LONDON: There is widespread and systemic anti-Muslim bias across British media in 2025, with a cluster of right-wing outlets responsible for the most severe and persistent harmful coverage, a new report from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) shows.
Analysing 40,913 articles published across 30 major news outlets, The State of British Media 2025: Reporting on Muslims and Islam is the largest of its kind in the UK – unveiled at a media event in the House of Commons on Monday night.
The speakers panel included Faisal Hanif, CfMM Media Analyst, Dominic Ponsford, Press Gazette, Kevin Maguire, The Mirror, Zahera Harb, Press Recognition Panel, and Professor Tahir Abbas, Aston University.
It finds that biased portrayals of Muslims and Islam are not isolated incidents but structural patterns embedded in significant sections of British journalism.
“As the largest study of its kind ever conducted in the UK, this report presents deeply concerning evidence of structural bias in how Muslims are portrayed in the UK press,” Rizwana Hamid, director of CfMM told Geo News.
“When nearly half of all articles referencing Muslims or Islam are biased, and almost 70% associate Muslims with negative aspects or behaviours, it points to a systemic problem within our media ecosystem. When entire communities are repeatedly framed through lenses of suspicion or threat, it inevitably shapes public attitudes, political debate and the everyday lives of British Muslims.”
Journalist and author Peter Oborne said: “Not all the findings in this report are unexpected. Who would have guessed that the Spectator is the most Islamophobic media outlet in Britain! But this authoritative and fair-minded study is a sobering and scrupulous reminder of the prejudice British Muslims have to endure. And it’s getting worse. Much worse.”
For Britain’s 4 million Muslims, reporting remains a primary source of information for the wider public, influencing social attitudes, policy debates and lived experiences. Unlike previous research based on limited sampling, CfMM’s study conducted a comprehensive quantitative review of all relevant articles published in 2025.
Each article was evaluated against five measurable indicators of bias: 1) negative associations with Muslims or Islam, 2) broad generalisations, 3) misrepresentation or distortion, 4) omission of context or diverse perspectives, and 5) problematic or sensational headlines.
Articles containing two or more indicators were classified as “biased”, while those containing four or five were deemed “very biased”.
The study found that nearly 50% of all articles published about Muslims in the UK (approx. 20,000 pieces) contained varying degrees of bias. With nearly half of all UK media articles about Muslims demonstrating measurable bias in 2025, audiences are routinely denied balanced and accurate information on matters of significant social importance.
Extensive research has shown correlations between negative portrayals of Muslims and rising hate crimes and support for restrictive policies.
Across all 40,913 articles analysed, 70% contain information that associates Muslims and/or Islam with negative aspects or behaviours. Although negative stories about Muslim and Islam are not inherently biased, this high figure of 70% suggests a widespread bias against the Muslim community.
The UK media is churning out negative portrayals of Muslims through the lens of conflict, threat, and controversy.
A distinct cluster of right-wing outlets consistently produced the most biased coverage of Muslims. The most harmful reporting was concentrated among a group of right-wing publications: The Spectator, GB News, The Telegraph, Jewish Chronicle, Daily Express, The Sun, Daily Mail and The Times. These outlets scored worst across all five bias categories, suggesting systematic editorial hostility rather than incidental failures.
The Spectator showed the highest concentration of severe bias against Muslims. Over one in four of the Spectator’s articles were classified as “very biased,” thereby representing the most extreme anti-Muslim framing in the UK media landscape, proportionally speaking.
The Telegraph and Daily Mail published the highest volume of very biased articles about Muslims. While some smaller outlets like the Spectator ranked worse, proportionally speaking, The Telegraph produced the largest number of severely biased articles – followed by the Daily Mail.
Generalisation about Muslims is overwhelmingly a right-wing editorial practice, the study found. The highest rates of sweeping generalisations were found almost exclusively in right-wing outlets: GB News (39%), The Telegraph (32%), Daily Express (24%), The Times (22%), The Sun (21%) and the Daily Mail (20%). By contrast, broadcasters and left-leaning outlets such as the BBC (6%), and The Guardian (11%) recorded substantially lower rates.
Contextual omission is the most widespread form of media failing when it comes to coverage of Muslims and Islam. Contextual omission was found in 44% of biased articles, making it the single most prevalent harmful practice across the dataset. Unlike other categories, this issue extends beyond right-wing media and reflects a broader structural weakness in UK journalism.
GB News has rapidly established itself as one of the most harmful outlets in terms of anti-Muslim bias. Despite its relatively recent launch, GB News ranked among the worst-performing outlets across all bias indicators. Hostile coverage of Muslims is a defining feature of its editorial identity.
The BBC consistently recorded the lowest rates of bias against Muslims. The BBC showed the strongest overall performance across metrics, demonstrating that scale does not require sacrificing editorial standards and that public service obligations provide meaningful constraints on harmful framing.
