Scientific American

AllSides Media Bias Rating™: Lean Left

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About Scientific American

Scientific American is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Lean Left.

What a “Lean Left” Rating Means

Sources with an AllSides Media Bias Rating of Lean Left display media bias in ways that moderately align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Lean Left bias is a moderately liberal rating on the political spectrum.

Learn more about Lean Left ratings

Bias Reviews

We use multiple methods to analyze sources. Learn how we rate media bias.

Scientific American Rated Lean Left in June 2020 Independent Review

AllSides changed Scientific American’s media bias from Center to Lean Left in June 2020 following an Independent Review by an AllSides reviewer. The reviewer found that many Scientific American articles are written from the perspective of critical race theory, a widely debated foundation for academic study and critical thought typically associated with left-wing academics and commentators. The reviewer noted numerous articles in which SciAm revealed an ideological slant toward critical race theory, including a piece that claims that concerns about obesity in African American women “reflects the racist stigmatization of black women’s bodies.” Another article proclaimed, “Why Racism, Not Race, Is a Risk Factor for Dying of COVID-19,” and another spoke of the “weaponization of medical language [that] reinforced white supremacy at the torment of Black Americans.” Articles like this indicated SciAm had adopted writers with a strong bent toward critical race theory, a movement and collection of activists and scholars engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power. Critical race theory begins with the view that race is the predominant structural element of American (and other) societies, and its merits as a foundation for objective scientific study have been widely criticized and debated. Critical race theory is typically associated with the American left. The reviewer found many articles on SciAm are not colored with left-wing political theory, but the presence of many left-wing views means Scientific American has a Lean Left bent.

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Community Feedback

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As of April 2023, people have voted on the AllSides Media Bias Rating for Scientific American. On average, those who disagree with our rating think this source has a Lean Left bias.

Confidence Level

Confidence is determined by how many reviews have been applied and consistency of data.

As of April 2023, AllSides has low or initial confidence in our Lean left rating for Scientific American. If we perform more bias reviews and gather consistent data, this confidence level will increase.

Additional Information

Scientific American (informally abbreviated SciAm) is an American popular science magazine. It has a long history of presenting scientific information on a monthly basis to the general educated public, with careful attention to the clarity of its text and the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein, have contributed articles in the past 168 years. It is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States.

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Scientific American Ownership and Funding

Funding and ownership do not influence bias ratings. We rate the bias of content only.

Owner: Nature Publishing Group

Articles from Scientific American

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