Not surprised……
AI Overview
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HuffPost is considered a legitimate news source, but its credibility is often debated due to its strong left-leaning bias, sensationalist headlines, and a history of blending original reporting with aggregated content and opinion blogs
. Its ownership by BuzzFeed since 2020 has also been a factor in discussions about its direction.
Reputation factors
Claim to legitimacy
Pulitzer Prize: In 2012, The Huffington Post (as it was then known) won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, an achievement that solidified its standing as a serious journalistic enterprise.
Journalistic standards: The company states that it is committed to accuracy, transparency, and thorough sourcing. Its policy includes issuing corrections for errors and retracting articles only after extensive review.
Factors influencing credibility
Political bias: Media bias watchdog AllSides rates HuffPost as "Left," noting a tendency toward sensationalism and using critical framing when covering Republicans or conservative issues. A 2023 AllSides independent review found evidence of slant, spin, emotionalism, and omission of opposing viewpoints.
Fact-checking record: Media Bias Fact Check, an independent fact-checking group, has rated HuffPost as having "Mixed" factual reporting, citing some failed fact checks and promotion of pseudoscience.
Aggregation and opinion: From its founding, HuffPost has mixed original reporting with syndicated content and opinion pieces from unpaid bloggers, which some argue lowers its overall journalistic quality. Critics have argued that this model contributed to the decline of professional journalism.
Sensationalism: HuffPost has been frequently criticized for using clickbait headlines that over-promise or sensationalize stories to drive traffic.
Reader trust
According to a 2025 Pew Research Center poll, HuffPost commands low public trust. Only 8% of Americans say they trust it, while 18% say they distrust it.
Among political groups, trust is heavily polarized. An August 2025 AllSides report found that only 2% of Republicans or Republican-leaning voters trust HuffPost, compared to 13% of Democrats or Democratic-leaning voters.
Conclusion
While HuffPost engages in professional journalism and has received a prestigious award for its reporting, its legitimacy is tempered by its clear progressive bias, documented issues with fact-checking, and the blurring of lines between journalism, aggregation, and opinion. To assess an individual HuffPost article, it is best to consider the author, read beyond the headline, and cross-reference the information with other sources.