Whether you like it or not, the five major glossy tabloids — Us Weekly, InTouch, Life & Style, Star and OK! — are still among the highest-selling periodicals, in spite of the fact that many readers know much of what’s printed between those magazines’ covers is stretching the truth, if not outright fiction. But the next time you’re stuck at the airport newsstand and you can’t decide which “Baby Time For Jen Aniston” cover to buy, there is now some guidance.

Our former distant cousins at Gawker did their best to impersonate our current kin at Consumer Reports when they decided to semi-scientifically investigate which of the above-mentioned rags lies the least.

It’s not surprising that only one of the five tabs — Us Weekly — contained more than 50% factually accurate content. From there, it’s a steep dip to second place with Life & Style, with a mere 34% overall accuracy rating. Oddly enough, L&S’s sister publication InTouch only came up with 21% accuracy. Bringing up the rear in shameful fashion were OK! and Star, with ratings of 14% and 12%, respectively.

But in these tough economic times, you also have to ask the question of which one of these magazines, ranging in price from $2.99 to $3.99, gets you the most truthiness for your purchasing dollar.

So we took Gawker’s overall accuracy percentage for each mag and divided it by the cover price to figure out just how much truth you get per dollar spent:

Us Weekly
Cover price: $3.99
Overall accuracy: 59%
Truth/dollar: 14.79

Life & Style
Cover price: $2.99
Overall accuracy: 34%
Truth/dollar: 11.37

InTouch
Cover price: $2.99
Overall accuracy: 21%
Truth/dollar: 7.02%

OK!
Cover price: $3.49
Overall accuracy: 14%
Truth/dollar: 4.01%

Star
Cover price: $3.99
Overall accuracy: 12%
Truth/dollar: 3.01%

Which Tabloids Lie the Most? [Gawker.com]

Thanks to Meatball for the tip!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.