The Independent, a British news organization founded in 1986, has often been associated with left-leaning editorial perspectives and progressive policy positions. However, this perception warrants closer examination to distinguish between public perception and documented evidence of bias.
While some critics challenge The Independent’s objectivity, the publication has earned recognition for its investigative journalism and factual reporting on numerous occasions. Media watchdogs and fact-checking organizations have noted instances where The Independent has demonstrated commitment to journalistic integrity through balanced coverage and thorough fact-checking processes.
At Biasly, we believe that understanding media bias requires systematic analysis rather than relying on general impressions. This evaluation will examine The Independent’s reporting practices, editorial standards, and fact-checking procedures to provide a comprehensive assessment of its reliability and accuracy. Our analysis will consider multiple factors, including:
- Source verification methods
- Fact-checking protocols
- Editorial transparency
- Coverage patterns
- Distinction between news and opinion content
Through this detailed examination, we aim to provide readers with an evidence-based understanding of The Independent’s position in today’s media landscape.
Does Reliability Matter?
Reliability, in general, refers to how trustworthy or accurate information, or in this case, a news source is. If we consider this definition, it quickly becomes clear why reliability is important in media sources. If we can’t trust the things we read then there isn’t much of a point in continuing to consume content from that source, after all. So how exactly can we gauge the reliability of a news source anyway?
There are several potential measures of reliability to look out for when trying to determine whether a media source is reliable or not. Red flags for an unreliable article can include the presence of wild unsubstantiated claims, facts dependent on other unreliable sources, heavy use of opinionated language, and more. Some indicators of a reliable news source, on the other hand, include things like:
- Absence of subjective/opinionated language in articles
- Credible sources cited (e.g., neutral sources, .gov, .edu websites)
- Facts and statistics backed by multiple relevant outside sources
- Use of primary sources when possible (e.g., interviews, quotes)
- Information that remains consistent across news sources
So How Does The Independent Fare in its Reliability?
The political reliability index developed by Biasly objectively assesses news organizations’ accuracy and trustworthiness. The Independent’s overall reliability is rated as “Good.”
This rating is a weighted average of two distinct scores: the Fact Analysis Score and the Source Analysis Score, each evaluating separate components of The Independent’s reliability. When computing the Average Reliability of the article the Fact Analysis score is more heavily weighted. These ratings are as follows in the next two paragraphs:
- The Independent’s Fact Analysis Score is “Good,” which suggests that readers can trust most of the sources, links, and quotes provided by outlet. This score, which is based on A.I., focuses on assessing the quality of sources and quotes used including their number, lengths, uniqueness, and diversity.
- The Independent’s Source Analysis Score is “Fair”which suggests readers can trust some of the sources, links, and quotes provided by the news source. This score, which is based on A.I., focuses on assessing the quality of sources and quotes used including their number, lengths, uniqueness, and diversity.
However, since these scores are based on percentages and averages, individual articles could be more or less trustworthy depending on the context, author, and other factors. Our findings show that The Independent’s reliability is mostly but not all factual because they have retracted several stories in the past or had pieces that were not factual.
Let us analyze the supporting data for The Independent’s rankings and discuss what to watch out for while searching for trustworthy news sources.
The Independent’s Accuracy and Reliability
The credibility of news organizations is significantly impacted by bias and political orientation. Like numerous other media organizations, The Independent has occasionally been accused of prioritizing the center-left and left-wing views over objective reporting. We can evaluate the integrity of The Independent’s stories to deduce how well the publication supports assertions with evidence and see whether this is indeed the case. We will check for selection and omission bias as we assess the articles’ correctness and factuality.
Selection bias is when stories and facts are selected or deselected, often on ideological grounds, to create a narrative in support of the new sources’ ideology. Omission bias, on the other hand, is when different opinions and political views regarding a situation are left out so that the reader is only exposed to the ideological perspective supported by the author. It’s important to keep in mind these two types of biases when trying to assess an article’s level of accuracy.
Biasly assigns a percentage score to accuracy, with one being the least accurate and 100 being the most. Ratings are calculated by weighing assertions with supporting evidence, the number of reliable internal sources, and the number of reliable external sources employed. A full page at Biasly’s website includes dependability and accuracy ratings for newly released The Independent stories. As we previously stated, according to the reports analytics have assessed, The Independent has a Good reliability score. This score can vary from article to article, though, and the most extreme variations in dependability are caused by bias, notably omission, and selection bias.
Take The Guardian for example, another prominent British outlet akin to The Independent. The Guardian has a “Somewhat Liberal” bias and “Fair” reliability, according to Biasly. However, like most media outlets, each article can vary in terms of bias and reliability. For example, according to Biasly, the article, “RFK Jr condemned as a ‘clear and present danger’ after Trump nomination,” had a bias rating of “Somewhat Conservative,” and a reliability rating of Good.” Likewise, the article “First Thing: Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza,” had a Bias rating of “Center” and a reliability rating of “Fair.”
Similarly, The Independent’s bias and reliability can vary for each article.
We will take a closer look at more examples like this below, providing a further investigation into the reliability of The Independent’s articles. This will include its use of selection bias, omission bias, and the quality of its sources and facts used.
Analysis of Reliability in The Independent’s Online News Articles
The Independent’s online news articles, while typically adopting a more casual and interactive approach compared to traditional news outlets, aim at providing standard, objective reporting. While they may occasionally lean towards a particular ideology, it’s essential to distinguish their regular online news content from their opinion pieces. It’s when these lines blur that the credibility of information can come into question.
This underscores the ongoing challenge in digital journalism to maintain credibility while engaging diverse reader bases with differing political views. Typical online news articles are devoid of opinions and leanings from the author, but occasionally, depending on the news source, they may exist.
Qualify of Sources and Facts Used
The Independent mostly publishes articles that use reliable sources from both sides of the ideological divide and cite facts as evidence. However, this may not mean every article that achieves this is entirely reliable.
One article written in The Independent, titled, “Very small’ Brexit trade deal with Pacific no match for EU, Starmer,” received a reliability Biasly rating of “fair.” The article earned a “Good” rating for using long quotes and earned an “Excellent” for using multiple quotes. Some examples include quotes by Dominic Grieve, such as
“With the latest figures showing that our growth is flatlining, it’s time for common sense to finally prevail, and for the government to recognise that being serious about boosting our economy means being serious about forging a closer relationship with the European Union.”
“weak growth in imports and exports over the medium term partly reflect the continuing impact of Brexit, which we expect to reduce the overall trade intensity of the UK economy by 15 per cent in the long term,” by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
However, it scored “Poor” on unique sources and opposite sources since it primarily relied on sources from officials from the British government. While these sources are more likely reliable, since they come from high-ranking policymakers, it still represents the political interests of the current Labour government. Had the article used sources from EU officials, it could have scored higher.
Selection and Omission Bias
On December 15, 2024, The Independent published “Iranian vessel, drone or UFO: Mystery over bizarre lights spotted in skies over New Jersey.” Biasly gave this article an overall bias rating of “Center.”
The centrist nature of the article is because it includes sources from the Republican and Democratic party without any biased coverage. For example, it included a post by Donald Trump on Truth Social that said,
“Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!”
Additionally, the article included a Tweet by Democratic lawmaker Andy Kim:
Last night I went out with local police to spot drone flying over New Jersey, here’s what I saw. We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green.THREAD pic.twitter.com/ly7kUUDWDn
— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) December 13, 2024
However, the article only includes sources from the American government, not any Iranian ones. These article inflated the ‘Iranian threat’ to the American homeland, such as:
“I’ve learned, for real, that there is circumstantial evidence that there’s an Iranian mothership off the east coast of the United States, and that’s launching these drone incursions.”
While the article started out by describing the science fiction aspect of drones, the headline itself suggests that the article wanted to focus on the ‘Iranian’ role.’ This article deviates from The Independent’s affiliation with the European left, that are generally critical of U.S foreign policy.
So Is The Independent Reliable?
Alas, it can be argued that The Independent is reliable news source with an adequate reputation for journalistic integrity and some lone exceptions, therefore the degree of truth in its publications fluctuates. The more you research media reliability and accuracy, the simpler it will be for you to spot problems with sources, selection, omission, and factuality. To help with this, you can use Biasly’s News Bias Checker to uncover reliability problems and assist you in finding the most accurate and dependable news.