Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

Studies have found some evidence of liberal leanings among journalists, but not radical viewpoints.

Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab said everyone has a different idea about what constitutes news.

Media Bias rates most media in a range of “strong left, skews left, middle, skews right or strong right.” 

Of the remainder, media rated “hyper-partisan right” or “most extreme right” outnumber those rated “hyper-partisan left” or “most extreme left.”

AllSides, which rates online U.S. political content, rates most media as “lean left,” “center” or “lean right.” 

A 2022 Syracuse University survey said 52% of 1,600 U.S. journalists identified themselves as independent, 36% Democrat, 3% Republican.

A 2020 study by researchers from three U.S. universities concluded that “a dominant majority of journalists identify as liberals/Democrats,” but exhibit “no bias against conservatives” in what they cover.

The office of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., didn’t provide evidence to back his May 9 claim that “most” American news media are “radical leftists.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• 13th & Park: Senator Ron Johnson on Taking On Washington, Border Battles & Saving America’s Future
• Nieman Lab: “News” in 2025 is in the eye of the beholder
• Ad Fontes Media: Media Bias Chart
• Harvard Library: News Media Across the Political Spectrum
• AllSides: AllSides Media Bias Chart
• Syracuse University: The American Journalist Under Attack
• Science: There is no liberal media bias in which news stories political journalists choose to cover

Are most American news media ‘radical leftists’? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.