Hong Kong Free Press has been rated by Ad Fontes Media experts as providing reliable, factual reporting from a politically neutral perspective.
HKFP scored 43.20 in terms of reliability and news value, similar to NPR, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, and slightly above Sky News, The Economist and the local South China Morning Post. HKFP is among the most politically balanced news outlets in the world, according to the watchdog’s rating. With a score of 0.24 – meaning “middle” in terms of bias – HKFP is comparable to outlets such as Sky News and BNO News.
Founded by patent attorney Vanessa Otero, Ad Fontes Media uses a panel of analysts to assess media outlets for its Media Bias Chart, which became a viral phenomenon in 2016. At least three human experts – from across the political spectrum – sample 15-100 news and opinion articles across seven categories of bias and eight of reliability. The methodology is published online.
The ratings are used by third-parties, such as news aggregator Ground News.
Three news outlets relevant to Hong Kong have been assessed.
State-controlled China Daily scored 8.14 on the bias chart as it was skewed towards the political right. It scored 29.92 for reliability – a “mixed” result. The Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post scored -3.25 for bias – considered “middle,” whilst it scored 41.61 for reliability – meaning “reliable.”
Full details of the HKFP assessment will be published at a later date.
The rating comes after HKFP was awarded full marks for credibility and transparency in 2020 by NewsGuard. Last year, HKFP became a Trust Project partner – the first global transparency standard that proves a news outlet’s commitment to original reporting, accuracy, inclusion, and fairness.
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
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