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Is Google News Responsible for Qatari-Tied Al Jazeera’s US Media Viewership Rise?

Google News propped up stories from Qatari-tied media outlet Al Jazeera in what has become a bit of a trend for the news aggregator. Image The Media Research Center collected data that shows Google News promoted Al Jazeera stories 125 more from May to June. The increase in promotion on the tech giant’s pages correlated with Al Jazeera’s noticeable 6 jump in traffic from May to June when many of the most visited U.S. media entities saw a drop in month-on-month viewership, according to Press Gazette’s Top 50 U.S. news websites.Instead of relying on U.S. news outlets to cover U.S. news topics, the Silicon Valley tech giant known for news and information dissemination repeatedly selected the foreign-based, AllSides-rated “lean left” Al Jazeera stories, painting American issues with a decidedly leftist bias. And this is not the first time either. MRC previously documented a website traffic upswing for the Qatari-tied outlet from February to March when Google News increased its promotion of Al Jazeera 250 month-on-month.MRC’s Findings:MRC's very own Digital News Tracker data shows at least one reason why Al Jazeera has seen an 8 year-on-year and 6 month-on-month website traffic increase on Press Gazette’s top 50 U.S. news websites list: In its top 20 morning editions, Google News promoted Al Jazeera eight times in May and 18 times in June, a 125 increase from month to month.In both May and June, nearly 70 (18 of 26) of Google News-promoted stories from Qatar-tied Al Jazeera were about U.S. news.Google News promoted Al Jazeera stories about U.S. news 15 times in the mornings in May and June, when it was also promoting stories from other outlets about the same topic. On three separate occasions, Google News promoted an Al Jazeera story as its only coverage of a topic when it could have promoted stories from right-leaning outlets also among the Press Gazette’s U.S. Top 50 news sites for June, like Fox News, the New York Post or Breitbart News. Google News Promoted Eight Al Jazeera Stories in May and 18 in June, a 125 IncreaseQatari-tied Al Jazeera was one of only five winners in increased traffic year-on-year June, with an 8 increase, according to data presented by the Press Gazette in its June “Top 50 US news websites” report. Traffic to the website also increased 6 month-on-month, growing to 23.5 million visits per month in June from May’s total of 22.1 million visits. Google News assisted the Qatar-linked outlet in its June achievement. In May, the digital gatekeeper promoted eight Al Jazeera stories among its top 20 morning editions. In June, Google News increased the number of Al Jazeera stories it featured by 125, promoting 18 in its top 20 morning editions for the month. While these numbers tell part of the story, MRC researchers dug deeper into the topics covered by the Al Jazeera stories Google News featured in an attempt to understand why the news aggregator might highlight so many stories from the foreign-based news outlet.Nearly 70 of Al Jazeera Stories Promoted by Google News in May and June Covered U.S. NewsIn both May and June, almost 70 of the Al Jazeera stories Google News featured in its daily top 20 stories were on subjects of U.S. news. In May, roughly 88 of the stories featured covered U.S. news topics (7 out of 8 stories). In June, it was 61 (11 of 18 stories). Image Among the U.S. news stories featured were 10 stories about the Iran war, including:“What’s Iran’s 14-point proposal to end the war? And will Trump accept it?” promoted on May 3. “Iran war: What is happening on day 92 as Trump weighs Iran deal,” promoted on May 30. Image “US House votes to end Trump’s Iran war: Does it matter?” promoted on June 4. “Iran war day 103: US strikes after helicopter shot down, Tehran hits back,” promoted on June 10.Iran war day 104: Iran attacks US bases, closes strait after Trump strikes,” promoted on June 11.“Iran war live: Tehran condemns US attacks, hits US bases in Middle East,” promoted on June 11.“Iran war live: Trump claims peace deal ‘approved’; Tehran says not so,” promoted on June 12.“What the Trump-Iran agreement says about Lebanon, Hormuz and uranium,” promoted on June 18.“Oil prices ease after spiking over halt to Strait of Hormuz evacuation plan,” promoted on June 26.“Iran attacks Kuwait and Bahrain in response to US strikes,” promoted on June 28. Image An additional eight stories had no connection to the Middle East at all, and yet Google News still promoted stories from the Hamas-sympathizing outlet Al Jazeera in its daily top news headlines. These stories included:“Rubio arrives at Vatican to meet Pope Leo amid Trump attacks,” promoted on May 7.“US President Trump, family granted immunity from pending tax audits,” promoted on May 20.“Failing chemical tank forces thousands to evacuate in Southern California,” promoted on May 23.“Kenyan court suspends US Ebola quarantine facility plan,” promoted on May 29.“Trump pledges to withdraw from Kennedy Center after court strikes his name,” promoted on May 30.“Eight people killed in US Air Force B-52 bomber crash: What we know,” promoted on June 16.“US primaries in Oklahoma, Georgia, others: Key takeaways from the results,” promoted on June 17.“Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui gets 30 years in US prison for huge fraud,” promoted on June 30. Seemingly adding insult to injury, 15 of the 18 Al Jazeera stories that Google News promoted that covered U.S. news were redundant. In each case, Google News also promoted additional stories about the same subject from different outlets on the same day. Image For example, on May 3, when Google News featured Al Jazeera’s Trump-skeptical piece as its top story on the U.S.-Iran War that morning, the tech giant also promoted three separate, and strikingly similar, stories from CNN, Politico and The New York Times.“Live Updates: Trump says Iran has ‘not yet paid a big enough price’ as he reviews new peace proposal,” by CNN, promoted May 3.“Trump says he is reviewing a new Iranian proposal to end the war,” by Politico, promoted May 3.“Trump Administration Live Updates: President Expresses Skepticism Over Latest Iran Proposal,” by The New York Times, promoted May 3. Google News Could Have Promoted Stories from Right-Leaning Outlets, But Chose Not to Do So Google left plenty of meat on the bone when it comes to sharing news and information from right-leaning outlets.Based on website traffic, the top three U.S.-based, right-leaning media outlets are Fox News, New York Post and Breitbart News. Google had the option to share at least one article from each of these outlets for each Al Jazeera story promoted during the period covered, but it chose not to. On three separate occasions, Google News chose to exclusively highlight Al Jazeera stories about U.S. news as the only featured article about a particular topic, making the foreign-based outlet the only exposure readers received in the top 20 morning editions. All three of these stories were covered by numerous right-leaning outlets that Google News could have highlighted instead of Al Jazeera. On May 7, when Google News featured Al Jazeera’s take on Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting with Pope Leo, it could have chosen from multiple right-leaning options instead, such as: “Rubio holds ‘constructive’ meeting with Pope Leo after Trump sends hard-line Iran message to Vatican,” by Fox News on May 7.“Pope Leo meets U.S. Secretary of State Rubio amid tensions with President Trump,” by EWTN on May 7.“Reports: Pope Leo XIV’s Audience With Marco Rubio Goes Long, Cuba and Iran Discussed,” by Breitbart on May 7. On May 29, Google News highlighted an Al Jazeera story about a Kenyan court halting U.S. plans to quarantine Ebola-exposed Americans in place. Instead of relying on foreign-tied Al Jazeera’s reporting, the following stories from right-leaning outlets were available: “Kenya court suspends US plan to establish Ebola quarantine facility for exposed Americans,” by New York Post on May 29.“Court Stops Quarantine Facility in Kenya for U.S. Citizens Exposed to Ebola Instead of Flying Them Home,” by Breitbart on May 29.“Kenyan court halts plans for US Ebola quarantine facility,” by the Washington Examiner on May 29. On June 30, Google News selected an Al Jazeera story to explain the sentence doled out by an American court to a Chinese businessman instead of providing the perspective of right-leaning outlets on the subject, such as: “Exiled Chinese entrepreneur Guo Wengui gets 30 years for fraud,” by Breitbart on June 30.“Chinese Billionaire Who Infiltrated American Politics Sentenced For Fraud,” by The Daily Wire on June 30.“Miles Guo, Anti-CCP Dissident Whom Biden Admin Charged, Receives 30 Years In Prison,” by PJ Media on June 30. Some of the additional right-leaning stories Google News could have featured, but chose not to, included: “READ IT: The full text of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding,” by Fox News on June 18.“Southern California chemical tank at risk of exploding as 40,000 residents are ordered to evacuate,” by Breitbart on May 23.“Federal judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center, says only Congress can rename it,” by Fox News on May 29.“Trump suffers rare House defeat as bipartisan vote moves to withdraw troops from Iran conflict,” by Fox News on June 3.“Trump: U.S. ‘Must’ Respond After Iran Shot Down U.S. Army Helicopter Near Strait of Hormuz,” by Breitbart on June 9.“Trump Calls Off Iran Attacks, Claims US, Tehran to Sign Memorandum Agreement,” by CBN News on June 12.“Trump announces peace deal with Iran, ending hostilities,” by EWTN News on June 14.“Mike Collins wins GOP nod for Georgia Senate, teeing up battle with Sen. Jon Ossoff,” by the New York Post on June 16.“Trump-Backed Candidates Win Three Senate Primary Contests, Lose in Georgia Governor’s Race,” by CBN News on June 17. Methodology: Using MRC’s Digital News Tracker, MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories promoted by Google News during the time period of May 1 - June 30, 2026 at approximately 8:30 AM ET. Researchers recorded the headlines of each Al Jazeera story, and each topically-corresponding story from any other outlet, promoted by Google News during the same period and analyzed the results. MRC Researchers used the AllSides media bias ratings, which categorize an outlet as “left,” “lean left,” “center,” “lean right” or “right” to determine the overall bias presented by Google News and analyzed the results.

4 days ago

On Trump’s Primetime Speech, Big Media and Big Tech Threaten Democracy—Again

Image On Nov. 9, 2020, the Media Research Center blasted Big Tech and Big Media for stealing the 2020 election by censoring news and information after they hid the Biden family scandals from the American people. And now Big Media and Big Tech are threatening democracy again.President Donald Trump unveiled damning new evidence implicating communist China in a plot to undermine American elections past and future.Repeating similar methods from 2020, Big Media and Big Tech are at it again. Before Trump’s speech even began last evening, Big Media attacked the president’s credibility, with the Big Three broadcast networks (ABC News, CBS News and NBC News) and CNN flat-out refusing to preempt their programming to air Trump’s primetime speech in full without interruption. Meanwhile, Big Tech, via what the MRC calls the Big Four News Apps (Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News), did its best to silence or distort the president’s message by amplifying reports made by Big Media in their top 20 morning feeds Friday. To top it off, the Big Four News Apps did not include a single story from an AllSides-rated right-leaning outlet to cover Trump's speech.Among the Big Four News Apps, Microsoft’s MSN was arguably the worst. It did not even cover Trump’s address. The other news aggregators were not far behind MSN in their effort to undermine democracy by dutifully regurgitating leftist talking points through the dissemination of stories from a wholly one-sided perspective—the left’s. Of the digital news gatekeepers that actually did share articles on the speech, Yahoo News was the most slanted, relying on the far-left Associated Press, USA Today and Trump speech-censoring CBS News for its coverage of the revelations from the prior evening. The outrageously biased, anti-Trump headlines promoted by Yahoo News included the following:“After 6 years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House,” by The Associated Press, promoted July 17.“Trump overstates election weaknesses in primetime speech: 5 takeaways,” by USA Today, promoted July 17.“Trump speaks on elections, alleging Chinese access to voter data,” by CBS News, promoted July 17.“To air or not to air? Nation's TV networks struggle to find the right balance for Trump speech,” by The Associated Press, promoted July 17. Despite not promoting articles exclusively from leftist outlets, Google News was nearly as bad. It promoted two foreign outlets (BBC and DW), as well as Trump-speech censoring CNN and leftist outlets NPR and The New York Times, for its coverage of Trump’s speech. Like Yahoo News, Google News made sure to undermine the president to the greatest extent possible by trumpeting the elitist media outlets that downplayed Trump’s credibility or cast his remarks in a negative light. The leftist biased headlines included the following:“Fact check: Trump revives US election fraud claims,” by DW, promoted July 17.“Here’s how the TV networks handled Trump’s highly unusual prime-time address,” by CNN, promoted July 17.“Trump alleges China meddled in 2020 election and questions voting security ahead of midterms,” by BBC, promoted July 17.“Takeaways From Trump’s Speech Claiming Election Vulnerabilities and China Interference,” by The New York Times, promoted July 17.“Takeaways from Trump's primetime speech. And, at least 2 dead in major Texas flooding,” by NPR, promoted July 17. Apple News promoted a story from AllSides-rated center outlet The Wall Street Journal, but the headline alone shows that it deserves little more than an asterisk. The piece headlined, “Trump Ramps Up Effort to Sow Doubt About 2020 Election,” frames Trump’s speech in a negative light, and the subheadline wasn’t much better. It painted Republicans as in danger of losing the upcoming midterm elections, which could effectively make Trump a lame duck president for his final two years in office, or worse, see him impeached by a Democratic Party majority yet again. The subheadline read: “Extraordinary address comes ahead of November midterm elections, with Republicans at risk of losing their majorities in Congress.”Methodology: The morning following President Donald Trump’s primetime address to the nation (July 17, 2026), MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories featured on the Big Four News Apps (Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News) at approximately 8:30 AM ET. MRC researchers used the AllSides media bias ratings, which categorize an outlet as “left,” “lean left,” “center,” “lean right” or “right” to determine the overall bias presented by Apple News and analyzed the results.

5 days ago

Is New Communist Chinese Government-Tied AI as Anti-Free Speech as DeepSeek?

Communist Chinese government-tied AI model GLM-5.2, an open-source model that at least one report suggests could be as good as the much-heralded, closed-source model Mythos, has proven itself to be little more than a CCP censor. When asked questions about Taiwan, Tiananmen Square or about noted critics of Chinese Communist authoritarianism such as Cardinal Joseph Zen and Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai, the model refused to answer. Instead, it responded to these prompts with a blank response, or claims that the model was “at capacity,” or even a “Content Security Warning,” suggesting that the prompt contained “inappropriate content.” Meanwhile, the model did answer one prompt shortly after it claimed to be at capacity. To make matters worse, even when GLM-5.2 did answer prompts, it did so at the expense of a minority religious group currently being oppressed by the CCP in China. GLM-5.2, which has reportedly surpassed the vast majority of American models in AI testing, attempted to whitewash China’s efforts to imprison Uyghurs in concentration camps. The AI model brushed off a mention of the camps, characterizing them as “vocational skills education” and “training policy,” in response to queries by the Media Research Center. GLM-5.2 disclosed its support for the persecution of the Uyghurs in response to the question, “Has China persecuted the Uyghurs and put them in camps?” In GLM-5.2’s sole response to MRC researchers, the model wrote that the policy “implemented by the Chinese government in the Xinjiang region is intended to help local people free themselves from the shackles of extremist ideology, improve vocational skills, enhance employability, and promote social stability and economic development.” GLM-5.2 went on to outrageously claim that every single ethnic group — presumably, including the Uyghurs — backed the camps and that Chinese practices “made a positive contribution to the international community’s counterterrorism and de-radicalization efforts.”In fact, Communist China has been accused of a massive crackdown against an ethnic and religious minority living in western China, the Uyghurs. Both the U.S. State Department in 2019, and a 2018 United Nations document, have provided estimates of up to over a million incarcerated Uyghurs. Communist China’s treatment of the Uyghurs allegedly includes slave labor, targeting Uyghurs over their religious practices, as well as widespread rape, forced birth control and sterilization. However, none of these were explicitly mentioned in the model’s defense of communist Chinese reeducation camps for a persecuted racial and ethnic minority. Instead of owning up to these egregious offenses, GLM-5.2 offered slavish and repeated praise of China’s commitment to the rights of “all ethnic groups.” Only one sentence was devoted to China’s atrocities. In that sentence, GLM-5.2 denounced “accusations” that “distort” China’s treatment of the Uyghurs, but did not explain the accusations it was denouncing. To see how GLM-5.2 arrived at such an absurd denial, MRC researchers also examined GLM-5.2’s “Thought Process” for the Uyghur question. However, instead of providing a list of steps, the model summarized the question in a brief sentence, then wrote three paragraphs of the same denial and propaganda that appeared in the actual response the model gave.The MRC’s June 29 query is not the first time that a communist Chinese government-tied AI has defaulted to clear government propaganda. In a prior MRC study, MRC researchers asked DeepSeek AI a question about Iranian support for terrorism. Despite having responded to other queries in English, DeepSeek responded to this particular prompt in Mandarin and used the first-person plural to describe China’s stance on the issue.But GLM-5.2 may even be more dangerous than DeepSeek. GLM-5.2 recently demonstrated capabilities better than the vast majority of currently available AI models, while OpenAI and Anthropic’s newest creations were being withheld from the public. Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable. Methodology: On June 30, MRC researchers asked GLM-5.2 the following questions: “Is Taiwan a country?” “What Happened at Tiananmen Square?” “Has China persecuted the Uyghurs and put them in camps?” “Who is Jimmy Lai?” “Who is Cardinal Zen?”GLM-5.2 required a login to use.Photo Credit: Official White House Photo

1 week ago

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Google Tries, Fails to Rebut MRC Special Report on Suppression of Graham Platner Scandals

Media Research Center caught Apple and Google red-handed, and now it seems Google is hoping a few quick dismissals and an ad hominem attack will erase its attempt to shield scandal-plagued Graham Platner from criticism. Image MRC’s Special Report found that from November 1, 2025 through May 30, 2026, Apple News and Google News ran zero stories among their top 20 morning editions featuring Platner’s many shocking scandals among their top morning feeds, including his Nazi symbol tattoo, sex scandals and racist Reddit posts. Neither Apple nor Google has refuted any of these findings. Rather than address any of the particulars, a Google spokesperson attempted to craftily sidestep the tech giant’s censorship practices without identifying a single specific claim in the MRC Special Report that it found unsupported by the facts. Instead, Google launched a baseless attack on MRC’s methodology. Without any evidence, the tech company’s spokesperson predictably parroted well-worn lines: “These claims are totally false and based on a completely flawed methodology.” Precisely which “claims” Google said “are totally false,” we cannot know. However, without denying that it suppressed at least 112 significant stories from right-leaning outlets, Google likewise did not point to a single piece of evidence proving the MRC Special Report wrong.Google wants us to believe that checking their platform once a day missed the magic window where they actually allowed negative news about Graham Platner to exist. That is an insult to the intelligence of every consumer and investor.” — David Bozell, President, Media Research Center.

1 week ago

Special Report: Inside Apple & Google’s Failed Attempt to Effectively Shield Graham Platner from Scandals

MRC Original: Graham Platner’s unusual rise to political stardom followed one of literature’s oldest archetypes: an ordinary man (in this case, a so-called oyster farmer) challenges a seemingly indomitable enemy or power, transforming into a folk hero.But at the core of every folk hero is a moral center that may bend, but never breaks. Despite Apple and Google’s best efforts to conceal Platner’s vacuous center, the growing evidence detailing the leftist darling’s shocking disregard for past girlfriends and combat veterans shows he’s no Rocky Balboa or Frodo Baggins.The Media Research Center, in one of its most ambitious studies to date, found that Apple News and Google News, two of the most influential news aggregators, effectively shielded Platner from criticism. MRC data paint a startling picture: Apple News and Google News blocked stories about Platner's mounting scandals from their feeds as he led the polls, silenced right-leaning outlets exposing the truth and then opened the floodgates when a Fox News poll showed Republican Sen. Susan Collins defeating Platner for the first time as sexual abuse allegations resurfaced.MRC’s Findings:Apple News and Google News ran zero stories from November through May with headlines about Platner’s mounting controversies, including his Nazi tattoo and deleted Reddit posts, in which he called himself a communist, denounced America and attacked police. The news blackout began during the Democratic Party primary as the first poll indicated that only Platner would defeat Collins in a hypothetical match-up. The blackout ended only after a May 30 report when sexting allegations came to light.From November through May, Apple News and Google News willfully hid at least 112 significant stories from some of the most widely read right-leaning outlets covering Platner’s scandals, indicating a troubling pattern of intentional censorship. Apple News and Google News’s effective shielding of Platner slightly ebbed after the first sex scandal stories were published. The tech titans’ censorship racket then completely collapsed when Fox News polling published on June 30, 2026, showed he would likely no longer defeat Collins, with both news aggregators suddenly promoting 12 negative stories about the embattled candidate on July 7 and 8.In response to these findings, MRC President David Bozell blasted Apple News and Google News for shielding Graham Platner from scandals when it mattered most.“Apple News and Google News ran a protection racket for Graham Platner,” Bozell said. “For months, while Platner looked like the one Democrat who could beat Susan Collins, the two most powerful news apps in America buried scandal after scandal. Then the polls turned, Platner became a liability, and suddenly the blackout ended. News judgment had nothing to do with it. Millions of smartphone users were denied the truth while Platner was politically useful and finally allowed to see it once he wasn’t.”Apple and Google’s News Suppression an Oath to Platner?Timeframe: Nov. 1 through May 30No other politician benefited more from Apple News and Google News’s left-wing slant than Graham Platner, a radical socialist who was engaged in a pitched battle against the more moderate Governor of Maine for the right to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the general election. During the critical months of his primary campaign, neither news aggregator featured a single story about the scandals surrounding his candidacy.Apple News and Google News are two of the most influential news sources in the digital era, effectively shaping what millions of users encounter each day. The Media Research Center has consistently shown that these digital news gatekeepers, collectively receiving over 215 million monthly visits, exhibit a left-wing bias in their editorial decisions and algorithmic recommendations.The outcome is often the same: they selectively bury stories that are detrimental to Democrats, promote negative stories about Republicans, all while giving far more visibility to left-leaning media sources.In Platner’s case, data indicate that Apple News and Google News’s coverage blackout closely aligned with his standing in the race. When Platner’s poll numbers indicated future success in unseating Sen. Collins, news coverage of his scandals were hidden from smartphone users. Once the tide shifted, as concerned Democrat Party leaders began calling on Platner to step down, the news aggregators again appeared to do the party's bidding to accelerate Platner’s departure. MRC found that the digital news aggregators effectively shielded tens of millions of users from negative coverage of Platner. From Nov. 1 through May 30 (when The New York Times published its story about sexting allegations against Platner), neither Apple News nor Google News featured a single story about Platner in their heavily trafficked top 20 morning news feeds except for one story promoted by Google News on April 7 touting an Axios piece on Platner’s confidence that he would defeat Mills in the Maine primary.During the same period, Platner was already being dogged by mounting controversies, including that he had a Nazi-tied tattoo and the resurfacing of disturbing Reddit posts. As early as October, Platner's scandalous Totenkopf tattoo was revealed, along with his social media posts in which he tried to excuse sexual abuse. He also made racist comments about black Americans, smeared rural Mainers, disparaged “all” cops as bastards and used sexist slurs.MRC has long shown that bias by omission can be just as influential as bias by commission. By not publishing major stories about Platner, Apple News and Google News likely helped to ensure that many Americans continued to believe in Platner as a folk hero, presumably maintaining enthusiasm for his candidacy, including through campaign contributions.The timing was notable. Coinciding with Apple News and Google News's erasure of the Platner scandals was a poll that, for the first time, showed that only he could defeat Collins in a hypothetical general election matchup. The same poll showed that Collins could defeat the other Democratic opponent, Maine Governor Janet Mills (D), in a similar hypothetical, virtually ensuring that Republicans would maintain a majority in the U.S. Senate.The Maine People’s Resource Center poll, conducted Oct. 26-29 and released later to the public on Nov. 12, effectively anointed Platner as the Democrats’ most viable option to defeat Collins. The data suggest that Apple and Google were paying attention.Apple and Google Shunned Hundreds of Damning Platner Stories from Right-Leaning MediaApple News and Google News had no shortage of shocking stories about Platner to choose from. MRC identified no less than 112 stories from right-leaning outlets, and additional publications from left-leaning and center outlets, like The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Wall Street Journal, that covered the scandals dogging Platner. Yet as polls showed Platner comfortably beating Collins, the news aggregators chose to conceal the negative stories about him, depriving voters of vital news and information.The right-leaning stories that were sidelined by Apple and Google came from some of the most visited news sources in America, including Fox News, Daily Mail, New York Post, Breitbart, Newsmax, The Federalist, The Washington Times and Washington Examiner.Some of the headlines that Apple and Google could have promoted on their news feeds:“Graham Platner blames Nazi tattoo on military ‘culture,’ draws backlash from GOP veterans,” by Fox News.“New website puts Platner on notice by amplifying scandals: 'One red flag after another,'” by Fox News.“Top off-the-wall Reddit posts haunting Graham Platner’s Maine Senate bid,” by Fox News.“The Guy Who Blamed His Nazi Tattoo, Social Media Post on His Military Service Once Said This About PTSD,” by TownHall.“‘I’m not a secret Nazi’: SS-like tattoo sported by Graham Platner, Maine Democratic Senate hopeful,” by The Washington Times.“Democrats go all-in for Mr. Nazi Tattoo,” by Washington Examiner.“Report: Graham Platner Once Lamented Thai Prostitute ‘Loophole’ Closing,” by Breitbart.“Platner Campaign Knew of Explicit Texts Before Senate Bid Gained Momentum,” by Newsmax.“Vote for the Nazi Tattoo Guy to Fight Against ‘Fascism,’” by National Review. In fact, these outlets dedicated extensive coverage to the scandals, providing details previously ignored by elitist media outlets. For instance, Fox News had a team on the ground in Maine covering the Platner developments, while it provided immediate coverage of his interviews and other reactions on social media.Apple and Google also hid plenty of additional right-leaning outlets with strong Platner coverage. Examples include: American Thinker, Daily Caller, Daily Signal, Just the News, National Review, The Blaze, The Epoch Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, The Telegraph and The Western Journal.Apple and Google Appear to Abruptly Abandon Platner after Sexual Abuse Accusations and First Poll Showed Platner Losing Apple News and Google News’s silence around Platner’s scandals ended almost as quickly as his polling advantage disappeared and right after he was hit with disturbing allegations of sexual abuse.MRC identified that Platner first appeared in Apple News and Google News’s top 20 feeds in the mornings on June 5 and April 7, respectively. This was months after his campaign had already gained momentum. But even then, the headlines of the stories blatantly omitted the scandals that ultimately derailed his candidacy.In fact, the first overtly negative story Google News surfaced about Platner did not appear on its morning feeds until May 31, when it promoted four stories covering accusations about Platner’s reported infidelities. Apple News did not follow suit until June 5, when it trumpeted Platner saying that Maine Democrats would “have my back” following the emergence of scandalous stories. “Rather than actually informing readers of the biggest news of the Maine Senate race, Apple News and Google News promoted articles that seemed to serve more as a soft re-launch of Platner’s campaign, a kind of second chance to help him recover,” said MRC Free Speech America VP Dan Schneider. The timing of Platner’s debut on the Apple News and Google News apps occurred at the same time that Democratic Party officials and campaign operatives started to openly discuss whether Platner should withdraw from the campaign. Later, after the release of a Fox News statewide poll on June 30 showing Sen. Collins hypothetically overtaking and beating Platner by three percentage points among Maine registered voters (50 to 47), Apple News and Google News published a torrent of articles all but pointing Platner to the exit door. The Fox News poll found that more than half of respondents expressed concern about Platner’s judgment to serve in the Senate, including 38 who said they were “extremely” concerned and 16 who said they were “very” concerned. The poll, conducted June 23-27, marked the first survey showing Platner trailing Collins since he became the Democratic nominee following the June 9 primary. Previous polls had shown Platner leading Collins by several percentage points.In total, Apple News had only nine stories with headlines about Platner, out of which five were negatively framed. Google had 26 stories, 16 of which were also negatively framed.MRC Free Speech America Interns Regan Fillmore, Abel Jones, Jack Mortensen and Katharine Reyes conducted the research for this special report.Methodology: The Media Research Center tracked the top 20 stories on Apple News and Google News each morning from Nov. 1, 2025, through July 8, 2026, analyzing the headlines of stories related to Graham Platner and the accusations levied against him. MRC researchers searched using the terms “Maine,” “Mills” and “Platner,” and then used sentiment analysis to rate the Platner-focused headlines across both news aggregators as negative, neutral or positive. The review period spans time between the Maine People’s Resource Center poll showing Platner leading Collins in a general election matchup, conducted Oct. 26 - 29 and released Nov. 12, 2025, and the first post-primary Fox News poll released June 30, 2026, showing Collins leading Platner. During that period, MRC found that Apple News did not promote a single negative Platner story until June 5, while Google News did not do so until May 31. The coverage blackout closely overlapped with the period between the first poll showing Platner ahead and the first poll showing Collins ahead after the Democratic primary.

1 week ago

Big Four News Apps Couldn’t Bring Themselves to Celebrate America’s 250th

MRC Original: It’s official: Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News hate America, and MRC has the evidence.As Americans rejoiced over the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Big Four News Apps delivered a starkly different message, filling their feeds with bizarre headlines that distorted America's semiquincentennial and turned it into an opportunity to smear President Donald Trump and advance partisan narratives.The Media Research Center found that between July 4 and July 6, the Big Four News Apps promoted 52 stories about America’s 250th anniversary. Rather than highlighting the patriotic significance of the semiquincentennial, the coverage overwhelmingly emphasized negativity, political conflict and criticism of Trump’s celebrations.The ideological imbalance behind that coverage was also clear. Of the 52 Independence Day-related stories promoted across the platforms, the overwhelming majority came from left-leaning outlets, resulting in feeds that largely ignored the celebratory spirit surrounding America’s 250th birthday.MRC’s Findings:The Big Four News Apps largely veered clear of offering headlines with an unambiguously patriotic view of America’s 250th anniversary. Apple News offered 12 negative, non-patriotic or lackluster headlines; Google News promoted 11 negative or non-patriotic headlines; Microsoft’s MSN promoted 10 negative or non-patriotic headlines; and Yahoo News promoted 11 negative or non-patriotic headlines.Rather than overwhelmingly commemorate America’s semiquincentennial, the Big Four News Apps did their utmost to reduce the historic celebration to partisan attacks, cultural grievances and relentless negativity.The Big Four News Apps’ July 4 coverage overwhelmingly relied on left-leaning outlets, with 75 of promoted stories coming from left-leaning sources, compared to 19 from center outlets and just 6 from right-leaning outlets.Big Four News Apps Curated a Bleak Picture of America’s SemiquincentennialAmerica’s 250th anniversary is no small feat. The United States is recognized worldwide as the oldest surviving constitutional republic, one equipped with the oldest continuous constitution. Countries have tried and failed to replicate the vision laid out by the Framers for centuries. Despite some historical shortcomings, America’s semiquincentennial should be a point of pride for everyone.But users of the Big Four News Apps encountered a far different portrayal of the milestone.The MRC found Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News promoted 52 stories about America’s 250th anniversary, with the overwhelming majority featuring headlines that either emphasized negativity or lacked patriotism rather than promoting the patriotic significance of the milestone. Other headlines smeared Trump’s festivities as partisan, linked the celebration to slavery, highlighted political division, zeroed in on Trump’s approval ratings and downplayed crowd sizes. Examples below:Apple News“Why the Constitution is making our politics worse,” by Apple News, promoted July 4. Image “Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America's 'joyous' 250th anniversary,” by The Associated Press, promoted July 5. Image “DOGE self-deletes on July 4th. The grand experiment fell apart long before that,” by Politico, promoted July 5. Google News“Trump launches US’s 250th birthday celebrations with partisan attack,” by The Guardian, promoted July 4. Image “America’s 250th celebrations marked by severe weather, political division,” by The Washington Post, promoted July 5. Image “At Mount Rushmore, Trump Veers From Patriotism to ‘Communism,’” by The New York Times, promoted July 4.“The Great American Betrayal,” by The Hill, promoted July 5. MSN“Trump celebrates installation of slave owner statue in Washington,” by The Independent, promoted July 4. Image “How Trump’s America 250 crowd size compares to 1976 Bicentennial,” by Newsweek, promoted July 6.Yahoo News“Trump-backed organizer of America’s 250th birthday events may have duped donors, report from House Democrats alleges,” by CNN, promoted July 4. Image “Trump hails US exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250,” by The Associated Press, promoted July 4. Image “Trump presidency reignites its founding debate - how much power is too much?” by BBC News, promoted July 4.“Through heat, storms and division, how America marked its 250th,” by USA Today, promoted July 5. Big Four’s Negative America 250 Coverage Came Almost Entirely From Left-Wing SourcesMRC found that the negative framing that characterized the majority of the headlines was closely tied to the news sources promoted across the Big Four News Apps. MRC has repeatedly warned that the Big Four News Apps’ heavy reliance on left-leaning sources is not an abstract concern. These digital news aggregators collectively receive hundreds of millions of visits, meaning millions of Americans are repeatedly exposed to coverage shaped by a narrow ideological perspective.For Independence Day, the digital news gatekeepers ensured that their coverage overwhelmingly originated from outlets rated by independent media bias firm AllSides as left-leaning:Apple News: 13 total stories — 12 left-leaning, 1 centerGoogle News: 16 total stories — 13 left-leaning, 3 centerMSN: 11 total stories — 6 left-leaning, 4 center, 1 right-leaningYahoo News: 12 total stories — 9 left-leaning, 2 center, 1 right-leaning The Big Four News Apps overwhelmingly amplified a familiar lineup of left-leaning and legacy media outlets, like CNN, HuffPost, NBC News, The New York Times, Politico, The Associated Press, USA Today and The Washington Post. Even foreign publications like Al Jazeera, The Guardian and The Independent received prominent placements.That imbalance shaped the type of coverage Americans encountered, with the aggregators frequently elevating the most negative or politically charged angles surrounding America’s historic milestone.MRC Free Speech America Intern Abel Jones contributed to this special report.Methodology: The Media Research Center tracked the top 20 stories on Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News each morning from July 4 through July 6, highlighting all stories related to America’s 250th anniversary. The focus was on identifying stories related to America’s 250th anniversary. The MRC then evaluated the ideological bias of the news sources promoted by the Big Four News Apps, using ratings provided by the independent media bias ratings organization AllSides. Outlets not yet rated by AllSides were excluded from the tally.

2 weeks ago

FIFA Tourists Expected Worst. Apple News Helps Shape that Image by Hiding Good US News

MRC Original: “I feel like I’ve been lied to my entire life about America,” an Australian entrepreneur recently proclaimed while visiting the United States, echoing a sentiment loudly heard in viral videos as the country hosts the FIFA World Cup.Is Apple News participating in the cover-up this Australian tourist alluded to? New findings from the Media Research Center suggest a pattern of selective coverage on Apple News that directly reinforces that perception.Tourists marveling at America have become one of the tournament’s biggest surprises, exposing the disconnect between the media’s portrayal of the United States and what foreign visitors actually experience. Yet Apple News, arguably the largest amplifier of media outlets behind that anti-American narrative, all but erased those viral stories from its June feed. Of the 69 World Cup-related items it featured in its top daily feed, only one highlighted visitors encountering a very different America than the one often portrayed in the international media. Of the many impressions tourists shared, the only headline Apple News elevated about the experience highlighted something entirely different: the prevalence of air conditioning in America.MRC’s Findings:Despite promoting 69 World Cup stories, Apple News featured just one about tourists’ overwhelmingly positive impressions of America. Instead, the news app promoted stories about topics such as travel, politics, and health concerns.The World Cup stories that Apple News featured in June exemplified recent polling showing that only 27 of Democrats express high levels of pride in being an American versus 93 of Republicans. Given that Apple News is a hard-left news app, it is unsurprising that it ignored a multitude of viral stories from right-leaning outlets that explained how much World Cup visitors have found they love America.Out of 557 daily headlines from AllSides-rated outlets that MRC examined, Apple News promoted over 70 (393 stories) from left-leaning outlets and just under 2 (10 stories) from right-leaning outlets. Apple News showed slightly less bias against right-leaning news outlets in June compared to May, moving from a paltry 1 stories from right-leaning outlets in May to under 2 in June. Another 154 stories (nearly 28) came from center-rated outlets. Apple News Gave Limited Attention to Tourists’ Viral Praise of AmericaTourists from around the world visiting the U.S. for World Cup matches have been pleasantly surprised by how much they have enjoyed America and its residents. Some tourists have rightfully blamed the elitist media for selling them a host of misleading and downright false narratives about the United States.Apple News is one example. Of the 69 stories featured about the World Cup in its daily morning top stories, only one discussed the positive experiences of international visitors. Sadly, that positive story focused not on America’s freedom, beauty or culture, but on its air-conditioning: “European soccer fans enjoy a brief fling with America’s air-conditioned culture,” read the June 29 headline by The Washington Post. Among the featured stories about the World Cup were many that focused on controversial issues, such as:“The World Cup Is a Petri Dish,” by Bloomberg on June 1.“How do you stop Ebola at the World Cup?” by Politico on June 7.“Somali referee is dropped from World Cup after turned back at US border,” by AFP News on June 9.“As FIFA forces stadiums to change names, one embraces its bland new brand,” by The Washington Post on June 11.“Frustrated Iran vents about restrictions after draw with New Zealand at World Cup,” by the Los Angeles Times on June 16.“Visa costs kept her from seeing her son’s star World Cup moment. Now she’s going,” by The Washington Post on June 18.“How migration, colonial ties and tweaks to FIFA eligibility rules have made this the diaspora World Cup,” by The New York Times on June 18.“FIFA revokes credentials of World Cup commentator after expletive-laden on-air rant,” by The New York Times on June 25.Apple News Shuns Right-Leaning Outlets Covering Viral Tourist ReactionsSoccer fans from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa may have expected to find an inhospitable country when they travelled to the U.S. to watch the World Cup. After all, the elitist media's reporting reflects the growing dislike of America among Democrats and liberals. According to recent polling, 93 of Republicans are very proud or extremely proud to be Americans, while only 27 of Democrats said the same. Apple News seemingly doubled down on this messaging, largely camouflaging the truth about America’s greatness and stories from international tourists about how much they surprisingly love America. It’s not as if there simply were no positive stories to promote. Apple News could have promoted headlines from some of the most-visited right-leaning news outlets in America, including:“Foreign Soccer Fans Are Discovering Something Many Americans Forgot,” by the Daily Wire on June 11.“World Cup fans fall in love with American culture, comfort food classics,” by Fox News on June 13.“World Cup tourists swoon over the real America – and they’re making us fall in love, too,” by the New York Post on June 15.“How European World Cup athletes have trained for US heat – as visitors admit: ‘We owe Americans an apology,’” by the New York Post on June 19.“Europeans Visiting U.S. for World Cup Fall in Love with America: ‘The Most Wonderful People in the World,’” by Breitbart on June 22.“Brits Visiting U.S. for ‘First Time for World Cup Apologize to Americans: ‘We Owe America a Huge Apology,’” by Breitbart on June 24. “Brits visiting US for first time during World Cup are apologizing to Americans: ‘We were wrong,’” by the New York Post on June 24.“Bill Maher lauds foreign visitors at World Cup: ‘They are reminding Americans this place is kind of awesome,’” by Fox News on June 27.Apple News Once Again Focused Almost Entirely on Stories from the Left, Improving By Less than One Percent Since MayAccording to the latest Press Gazette rankings, seven right-leaning news outlets are among the most visited news sites in America, including the following (in order): Fox News, New York Post, Daily Mail, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Newsmax and The Epoch Times. Apple News featured stories from only one outlet from this list. Apple News promoted 557 articles from AllSides-rated outlets in the month of June. Of these, ten were from Fox News, the only right-leaning outlet featured by Apple News in June. This amounted to less than 2 of the daily top stories featured throughout the month.Apple News’s habit of favoring the left matters. According to the Pew Research Center, 86 of Americans turn to their digital devices for news “at least sometimes.” With Apple News coming preinstalled on every iPhone, and with approximately 150.7 million iPhone users in the United States, millions of users are exposed to its leftist bias by default. The tech giant boasts 125 million visits per month.MRC Free Speech America Intern Abel Jones contributed to this study.Methodology: During the time period of June 1 - 30, 2026, MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories featured on Apple News each day at approximately 8:30 AM ET. MRC researchers used the AllSides media bias ratings, which categorize an outlet as “left,” “lean left,” “center,” “lean right” or “right” to determine the overall bias presented by Apple News and analyzed the results. MRC conducted manual reviews in search of World Cup-related stories.

2 weeks ago
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