The Watchdog with David Bozell

MRC's special report on Apple News’s deliberate skew toward left-wing sources is gaining traction, and momentum is surging. 

On Wednesday, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a pointed letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, citing our work. It warns that Apple News may violate FTC consumer protection rules under the FTC Act, citing our reports that it has systematically promoted left-wing outlets and suppressed conservative publications, directly contradicting Apple's claims of neutrality. He footnoted our November Apple News study (just one right-leaning article, the paywalled Telegraph, out of over 560 top stories) and the NY Post's coverage of our January findings: 620-0.

Miranda Devine shared Chairman Ferguson’s post of the letter, adding, “Well done to [MRC Vice President] Dan Schneider and the team at the MRC for doing the research that led to this important development. We cannot allow AI to create a fake left-wing reality due to its inputs being only those approved by left-wing gatekeepers.” Perfect. 

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr concurred, “Apple has no right to suppress conservative viewpoints in violation of the FTC Act.”

Even one of our favorite elitist media targets, CBS News, couldn’t ignore the story. In their article covering Ferguson’s warning to Cook, they gave MRC a direct nod: “Ferguson, who cited research from the Media Research Center, a right-leaning watchdog group.” They went on to describe our findings plainly: our analysis showed that Apple News consistently boosted left-leaning sources, while right-leaning outlets didn’t appear in users’ feeds.

As a side note, CNN’s Brian Stelter addressed our Apple News study, defending the status quo: "The awkward part: MRC wants more links to 'right-leaning publications,' but the reality is that those publications rarely break big stories. Right-wing media is mostly reactive.”

Nonsense. The New York Post, Washington Examiner, Fox News – none of them "break" stories? Apple lists them in its "vast array” of sources, yet none ranked in January's top 20.

The truth and some of the nation’s most influential voices are firmly on our side. With the FTC now demanding answers from Tim Cook and President Trump highlighting our report on Truth Social, Apple News’s overt left-wing curation has been put under a national spotlight.

Exposing the bias of these preloaded apps is MRC's top priority in 2026, and we’re making it happen, day by day, thanks to dedicated supporters like you. I'll keep you posted on Apple's response and next steps. 

​​​Take it easy, 

David Bozell
President