# The Guardian Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/guardian/ 18 people recommended The Guardian in Hacker News comments, 12 had mixed feelings and 42 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 12 months, in 16 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say it has a clear left-leaning slant, and its subscription prompts, cookie tracking and ads are a frequent gripe; those who recommend it cite accurate, in-depth reporting and strong long-form writing. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Pushy subscription, cookie and ad prompts (6 comments in the sample): "you have to either pay a subscription fee or accept ALL of their tracking cookies in order to read their articles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48246010)) "It's just weird that I have a better experience if I don't pay than if I do. And it's really expensive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46984673)) "the amount they want for adfree is too expensive for me so I just view it with adblockers again" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48650925)) - Opinionated, editorialized coverage (3 comments in the sample): "they're gratingly opinionated" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49092233)) "The Guardian has its own editorial flavour on tech news, so expect them to use any excuse to bash the subject." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46837537)) "Compared to the Guardian or CNN, the reporting is much less subjective and less editorialized" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48773448)) - Left-leaning slant and bias (2 comments in the sample): "The Guardian is pretty good IMO but does not even pretend not to have a lefty skew." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47263736)) "I've become distrustful of it over the past few years because of how aggressively it panders to my sensibilities and biases." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49614016)) - Accused of propaganda (2 comments in the sample): "When a publication only publishes the "oppresseds" point of view without ever publishing the other view then it is by definition propaganda." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47129644)) "The Guardian is complete propaganda - without exaggeration every single article about this issue has been utter lies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47128747)) ## Why people recommend it - Accurate, good quality reporting (5 comments in the sample): "leans way left, scores highly on accuracy, but, for a lot of leftists, has demonstrated its bias and subservience to the elite narrative" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45874418)) "If one can only read English, I would recommend The Guardian to get real journalism." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46360365)) "The Guardian has decent coverage in addition to the others people have listed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47881516)) - In-depth long-form journalism (2 comments in the sample): "The Economist and The Guardian are about the only serious in-depth sources left" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49613599)) "the Guardian makes place for long form articles that go more in-depth" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49610021)) - Trusted, independent journalism (2 comments in the sample): "if we don't support truly independent, objective, investigative journalism, who will?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47889370)) "it's my most trusted news source" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47439657)) - Better writing than alternatives (2 comments in the sample): "I much prefer The Guardian’s coverage." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46649538)) "their articles just read better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49260798)) ## Other news outlets people recommend - [CNN Lite](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cnn/): 25 recommend, 3 mixed, 48 criticize - [text.npr.org](https://hackerapproved.com/p/text-npr-org/): 23 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize - [Ars Technica](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ars-technica/): 18 recommend, 12 mixed, 55 criticize - [The Verge](https://hackerapproved.com/p/verge/): 11 recommend, 2 mixed, 26 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "The Guardian", https://hackerapproved.com/p/guardian/ (18 recommend, 12 mixed, 42 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.