CNN vs MSNBC: Which Is More Credible?

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.

What the evidence shows about CNN

CNN's factual accuracy record on hard news is generally solid, and it has invested in fact-checking infrastructure. Its main weaknesses are in content integrity and correction culture.

What the evidence shows about MSNBC

MSNBC has a comparable factual accuracy record to CNN and a somewhat stronger correction culture. Its main weakness is editorial independence.

Key differences

• •MSNBC has a slightly stronger correction culture than CNN.
• •CNN's hard news reporting is somewhat more politically balanced.
• •Both networks have content integrity weaknesses.
• •MSNBC's editorial independence score is more affected by audience capture.
• •CNN has faced more high-profile credibility failures in recent years.

The bottom line

CNN and MSNBC are relatively close in overall credibility. CNN performs better on editorial independence while MSNBC performs better on correction culture.