A new Media Research Center (MRC) study shows Apple News has been overwhelmingly promoting articles from left-leaning outlets while largely excluding conservative sources. The watchdog analyzed 620 stories featured during high-traffic morning slots in January 2026, finding 440 came from left-leaning outlets and 180 from centrist sources, while right-leaning outlets, including the New York Post and Fox News, received zero coverage.

MRC noted that in January, Apple News ran 72 Washington Post stories, 54 from the Associated Press, 50 from NBC News, 34 from The Guardian, and 25 from NPR. Fifty-four Wall Street Journal articles were used, but while its editorial board leans conservative, its news coverage varies. No articles from outright conservative media were used. Researchers relied on AllSides’ media bias ratings, which use a multi-partisan panel and surveys of ordinary Americans to assess bias. Julie Mastrine, director of AllSides’ system, told the NY Post she was “not surprised at all” by the findings and warned that Americans relying on Big Tech for news are not getting balanced coverage.

Apple responded to the Post, stating its News app “provides access to news spanning a wide range of topics from more than 3,000 publications including the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Bloomberg, USA Today, Washington Examiner, New York Post, CBS News, local outlets, and more.” The company emphasized that users can customize their feeds by following or blocking publications or topics.

MRC reported Apple News had gone 96 consecutive days without featuring a conservative story in its top stories as of Monday, last running a right-leaning article on Nov. 5, 2025. MRC also claimed the app’s feed focused negatively on President Trump’s foreign and immigration policies, selecting “provocative headlines that raised doubts” about his actions.

Dan Schneider of MRC told the Post, “Swipe right and you’re inundated with Apple’s cherry-picked news stories. Most people don’t even know they are being fed a steady stream of leftist narratives.” The study follows a 2023 AllSides ranking that found Apple News among the most left-leaning news aggregators, surpassed only by Yahoo News and Bing News.

MRC tracked the top stories from AllSides-rated outlets at set morning times, including 30 sports articles from The Athletic and 27 pieces of original Apple content, mostly links to the “Apple News Today” podcast. Schneider called the bias “a subliminal form of propaganda, paid for with corporate dollars but without campaign finance disclosures” and said it “could be illegal.”

The findings come as federal regulators, including FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, review potential media bias and tech censorship, including probes into politically motivated ad practices and fairness requirements for broadcast coverage.