Credibility Comparison
CNN vs Fox News: Which Is More Credible?
CNN and Fox News are two of the most recognized names in American television news. Here is what an evidence-based analysis of their actual journalistic practices shows.
What we evaluate
PressGrade scores every media figure and outlet on five behavioral criteria: Factual Accuracy, Correction Culture, Source Transparency, Content Integrity, and Editorial Independence.
Read our full methodology →What the evidence shows about CNN
CNN's hard news reporting generally meets basic journalistic standards, and its factual accuracy record is stronger than Fox News. Its ownership structure is publicly known and its sourcing is generally identifiable. However, CNN has struggled with the blurring of news and opinion in its programming, and its correction culture is not always consistent in prominence.
What the evidence shows about Fox News
Fox News has more extensive documented credibility concerns than CNN. Its factual accuracy record includes a higher volume of claims rated false or misleading by independent fact-checkers. The 2020 Dominion Voting Systems defamation settlement raised significant questions about its internal standards.
Key differences
- •CNN has a stronger factual accuracy record than Fox News based on independent fact-checker assessments.
- •Fox News has a significantly weaker correction culture than CNN.
- •Both networks blur news and opinion, but Fox News does so more extensively.
- •CNN's hard news division operates with higher journalistic standards than its opinion programming.
- •Fox News's editorial independence is more compromised by documented audience capture.
The bottom line
CNN has real credibility weaknesses but performs meaningfully better than Fox News across the criteria that most directly predict trustworthiness.
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