Is Mail Online a reliable source?
This is how independent third parties assess the credibility and media bias of this source.
OVERALL RATING:30 +, 139 -
Mail Online scores a total of 30 Plus Points and 139 Minus Points in our evaluation of journalistic quality.
This corresponds to a score of 20* resp. the grade F (insufficient).
*: (30 + 5 BP) * 100 / (30 + 5 BP + 139 + 5 BP)
This corresponds to a score of 20* resp. the grade F (insufficient).
| Grade | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| very good | A+ | > 89 |
| A | 89 - 84 | |
| A− | 83 - 79 | |
| good | B+ | 78 - 74 |
| B | 73 - 67 | |
| B− | 66 - 62 | |
| satisfactory | C+ | 61 - 56 |
| C | 55 - 49 | |
| C− | 48 - 44 | |
| sufficient | D+ | 43 - 39 |
| D | 38 - 32 | |
| poor | D− | 31 - 26 |
| insufficient | F | < 26 |
Grade composition
The overall rating is made up of the following individual ratings from independent third parties:
Press Council Rulings66 -
Press councils are national institutions of media self-regulation. Press councils have their own defined press code. Reprimands are issued in the event of a violation of the press code (e.g. for truthfulness, diligence, sensationalism, separation of advertising and editorial, personal rights). For each reprimand issued by a national press council, a source receives one minus point.
- "00006-21 Hackett v Hull Daily Mail"
- "00342-17 Pandor v Daily Mail"
- "00797-21 Sloane v Mail Online"
- "00879-16 Coutts v Daily Mail"
- "01200-22 Various v Mail Online"
- "01325-24 Raja v Mail Online"
- "01400-22 Jesus College Cambridge v Daily Mail"
- "01432-21 Agbetu v Mail Online"
- "01443-22 Risk Management Authority v Scottish Daily Mail"
- "01450-16 Miscavige v Mail Online"
- "01722-17 HRH Prince Henry of Wales v Mail Online"
- "01909-22 Walker v Daily Mail"
- "01984-21 A woman v Mail Online"
- "02283-18 Premier Inn v Mail Online"
- "02643-21 James v Mail Online"
- "02644-21 Metropolitan Police v Mail Online"
- "02678-20 Walker v Daily Mail"
- "02706-21 Roberts v Mail Online"
- "02739-21 Matinvesi v Mail Online"
- "02745-21 Ormerod v Daily Mail"
- "02821-18 Sivier v Mail Online"
- "03193-16 Versi v Mail Online"
- "03308-21 Reed v Mail Online"
- "04051-16 Dartington v Daily Mail"
- "04364-18 Virgin Trains v Mail Online"
- "04369-21 Brundrett & Bailey v Mail Online"
- "04455-16 HRH Princess Beatrice of York v Mail Online"
- "04846-18 MacLeod v Mail Online"
- "04929-24 Ward v Daily Mail"
- "05072-19 Smith v Daily Mail"
- "05228-18 Versi v Daily Mail"
- "05351-24 Various v Mail Online"
- "05653-18 Crichton v Mail Online"
- "05684-21 Khoram-Scotts and Scotts v Mail Online"
- "05768-18 Solomon v Mail Online"
- "06134-21 Vass v Mail Online"
- "06837-18 Chapman v Mail Online"
- "07188-18 Jones v Mail Online"
- "07403-21 Foster v Mail Online"
- "07404-21 Foster v Hull Daily Mail"
- "07543-18 White v Mail Online"
- "09335-19 Dyson Technology Limited v Mail Online"
- "09539-19 A Woman v Hull Daily Mail"
- "09771-19 Reynolds v Mail Online"
- "09810-16 Hales v Mail Online"
- "10073-21 Various v Mail Online"
- "10091-21 Williams v Hull Daily Mail"
- "10893-20 The Centre for Media Monitoring v Mail Online"
- "11837-21 North East Ambulance Service v Mail Online"
- "12132-20 A man v Hull Daily Mail"
- "13903-16 Versi v Mail Online"
- "14369-23 The MacDougall family v Mail Online"
- "16236-17 Ahmed v Daily Mail"
- "16770-23 Abbas v Mail Online"
- "16830-17 Warwickshire Police v Daily Mail"
- "18473-23 Clunes v Mail Online"
- "19841-17 A Man v Mail Online"
- "20380-17 Various v Mail Online"
- "20887-17 A Man v Mail Online"
- "20912-17 Khan v Daily Mail"
- "20993-23 Mallabourn v Mail Online"
- "21092-23 Joyce v Mail Online"
- "22679-23 Nicholls v Mail Online"
- "27813-20 Steinhardt v Mail Online"
- "27994-20 Odewale and Yadav v Mail Online"
- "28947-20 Laker v Daily Mail"
IPSO (UK)
Fact Checkers27 -
We primarily use fact-checkers affiliated with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). We have linked to the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers' code of principles in the headline. For each failed fact-checker there is one minus point.
- "FACT CHECK: No, Target Is Not Offering ‘Tuck-Friendly’ Bathing Suits For Children"
- "Fact-check: Russian convoy north of St Petersburg was not carrying Iskander missiles"
- "Data doesn’t show parents will ‘insist’ on children wearing masks to school – Full Fact"
- "New antibody tests are not 100% accurate on all measures - Full Fact"
- "Pfizer vaccine effective, though not as effective as newspapers suggest – Full Fact"
- "Daily Mail report on GPs seeing fewer patients on Fridays needs more context – Full Fact"
- "Health doesn’t account for 40% of day-to-day public spending – Full Fact"
- "What’s the deal with NHS pay rises? – Full Fact"
- "We can’t say how many people are ‘hooked on’ prescription drugs - Full Fact"
- "Study linking sleep time and heart disease risk shows correlation not causation – Full Fact"
- "The WHO hasn’t said women should be banned from drinking - Full Fact"
- "The media must stop using misleading headlines - Full Fact"
- "Study does not find ‘short breaks induce mental exhaustion’"
- "The Emails of Hunter Biden do not Prove the Funding for Producing Bio-Weapons in Ukraine"
- "Unsupported Claim About Biden Paying Rent for 'Illegal Immigrants' - FactCheck.org"
- "ATF nominee Chipman was not at the 1993 siege in Waco"
- "Page not found – PolitiFact"
- "What Google Trends tell us (and doesn't) about Brexit vote"
- "FACT CHECK: Are Vigilante Protesters Digging Up Confederate Graves After Charlottesville Clashes?"
- "Is Using 'Bug Spray' to Get High an Alarming New Trend?"
- "FACT CHECK: Did 'Melbourne Antifa' Claim Responsibility for the Las Vegas Massacre?"
- "FACT CHECK: Did the Daily Mail Delete a Story Reporting the U.S. Planned to Blame Assad for 'False Flag' Chemical Attacks?"
- "FACT CHECK: Did a White House Intern Make the 'White Power' Hand Gesture?"
- "Is Target Offering 'Tuck-Friendly' Bathing Suits for Kids?"
- "No, This Is Not a Photo of Biden's ATF Nominee David Chipman at Waco"
- "WHO Isn't Banning 'Women of Childbearing Age' from Drinking Alcohol"
- "How Much of a Threat Is the Purported 'Momo Challenge' Suicide Game?"
Media Bias/Fact Check5 +, 15 -
Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) is an American fact-checking website founded in 2015. It uses a 0-10 scale to rate sites on two areas: bias and factual accuracy. A source rated by MBFC with minimal bias gets 10 plus points. Maximum bias gets 10 minus points. The same principle applies to factual accuracy.
- "Right"
Bias Rating
- "Low"
Factual Reporting
Ad Fontes Media7 +, 13 -
Ad Fontes Media, Inc. is a media watchdog organization based in Colorado that is best known for its Media Bias Chart, which ranks media sources based on political bias and reliability. We combine their ratings of individual articles and episodes to create a weighted average, with low-rated items increasingly weighted higher.
- "Very low"
Reliability (Weighted Average)
- "Low Bias"
Bias (Weighted Average)
Journalism Awards14 +
Journalism prizes are awards for excellent journalistic work in the period covered by the call for entries, which is usually one or two years. Sources receive one plus point for each journalistic award won that we track. We currently track up to three prestigious awards per country.
- "Sports Journalism: Matt Lawton (Daily Mail): His investigation into a leading cyclist's missed drugs tests was brave, influential and changed the British cycling story before the Olympics."
- "Photojournalism: Philip Ide (Mail on Sunday): His photographs documented a crucial moment in the Brexit story and provided powerful visual testimony to history."
- "Innovation of the Year: Harry Lewis-Irlam, Stephen Matthews, Darren Boyle, Rhodri Morgan (Mail Online: Deep Dive): The team created an innovative format that conveyed complex information clearly without overwhelming the audience."
- "Public Service Award: Robert Hardman (Daily Mail): The Mail Force campaign raised funds, sourced and distributed PPE to NHS staff and care workers, demonstrating journalism’s capacity to provide practical solutions."
- "Campaign of the Year: Betrayal of the Brave (Daily Mail): The campaign exposed injustice, gave former translators a voice and held the government accountable."
- "Features Journalism: David Jones (Daily Mail): Evocative feature writing that made powerful points with humour."
- "Sports Journalism: Ian Herbert (Daily Mail): High-quality reporting exposed hidden abuses and serious failings in the world of sport."
- "Investigation of the Year: Susie Coen (Daily Mail): Her gruelling investigation helped force the Government to scrap an expensive and dangerous transport policy, potentially saving lives."
- "Public Service Journalism: Ian Birrell (Mail on Sunday): Birrell reported vividly from Ukraine, challenged prevailing views on Covid-19 and defended same-sex parents, bringing public-interest investigations to a mass audience."
- "Foreign Affairs Journalism: Siân Boyle (Daily Mail): Boyle brought major technology and surveillance issues to mainstream audiences with authoritative, wide-ranging reporting on China’s influence and risks."
- "Scoop of the Year: Sam Greenhill, David Williams (Daily Mail): Their reporting helped expose the Afghan data scandal as part of a wider media effort challenging government secrecy."
- "Popular Journalism: Ian Birrell (Mail on Sunday): His report about a mother smuggling cannabis oil to save her son helped change the law and save lives."
- "Business, Finance and Economics Journalism: Jeff Prestridge (Mail on Sunday): He used business expertise and campaigning journalism to defend consumers against insurers’ unfair penalties for customer loyalty."
- "Campaign of the Year: Larisa Brown, David Williams (Daily Mail): Their campaign sought sanctuary in Britain for Afghan interpreters, combining persistent campaigning with strong journalism on an unexpected cause."
British Journalism Awards
Wikipedia4 +, 8 -
Wikipedia’s reliability was frequently criticized in the 2000s. However, various studies and media reports have noted improvements over time, and in the late 2010s and early 2020s, it was more often praised.
In the scoring model, any positive mention of a source’s credibility or quality in a Wikipedia extract receives a plus point—while negative mentions are treated as minus points.
- "is a British daily middle-market tabloid-size conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London."
"including receiving the National Newspaper of the Year award from The Press Awards nine times since 1994."
"is a British daily middle-market tabloid-size conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London."
"its printing of sensationalist and inaccurate scare stories about science and medical research,"
"its printing of sensationalist and inaccurate scare stories about science and medical research,"
"its printing of sensationalist and inaccurate scare stories about science and medical research,"
"and for instances of plagiarism and copyright infringement."
"and for instances of plagiarism and copyright infringement."
English-speaking
Studies10 -
Most scientific publications, though not all, rely on some form of peer review or editorial review to qualify texts for publication. Sources mentioned in studies which rate media quality and/or reliability receive between 10 plus and 10 minus points.
Are these sources reliable?
theguardian.com
@theguardian.com
Metro.co.uk
@metro.co.uk
The Sun
@thesun.co.uk
Reuters
@reuters.com
USA TODAY
@usatoday.com
CNN
@cnn.com
Daily Mirror
@mirror.co.uk
thetimes.co.uk
@thetimes.co.uk
The National
@thenational.scot
Financial Times
@ft.com
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