NewsGuard

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

NewsGuard provides reliability ratings for news and information websites to help users discern trustworthy sources and steer clear of misinformation and disinformation. Its scores, summarized as Nutrition Labels, are visible next to links on search engines and social media, covering websites accounting for 95% of online news engagement.

Rated by experienced journalists using nine apolitical criteria, each site receives a trust score from 0 to 100, with ratings from “High Credibility” to “Proceed with Caution.” The detailed Nutrition Label reveals ownership, financing, content integrity, transparency, and site history. NewsGuard is intended for personal use, ensuring that users make informed decisions about the news they consume, promoting media literacy and trustworthiness online.

By:
https://newsguardtech.com
Users:
40,000+
Rating:
3.59
(520)
1 new ratings
Version:
5.9 Last updated: 2025-01-23
Creation date:
2020-06-15
Risk:
High risk impact Moderate risk likelihood
Permissions:
  • tabs
  • storage
  • nativeMessaging
Host permissions:
  • https://*/*
  • http://*/*
Size:
1.65M
Email:
se*****@newsguardtech.com
URLs:
Website ,Privacy policy
Full description:
See detailed description
Source:
Chrome Web Store
Updated:
a day ago

Other platforms

NewsGuard (v5.9)
2,019+ 3.34 (248)
NewsGuard (v5.9.6)
25,208+ 4.60 (195)

User reviews

NewsGuard is praised for its transparent and detailed journalistic assessments that aid users in discerning credible news sources amid widespread misinformation. It offers an affordable subscription with easy cancellation and serves as a useful starting point for critical evaluation of online news. However, users frequently criticize its subscription paywall and perceive a left-leaning bias in ratings, questioning its overall reliability. Some report inaccuracies in news site ratings and usability challenges, highlighting the need for further improvements and greater accountability.
Pros
  • Provides objective journalistic standards and detailed, well-sourced reviews of news sites.
  • Helps users identify misinformation and fake news in an era dominated by social media algorithms and bots.
  • Easy to cancel after free trial and affordability are appreciated.
  • Transparent ratings and growing database of news sources improve its utility.
  • Useful starting point for assessing news credibility and developing critical thinking about misinformation.
Cons
  • Requires a paid subscription after a free trial; many users expressed frustration about paywall and unclear subscription details.
  • Perceived bias toward left-leaning or liberal perspectives by numerous users; some consider it unreliable or politically motivated.
  • Not all news sources are rated accurately, with some users reporting errors or outdated information.
  • Activation or usability issues reported by some, including the need to restart browsers.
  • Limited accountability beyond the organization's internal standards causes concern about potential manipulation or bias.
Recent 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

NewsGuard is probably trust-worthy. Prefer other publishers if available. Exercise caution when installing this extension.

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