A study by the Media Research Center (MRC) alleges that Apple News and Google News suppressed negative coverage of progressive Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the lead-up to the state's primary election. The MRC report, published Friday, claims that neither platform displayed negatively framed headlines about El-Sayed among the top 20 morning stories reviewed after February 10, according to findings analyzed by Fox News.
MRC President David Bozell suggested that such algorithmic curation could prevent voters from receiving a complete picture of a candidate. "Most Americans don't search dozens of news websites every day," Bozell stated. "They open Apple News or Google News and read what’s presented to them."
The study identified at least 104 stories from right-leaning outlets that discussed El-Sayed's record, statements, and policies, which reportedly did not appear in the reviewed feeds. According to the MRC, both Apple News and Google News featured only one headline related to Michigan's Senate race, and neither focused on El-Sayed's controversies.
Researchers for the MRC tracked the top 20 Google News stories daily from November 1 through July 21 and Apple News from November 3 through July 21. Headlines were classified as negative, neutral, or positive using sentiment analysis after searching for "Michigan," "Abdul," and "El-Sayed."
The methodology focused on a morning snapshot and did not specify the time or location of the reviews, nor did it detail how personalization was controlled. The report also presented some discrepancies in the total number of stories cited.
The MRC's findings follow a previous investigation into Google News coverage of former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. Bozell noted that the current investigation found that Google News did not feature more than 250 stories covering controversies involving El-Sayed and Platner. During the same period, the MRC reported that 69% of outlets featured in Google News' top selections were left-leaning, compared to 3% that were right-leaning.
"Google News presents itself as a comprehensive news product, but Google News consumers should not have to wonder whether major, newsworthy reporting about candidates is being left out of what they see," Bozell said.
Stories noted by the MRC that reportedly faced suppression included those addressing El-Sayed's use of the physician title, his campaigning with streamer Hasan Piker, his endorsement from the Arab American Political Action Committee, and his support for policies such as Medicare for All and defunding police departments. El-Sayed also drew attention in April for stating that both the Israeli government and Hamas were "evil" when asked by CNN's Manu Raju.
Google has previously disputed similar MRC analyses, stating they relied on flawed methodologies and failed to account for updates, user interests, and location. A Google spokesperson told Fox News Digital in reference to the Platner coverage that "These claims are totally false and based on a completely flawed methodology."
Apple stated that its Top Stories are selected by editors and are consistent for all users, while other parts of its Today feed can be personalized.
The primary for Michigan's Senate race narrowed to El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Stevens. The primary election was scheduled for August 4.