Ad Fontes Media rates news outlets on reliability and political bias using a mixed human‑and‑AI methodology, and provides the results via an interactive Media Bias Chart®, downloadable charts, and API feeds. These data products help educators, advertisers, platforms, and publishers assess content quality, improve media‑literacy curricula, and target ads more effectively.
Funding
$4.2M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
1OAVFounders
Product
Problem
Consumers, educators, advertisers, and platforms struggle to assess the reliability and political bias of the vast amount of news content available online, leading to misinformation, polarized consumption, and inefficient ad targeting.
Solution
Ad Fontes Media addresses this gap by systematically rating news sources on two dimensions—reliability and bias—using a methodology that combines human analysts from across the political spectrum with AI assistance. The resulting Media Bias Chart® and underlying data are offered through interactive web tools, downloadable static charts, and API access. Subscribers can search, filter, and request custom ratings for specific articles, while publishers can obtain real‑time score feeds and certification badges to demonstrate quality to advertisers. Educational and business customers receive multi‑user licenses, lesson‑plan resources, and integration options that support media‑literacy curricula and data‑driven advertising decisions. By monetizing these data products and services, Ad Fontes Media creates a sustainable ecosystem that helps stakeholders navigate the news landscape with greater confidence.
Target Audience
Primary customers include individual news consumers and media‑literacy enthusiasts, educators and schools, advertisers and ad‑tech platforms, and news publishers seeking quality certification and data-driven editorial insights.
Features
- Human‑curated reliability and bias scores generated by analysts representing a full political spectrum, supplemented by AI‑assisted article evaluation
- Interactive Media Bias Chart® with searchable source database, daily/monthly/yearly query limits, and visual positioning of outlets on a two‑dimensional grid
- downloadable static chart versions under non‑commercial and commercial licenses for personal, educational, and business use
- API and data platform delivering real‑time article scores, bulk source datasets, and custom rating requests for publishers and advertisers
- Certified Reliable News Source badge program for outlets scoring ≥36 reliability and ≤±12 bias, usable in marketing and ad‑tech contexts
- Educational toolkit including lesson plans, methodology training, and classroom activities to support media‑literacy programs
- Multi‑user licensing and enterprise plans that include unlimited searches, integration support, and dedicated customer service