TL;DR: The Balanced News calculates political bias as Left/Center/Right percentages (always summing to 100%). We analyze: (1) political entity coverage - who is mentioned positively/negatively, (2) framing - how headlines and language position the story, (3) source selection - which experts/officials are quoted, (4) issue positioning - how policy is presented. In Indian context: Left = opposition/secular perspectives, Right = ruling coalition/nationalist perspectives, Center = balanced/regional.
Understanding how news outlets lean politically is essential for informed news consumption. At The Balanced News, we analyze every article for political bias and present it as a transparent left-center-right percentage breakdown. Here's how we do it.
The Three-Way Bias Score
Every article on The Balanced News displays three percentages that always sum to 100:
- Left: Opposition coalition perspectives, socialist/liberal framing, minority-focused narratives
- Center: Balanced reporting, regional perspectives, non-aligned viewpoints
- Right: Ruling coalition perspectives, nationalist framing, majority-focused narratives
For example, an article might score: Left 15% | Center 60% | Right 25%
This means the article is mostly balanced but leans slightly toward perspectives aligned with the current ruling coalition.
Our Analysis Framework
Step 1: Political Entity Identification
We first identify all political entities mentioned in an article:
- Political parties: National parties (BJP, Congress, AAP, etc.), regional parties (TMC, DMK, SP, etc.)
- Political leaders: Ministers, MPs, MLAs, party officials
- Ideological organizations: Think tanks, advocacy groups, affiliated organizations
- Political alliances: NDA, INDIA bloc, regional coalitions
Step 2: Current Political Alignment
Indian politics doesn't map neatly to Western left-right concepts. Instead, we analyze based on:
Current Coalition Dynamics
- Ruling alliance members and their positions
- Opposition alliance members and their positions
- Neutral or unaligned entities
Historical Ideological Positions
- Left/socialist traditions (focus on redistribution, secularism, worker rights)
- Right/nationalist traditions (focus on cultural identity, economic growth, national security)
- Centrist/regional positions (focus on state autonomy, development, pragmatic coalitions)
Step 3: Coverage Balance Analysis
For each political entity mentioned, we assess:
Framing: How is the entity introduced and described?
- Positive framing: "visionary leader," "historic achievement"
- Negative framing: "controversial figure," "failed policy"
- Neutral framing: factual descriptions without evaluative language
Attribution: What actions and statements are attributed to them?
- Are they portrayed as taking positive actions?
- Are failures attributed to them or to external factors?
Prominence: How much space is given to their perspective?
- Is their viewpoint quoted directly?
- Are opposing views given equal weight?
Contextual Tone: Respectful, critical, dismissive, or neutral?
Step 4: Issue-Based Analysis
We recognize that political themes carry ideological weight:
Themes typically associated with left-leaning coverage:
- Secularism and pluralism emphasis
- Minority rights advocacy
- Social justice and inequality focus
- Critical analysis of nationalism
- Pro-regulatory economic stance
Themes typically associated with right-leaning coverage:
- National security emphasis
- Cultural and religious identity focus
- Economic growth and development narratives
- Supportive of nationalist policies
- Pro-market economic stance
Themes that indicate center/balanced coverage:
- Multiple perspectives presented
- Critical analysis of all parties
- Focus on factual reporting
- Regional rather than ideological framing
Step 5: Score Calculation
Based on the above analysis, we assign percentages:
Strong favor toward ruling coalition → Higher right score
Strong favor toward opposition voices → Higher left score
Balanced perspectives or regional focus → Higher center score
For genuinely apolitical content (natural disasters, sports results, scientific discoveries), we default to Center: 100%, Left: 0%, Right: 0%.
Common Patterns We Recognize
Government vs. Party Distinction
An article can be critical of government policy without being ideologically left-leaning. We distinguish between criticism of institutional performance versus ideological opposition.
Alliance Dynamics
Political parties may support or oppose each other based on electoral alliances, not ideology. A regional party in the ruling alliance might take positions that historically aligned with the left.
Regional Context
State-level politics often differs from national alignment. A party in opposition nationally might be the ruling party in a state, changing the framing context.
Issue-Specific Coalitions
Parties sometimes unite across ideological lines on specific issues. We analyze the specific article context, not just party labels.
Temporal Context
Pre-election positioning differs from post-election behavior. Campaign rhetoric versus governance coverage requires different analysis.
What We Avoid
We don't assume:
- Criticism of government equals left-bias (could be regional or rival right-wing perspective)
- Development talk equals right-bias (opposition also claims development achievements)
- Welfare focus equals left-bias (all parties promise welfare schemes)
- Western left-right maps directly to Indian politics
We don't rely on:
- Source reputation alone (we analyze each article independently)
- Headlines without reading full content
- Single quotes without context
- Historical outlet bias without current content analysis
Group-Level Bias
When multiple articles cover the same story, we aggregate bias scores:
- Each article receives individual bias analysis
- Group bias is calculated as a weighted average
- We provide reasoning explaining the overall group perspective
This shows you how the same story is being framed differently across the political spectrum.
Transparency in Reasoning
Every bias score comes with reasoning that explains:
- Which political entities were mentioned and how they were treated
- What the dominant political narrative or framing was
- Why we assigned the particular left/center/right distribution
- Specific patterns we recognized in the coverage
This reasoning is available for every article, so you can understand and evaluate our analysis.
Limitations We Acknowledge
Context complexity: Indian political dynamics are complex and constantly evolving. Alliances shift, parties change positions, and regional factors add layers of nuance.
Language limitations: Our analysis works best with English and Hindi content. Regional language coverage may have reduced accuracy.
New developments: When new political alignments form or parties take unexpected positions, there may be a brief lag in our analysis accuracy.
Subtlety detection: Very subtle bias through word choice or framing is harder to detect than overt bias.
How to Use Bias Scores
For Individual Articles
- Check the left/center/right breakdown before forming opinions
- Read the bias reasoning to understand the assessment
- Compare with your own reading of the article
For News Topics
- See how the same story is framed differently by left, center, and right sources
- Identify which perspectives are being emphasized or ignored
- Get a more complete picture by reading across the spectrum
For Source Evaluation
- Track bias patterns in outlets you regularly read
- Identify if your news diet is skewed toward one perspective
- Diversify sources to get balanced information
Our Commitment
Political bias detection is inherently challenging. We commit to:
- Transparency: Explaining our methodology and reasoning
- Continuous improvement: Updating our analysis as political dynamics evolve
- Balanced approach: Not favoring any political perspective in our analysis
- User feedback: Incorporating corrections when our analysis misses important context
See political bias analysis in action. Download The Balanced News app free for iOS and Android.
Related Reading:
- What is Lens Score? - How we identify underreported news
- Political Bias in Indian Media 2025 - Where major outlets fall on the spectrum
- How to Identify Media Bias - Learn to spot political slants yourself
