And they're upset about it - more than 80% said they were angered or bothered by seeing biased information and slightly more felt similarly about seeing inaccurate information.

In evaluating news outlets, poll respondents closely associated bias with inaccuracy. In their view, outlets they feel are biased are also inaccurate.

But perceptions of bias and inaccuracy differed based on the respondents' political persuasions, particularly with regard to Fox News, Breitbart News, CNN, and MSNBC. The only two media organizations Republicans in the survey said weren't biased was Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

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President Donald Trump often takes issue with outlets like CNN and The New York Times for publishing critical stories about his administration. He went on a tweetstorm Thursday morning calling the media the "Enemy of the People!"

Survey respondents with different political views had different perceptions of the pervasiveness of bias in the news. For example, Democrats believe just 44% of TV, newspaper, and radio news is biased, while Republicans believe 77% of it is biased.

Presented with a host of major news outlets, respondents found that PBS News and the Associated Press were the least biased outlets, while Fox News and Breitbart News tied for having the most perceived bias.

Here are the survey results for how biased respondents thought each media outlet was overall, ranked from most to least biased:

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1. Fox News: -51 (tie)

1. Fox News: -51 (tie)

Polled as the most biased news organization by respondents, Fox News earned a -87 bias score among those who are Democrats and lean Democratic.

But among Republicans and those who lean Republican, Fox News was polled as the least biased news organization with a +3 bias rating.

1. Breitbart News: -51

1. Breitbart News: -51

Tied with Fox News, Breitbart News registered a -73 bias score among Democrats and those who lean Democratic.

But unlike Fox News, Republicans and those who lean Republican do not give Breitbart a positive bias score. In fact, Breitbart earned a -19 rating from Republicans.

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3. MSNBC: -37

3. MSNBC: -37

Like Breitbart, MSNBC earned a negative bias rating from both Republicans and Democrats. While Democrats and those who lean Democratic gave MSNBC a -1 bias rating, Republicans and those who lean Republican gave MSNBC a -85 bias score.

4. Huffington Post: -32

4. Huffington Post: -32

HuffPost also scores negatively with both Democrats and Republicans.

Republicans and those who lean Republican gave them a -61 bias rating, while Democrats and those who lean Democratic scored them at -9.

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5. CNN: -27

5. CNN: -27

Among Republicans and those who lean Republican, CNN is considered the most biased news organization with a -87 bias rating. Meanwhile, Democrats and those who lean Democratic gave CNN a favorable bias score of +29.

6. Mother Jones: -22

6. Mother Jones: -22

Mother Jones scores negatively in terms of bias with both Republicans and Democrats. While Mother Jones scores a -29 bias rating from Republicans and those who lean Republican, the publication earned a -16 bias score from Democrats and those who lean Democratic.

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7. Vox: -12

7. Vox: -12

Democrats and those who lean Democratic gave Vox a -5 bias score, and Republicans and those who lean Republican handed Vox a -16 bias rating.

8. The New York Times: -11

8. The New York Times: -11

The New York Times scored very well with Democrats and very poorly with Republicans. Democrats and those who lean Democratic handed The Times a +44 positive bias rating, but Republicans those who lean Republican gave them a -74.

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9. NBC News: -7

9. NBC News: -7

The two sides were split on NBC News, too. Democrats and those who lean Democratic gave NBC News a +42 bias rating while Republicans and those who lean Republican rated NBC News with a -64 bias score.

9. The Washington Post: -7

9. The Washington Post: -7

Tied with NBC News, The Washington Post also shares the qualification of being trusted by Democrats and distrusted by Republicans.

Democrats and those who lean Democratic scored The Washington Post with a +40 rating, while Republicans gave The Post a -65 bias score.

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11. ABC News: +4

11. ABC News: +4

Democrats and those who lean Democratic rated ABC News as the third-least biased news organization in the country at +56. Meanwhile, Republicans and those who lean Republican scored ABC News at -60.

12. CBS News: +5

12. CBS News: +5

CBS News scored a positive +53 bias rating with Democrats and those who lean Democratic, while Republicans and those who lean Republican rated CBS with a negative -58 bias score.

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12. USA Today: +5

12. USA Today: +5

Tied alongside CBS News, USA Today also scores favorably with Democrats and unfavorably with Republicans.

USA Today registered a negative -39 bias rating from Republicans or those who lean Republican, while Democrats gave the media organization a +36.

14. The Wall Street Journal: +10

14. The Wall Street Journal: +10

The Wall Street Journal is the only media organization that both Democrats and Republicans rated favorably. The Journal got a +2 bias rating by Republicans or those who lean Republican and a +24 score by Democrats or those who lean Democratic.

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15. NPR: +12

15. NPR: +12

NPR earned a +54 bias rating from Democrats and those who lean Democratic, while Republicans and those who lean Republican rated NPR with a -43 bias score.

16. AP: +23

16. AP: +23

The Associated Press, which was voted the second least-biased media organization by survey respondents, was rated as the least biased news organization among Democrats. Democrats and those who lean Democratic rated the AP with a positive +74 bias score.

But Republicans or those who lean Republican handed the AP a -35 negative bias rating.

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17. PBS News: +31

17. PBS News: +31

Polled as the least biased media organization by survey respondents, PBS News was given the second-highest rating by Democrats. Democrats or those who lean Democratic scored PBS with a +70 positive bias rating.

But Republicans or those who lean Republican gave PBS a -22 negative bias score.

Here are all the net bias scores of news organizations, from PBS News to Fox News:

Here are all the net bias scores of news organizations, from PBS News to Fox News:

Source: Knight Foundation/Gallup

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Here's how Democrats ranked them, from the AP to Fox News:

Here's how Democrats ranked them, from the AP to Fox News:

Source: Knight Foundation/Gallup

And here's how Republicans ranked them, from Fox News to CNN:

And here's how Republicans ranked them, from Fox News to CNN:

Source: Knight Foundation/Gallup

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