Ad Fontes Media

Overview

Ad Fontes Media is a Colorado-based public benefit corporation and media watchdog best known for its Media Bias Chart, which rates news sources for political bias and reliability. Founded in February 2018 by patent attorney Vanessa Otero, the company describes its mission as rating the news to positively transform media and society.

Key functions and role

Ad Fontes uses teams of politically balanced analysts -- grouped in pods of a left-leaning, center and right-leaning rater -- to evaluate individual news articles and plot them on the Media Bias Chart according to reliability and political bias. The company sells an interactive version of the chart along with source-level data, brand-safety analysis for advertisers, and educational workshops and consulting on news literacy for schools and businesses.

History

Vanessa Otero, a Denver-area patent attorney, first published the Media Bias Chart on her blog in October 2016, and it circulated widely online in the following months. She founded Ad Fontes Media in February 2018 to formalize and improve the chart's methodology, and in the fall of 2020 left her legal career to lead the company full-time. In June 2025, the Federal Trade Commission issued civil investigative demand letters to Ad Fontes and other media rating firms as part of a broader inquiry into how such firms evaluate news sources for misinformation and other content categories.

Political positions

Ad Fontes presents the Media Bias Chart as a nonpartisan tool and states that its rating methodology draws on analysts across the political spectrum. The chart's ratings have drawn criticism from both the political left and right; some right-leaning media figures, including Infowars founder Alex Jones, have accused the chart of liberal bias, while some academic critics have questioned its methodology as oversimplified.

Leadership

Vanessa Otero serves as Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Location and contact info

Address
5442 W. 97th Place
Westminster, CO 80020, USA
Phone
(720) 222-9642
Email
info@adfontesmedia.com
Website
https://adfontesmedia.com