Apple is facing growing criticism over alleged political bias in its Apple News app, following a recent report claiming the platform completely excluded right-leaning news sources during January 2026.
A study by the Media Research Center (MRC), a conservative media watchdog group, examined 620 “top stories” featured in high-traffic morning slots on Apple News from January 1 to January 31, 2026. According to the MRC, none of these stories came from outlets rated as right-leaning, such as Fox News, the New York Post, or other conservative publications with large audiences. Instead, 440 stories (about 71%) were from left-leaning outlets—including The Washington Post, The Guardian, NBC News, NPR, and The Associated Press—while the remaining 180 came from centrist sources like The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
The MRC based its classifications on media bias ratings from AllSides, a nonpartisan group that uses panels of analysts from across the political spectrum to evaluate outlet leanings. The report highlights that popular right-leaning outlets, despite their profitability and readership, received zero exposure in these prominent spots. Apple News curates its “top stories” through a combination of in-house human editors and some algorithmic elements, rather than relying purely on automated systems.
This isn’t the first time Apple News has faced such accusations. Similar patterns of excluding or minimizing conservative sources have been noted in prior MRC analyses, including near-total blackouts in late 2025 and early 2026 periods. Critics argue this raises serious questions about viewpoint diversity in a platform pre-installed on millions of iPhones, potentially limiting users’ access to a full range of perspectives.
Apple has not issued a direct public response to the latest MRC findings. The company does not have a specific public policy guaranteeing perfect political balance in its news curation. However, Apple often emphasizes broader corporate values like inclusion, privacy, human rights, and ethical practices in its statements.
The timing of these allegations adds pressure on Apple. With Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, U.S. regulators have ramped up scrutiny of Big Tech’s content moderation and alleged censorship. In February 2025, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson launched a public inquiry into tech platform practices that might deny or degrade access based on users’ speech or affiliations, describing it as an effort to determine if such actions violate the law by “silencing and intimidating Americans.” The FTC has also taken steps in related areas, such as approving a major advertising merger with conditions against politically motivated boycotts—seen by some as a signal to tech and media companies.
These developments reflect ongoing debates about corporate responsibility, algorithmic (or editorial) fairness, and government oversight of powerful tech platforms. Whether the MRC’s claims lead to formal investigations or changes at Apple remains to be seen, but they highlight the challenges of maintaining neutrality in news aggregation amid deep political divisions.
