Apple News continues to promote content from left-leaning news organizations and frame information about President Donald Trump in a negative light, according to studies conducted by the Media Research Center (MRC). The conservative media watchdog group previously noted a "decidedly leftist turn" in Apple News's content under new CEO John Ternus, comparing his first month in the role to his predecessor's final month. Further monitoring through October indicated the trend persisted leading up to the midterm elections.
According to the MRC's findings for the first 27 days of October, Apple News promoted only 11 stories from right-leaning outlets out of a total of 504 published stories. The study found that 67.3% of the content came from outlets considered left-leaning by media bias rating site AllSides, while only 2% originated from right-leaning sources. This consistency in promoting left-leaning outlets has been observed since Ternus took control.
The MRC also specifically examined stories related to President Trump, finding that all of the 96 stories featuring his name in the headline during October framed him negatively. None of these stories presented him in a positive light, while 47 were considered neutral. This contrasts with the claims that Apple News overlooked numerous available headlines that could have presented Trump, his administration, and their policies positively.
Dan Schneider, the MRC's Free Speech America representative, stated that the statistics suggest a deliberate editorial choice. "Somebody at Apple owns the zero," MRC President David Bozell commented regarding the absence of positive Trump coverage. Apple News, which is preinstalled on iPhones in the U.S., has faced accusations of a liberal bias, with previous reports indicating that many of the company's top executives and board members have contributed to Democratic campaigns.