Undark
U.S. center-left (science-focused)
Background
Undark launched in March 2016 as a project of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, co-founded by science journalist and KSJ director Deborah Blum and editor Tom Zeller Jr. The outlet was created to fill a gap in rigorous, long-form science journalism at a time when many traditional newsroom science desks were shrinking. It operates as an editorially independent publication under KSJ@MIT's nonprofit umbrella, with the Knight Foundation as its principal funder; funders have no editorial role. Over its first decade, Undark built a reputation for in-depth investigative and narrative reporting, winning recognition including the 2018 George K. Polk Award in Environmental Reporting. Its work is regularly republished by outlets such as The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, NPR, and Slate, extending its reach well beyond its own audience. Media Bias/Fact Check rates it left-center in editorial perspective and high in factual accuracy. Since January 2025, Undark has given sustained and largely skeptical coverage to Trump administration actions affecting the scientific enterprise, including budget cuts to NIH, NASA, and NSF, the weakening of EPA research offices, and the influence of RFK Jr. on public health agencies — framing these as threats to scientific integrity and the public interest.
Sources
- About Undark - Undark Magazine
- Funding Transparency - Undark Magazine
- Editorial Independence - Undark Magazine
- Undark - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
- About KSJ@MIT - Knight Science Journalism @MIT
- From ScienceWriters: Undark debuts | NASW
- Podcast: How to Cover Science Under Trump - Undark
- Undark Magazine - Wikipedia
Profile compiled 2026-08-21; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.