NewsGuard

NewsGuard's rating shields and labels help users know which news and information websites to trust.

NewsGuard - Rating Shields & Labels for Trustworthy News

NewsGuard is a Chrome extension that provides reliability ratings for news and information sources, helping users make informed decisions about which news sources to trust and avoid misinformation and disinformation. Ratings, scores, and Nutrition Labels for websites are displayed next to links on search engines and social media platforms.
Install from Chrome Web Store

Extension stats

Manifest V3
Users: 40,000+
Rating: 3.60
(519)
Version: 5.9 (Last updated: 2025-01-23)
Creation date: 2020-06-15
Permissions:
  • tabs
  • storage
  • nativeMessaging
Host permissions:
  • https://*/*
  • http://*/*
Size: 1.65M
Full description: See detailed description

Other platforms

Not available on Android
NewsGuard (v5.9)
2,224+ 3.33 (246)
NewsGuard (v5.9.6)
26,387+ 4.60 (195)

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Credible and trustworthy organization founded by established journalists
  • Objective journalistic standards used for assessing news sources
  • Provides detailed and well-sourced ratings on news websites
  • Useful resource for identifying reliable news sources amidst misinformation
  • Affordable subscription model with a free trial available
Cons
  • Subscription-based service with a paywall
  • Accusations of left-leaning bias
  • Users report difficulty accessing or activating the extension
  • Noted for potentially unreliable ratings and favoritism
  • Concerns regarding lack of accountability and potential manipulation
Most mentioned
  • Subscription model with paywall
  • Perceived bias, particularly towards left or political agendas
  • Transparent ratings and objective criteria
  • Credibility and trustworthiness of the organization
  • Difficulty in accessing and using the extension effectively
User reviews
After researching, the credibility of this company is solid, it was founded by established and trusted journalists and continues to be endorsed by them. They use objective journalistic standards to judge the websites and for the most part they do a great job. It is affordably priced and easy to cancel after your free-trial. However, considering the level of influence they have, there is a lot that is left out and they don't seem to be held accountable by anything other than the pride of accredited journalists and the AP (which is hefty at least). This leaves a worrying amount of room for bias or manipulation which will hopefully be remedied, HOWEVER, thus far the ratings are very accurate and well substantiated and anyone saying otherwise is silly and doesn't know how to read... It's not a definitive good or bad, but it's certainly a very useful starting place considering all the fake news to sift through.
by Annemarie Graham, 2025-01-22

If you needed an indication of the reliability of this service, just look at the negative reviews. Note how extreme they are and the content of their complaints. Thanks to this site's transparency and objective criteria, Its pretty obvious these ham-fisted reviews are nothing but unprincipled, futile attempts to diminish Newsguard's brand.
by Charlie Rudd, 2025-01-19

Absolutely necessary in an era where SM algorithms select for outrage and sensationallism, and the manipulations of foreign governments acting in bad faith have degraded the public forum with bots promoting unsourced garbage. False allegations are routinely and successfully disguised as statements of fact, such that 3 in 10 americans still believe the result of the 2020 election was fraudulent. Recently Newsguard's nutrition guide saved me from wasting days parsing BS from Zerohedge.com. Yeah, it's subscription, something like $5/mo but well worth every penny.
by Dan Kershaw, 2024-11-19
View all user reviews

Extension safety

Risk impact

NewsGuard requires some sensitive permissions that could impact your browser and data security. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details
  • Critical Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.
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Risk likelihood

We don't have sufficient data to confidently determine the risk likelihood of NewsGuard. Use it at your own risk.

Risk likelihood analysis details
  • High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
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Promo images

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