About PTI
Our Mission
The Political Temperature Index exists to provide an objective, data-driven measurement of political tension in the United States. In an era of polarization and information overload, we believe having a clear, transparent metric helps everyone better understand the political climate.
Why This Matters
Track Trends
See how political tension changes over time and identify patterns around events.
Balance Check
Understand how coverage differs between left and right media sources.
Transparency
Full methodology disclosure so you can understand exactly how scores are calculated.
Non-Partisan
We measure tension, not who's right or wrong. The data speaks for itself.
How It Works
Every day, the Political Temperature Index collects and analyzes thousands of data points to produce a single score representing the current level of US political tension.
Daily Scale
Measured on a 0 to 100 scale, from Frozen to Meltdown
Unique Sources
News feeds, social platforms, congressional votes, court opinions, and cross-validation signals
Sentiment Analysis
Multi-model ensemble scoring across the political spectrum
Daily Updates
Refreshed at 7 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM ET
For full technical details, see the methodology page.
Understanding the Scale
The Political Temperature Index uses seven levels to describe the current state of US political tension. Each level corresponds to a score range and reflects a distinct intensity of political activity.
Frozen
0-14
Virtually no political tension. Rare outside of holiday recesses or periods of strong national unity.
Cool
15-29
Low political activity. Routine governance with minimal partisan conflict or media attention.
Mild
30-44
Normal baseline. Standard legislative activity, typical news coverage, moderate social media discourse.
Warm
45-59
Elevated tension. Active policy debates, contested legislation, or emerging controversies gaining traction.
Hot
60-74
High tension. Major policy fights, significant protests, or divisive events dominating the news cycle.
Boiling
75-89
Crisis-level tension. Major political crisis or highly contentious event dominating all media and public discourse.
Meltdown
90-100
Extreme crisis. Historic-level political upheaval such as impeachment proceedings, contested elections, or national emergencies.
Who Uses PTI
Journalists
Track the political climate to provide context in reporting. Identify whether current tension levels are historically unusual or within normal ranges.
Researchers
Study polarization trends, media bias patterns, and political sentiment with daily data across multiple dimensions.
Educators
Teach media literacy and political engagement using a transparent, data-driven tool that shows how different sources cover the same events.
Concerned Citizens
Get an objective daily snapshot of the political environment without the noise of partisan commentary or social media echo chambers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Political Temperature Index?
The Political Temperature Index (PTI) is a daily measurement of US political tension on a 0-100 scale. It aggregates data from news coverage, social media discourse, congressional voting patterns, court opinions, and more to produce an objective, non-partisan snapshot of the current political climate.
How is the temperature calculated?
The temperature is calculated from five weighted sub-indices: Volume Signal (30%), Coverage Polarization (30%), Story Intensity (20%), Rhetoric Heat (10%), and Legislative Friction (10%). These weights were determined through empirical validation against 870+ historical political events. See our methodology page for full technical details.
What data sources does PTI use?
PTI analyzes 149 unique data sources across 31 integration types: 72 news sources (7 APIs plus 65 RSS feeds including NPR, AP, Reuters, Politico, independent media, Substack commentators, and state political outlets), 60 social sources (5 platform APIs plus 55 YouTube channels across the political spectrum), 11 legislative and judicial sources (Congress.gov, GovTrack, Federal Register, LegiScan, CourtListener, Google Civic, Congressional Record, OpenStates, Regulations.gov, GAO Reports, and SCOTUSblog), campaign finance data from the FEC, economic indicators from FRED, and cross-validation signals from Polymarket, Wikipedia Pageviews, GDELT TV News, and Snopes.
How often is the temperature updated?
The temperature is updated three times daily at 7 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM ET. The data pipeline ingests articles, social posts, congressional votes, and other signals, then runs AI-powered sentiment analysis and clustering before producing the final score.
Is PTI politically biased?
PTI is designed to be strictly non-partisan. We measure tension level, not who is right or wrong. Our source database includes outlets across the full political spectrum with bias ratings based on established fact-checking organizations like AllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check. We monitor left-right source balance and log alerts if the ratio exceeds 70/30 in either direction.
What does a high temperature mean?
A high temperature (60+) indicates elevated political tension driven by a combination of factors: increased news volume, more partisan media coverage, higher toxicity in public discourse, contentious legislative activity, and breaking political events. It reflects the intensity of the political environment, not a judgment on any particular position.
Data Ethics
We are committed to responsible data practices:
- All data sources are publicly available APIs
- No personal data is collected or stored
- Source bias ratings are based on established fact-checking organizations
- We regularly audit our source balance to prevent unintentional bias
- Our full methodology is publicly disclosed
- The temperature measures tension level, not who is right or wrong
- Historical event validation is performed against 870+ real-world events spanning 2015-2026
Contact
Have questions, feedback, or suggestions? We'd love to hear from you.
We welcome feedback on our methodology, data quality, or source coverage. Use our contact form or email us directly at politicaltemperature@proton.me.