Monday, May 25, 2026
Today's Media Report Card
29 articles. 19 outlets. 21% received a D or F.
NBC News earned an A for clear sourcing on oil prices while Townhall received a D for false-dilemma framing of the Iran talks. Left outlets omitted barrel volumes and alternative routes; right outlets skipped Rubio statements and Hormuz framework details. These gaps turned straightforward market and diplomatic stories into incomplete accounts.
Townhall’s D grade for false-dilemma framing on Iran talks stands out as the day’s clearest failure. The outlet presented negotiation and force as the only options while ignoring documented price drops and Rubio’s comments. Readers received advocacy, not reporting.
Grade Distribution
11
2
10
6
0
Every Outlet: Political Lean vs. Propaganda Grade
Dot size = number of articles analyzed. Green = A/B, amber = C, red = D/F.
Outlet Rankings
| # | Outlet | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ▲4 | nbcnews.com | A |
| 2 | new | today.com | A |
| 3 | ▲1 | nypost.com | A |
| 4 | new | theregister.com | A |
| 5 | new | investors.com | A |
| 6 | new | theblaze.com | A |
| 7 | new | thedispatch.com | A |
| 8 | ▼6 | bbc.com | A |
| 9 | ▼6 | independent.co.uk | B |
| 10 | new | newsmax.com | B |
| 11 | ▼10 | cnbc.com | C |
| 12 | ▼6 | theguardian.com | C |
| 13 | new | finance.yahoo.com | C |
| 14 | new | talkingpointsmemo.com | C |
| 15 | new | rawstory.com | C |
| 16 | new | vox.com | C |
| 17 | new | nationalreview.com | C |
| 18 | ▼11 | aljazeera.com | C |
| 19 | new | townhall.com | D |
The A grades went to NBC News, NY Post, and The Register for sticking to verified price data and candidate platforms. Townhall’s three D-rated pieces relied on emotional binaries instead. Center-left Al Jazeera dropped to C through repeated loaded phrasing about the conflict.
Most Common Propaganda Techniques
What Each Side Left Out Today
Left-leaning outlets omitted
- Left reports omitted specific daily barrel volumes still offline after Hormuz closure.
- Coverage skipped alternative shipping routes and wider oil-price effects beyond one sentence.
- Memorial Day pieces failed to cite prior presidential statements for comparison.
- No details appeared on proposed uranium disposal terms or the 60-day timeline.
Right-leaning outlets omitted
- Right coverage omitted current diplomatic statements on the Strait of Hormuz framework.
- Railroad Commission runoff stories ignored candidate platforms and wastewater regulations.
- Memorial Day columns skipped the 1868 national proclamation that formalized the holiday.
How Each Side Spun It
Left-leaning spin
- Al Jazeera repeatedly used “US-Israeli war on Iran” phrasing while relaying statements accurately.
- Raw Story labeled Trump posts a “dark turn” without evidence of broken holiday tradition.
- Vox paired a personal anecdote with unverified claims about transactional views of duty.
Right-leaning spin
- Townhall framed any Iran negotiation as incompatible with sound military doctrine.
- National Review used the Cornyn-Paxton race only to attack Senate Republicans as RINOs.
- Right pieces highlighted the 1866 Columbus observance to emphasize reconciliation themes.
Emotional spotlighting appeared five times across Raw Story, Vox, and National Review, shifting focus from facts to feelings. False-dilemma framing at Townhall and loaded terminology at Al Jazeera further narrowed context. These patterns show outlets choosing tone over completeness on energy and holiday coverage.
Where Outlets Disagreed Most
Huawei unveils LogicFolding chips to challenge Nvidia in China
Oil Slides 5% as Hopes for Iran Deal Ease Energy Fears
Trump Says Iran Deal Close, Tehran Says No Agreement Imminent
The Iran deal story produced the widest split, with left pieces omitting shipping volumes and right pieces ignoring current diplomatic language. Neutral rewrites confirm both Trump’s framework claim and Tehran’s caution were on record. Outlets simply chose which verified element to bury.
Op-eds and neutral rewrites below restore the omitted shipping data, candidate platforms, and price context missing from the graded articles. They show what straightforward reporting could have delivered without spin.
Read what actually happened.
Every story above has been rewritten without the spin. No framing. No omissions. Just the facts.
Read all five, free for 7 days$4.99/mo after trial. Cancel anytime.