A new analysis has found that fewer than 2% of the most prominent stories on Apple News last month came from right-leaning outlets, a slight uptick from zero the month before that critics say reflects little more than a response to mounting scrutiny over alleged bias.

The findings follow earlier reporting that Apple faced backlash after a Media Research Center review revealed that in January, not a single top story on the platform came from a conservative source.

That criticism escalated when FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on Feb. 11, cautioning that the company’s practices could potentially run afoul of federal laws prohibiting “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” The very next day, Apple News highlighted its first conservative-sourced article in over three months—a Fox News report covering the death of actor James Van Der Beek.

In a follow-up review conducted by the Media Research Center in February, researchers tracked 560 top stories and found that just eight—1.4%—originated from conservative outlets. By contrast, 400 articles, or 75%, were attributed to sources considered left-leaning. The remaining 152 pieces came from either centrist organizations or outlets that had not been categorized, such as smaller local publications.

“2% is not progress. It’s damage control,” MRC president David Bozell said in a statement. “If public exposure and a federal inquiry only yield a modest adjustment, that suggests the bias we documented was deeply embedded.”

“Apple News should not require public pressure to reflect viewpoint diversity,” Bozell added. “This is not about token inclusion. It’s about whether one of the most powerful information gatekeepers in the country operates fairly.”

The Media Research Center based its classifications on ratings from AllSides, a nonpartisan group that evaluates media bias using panels made up of individuals from across the political spectrum. These panels, composed of representatives from the left, center, and right, are trained to assess bias. The organization also conducts blind surveys of everyday Americans and combines those results to determine overall ratings. AllSides itself did not participate in the MRC’s analysis.

“Apple would need to make much more substantial changes to help reduce news polarization and give Americans a broader, more balanced view,” said Julie Mastrine, director of AllSides’ media bias rating system.

The issue has drawn attention at the highest levels, with President Trump sharing The Post’s earlier report on Truth Social, amplifying concerns about the data.

Critics argue that Apple News wields significant influence because it is preloaded on millions of devices, including iPhones, and is marketed by the company as the leading news app in the United States.

Since 2017, the platform’s editorial direction has been overseen by editor-in-chief Lauren Kern, who previously held positions at New York Magazine and The New York Times Magazine. In 2018, The New York Times described her as having “quietly become one of the most powerful figures in English-language media,” citing the app’s vast reach.

Another study released last month by AllSides examined only the manually curated sections of Apple News. During a two-week period in October included in that review, editors did not feature a single article from a conservative outlet in the app’s “top news” section.

For its February report, the Media Research Center reviewed the top 20 stories displayed each day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time from Feb. 1 through Feb. 28. The feed includes a combination of stories selected by Apple’s editorial staff and others generated through algorithmic recommendations.

Among the most frequently featured sources in February were the Associated Press with 57 articles, The Washington Post with 44, and NBC News with 38—all categorized as left-leaning. Among centrist outlets, The Wall Street Journal appeared 46 times, while Reuters was featured 40 times.

Of the eight conservative-sourced articles identified, seven were from Fox News and covered topics including a delayed NASA launch, U.S. operations against drug smuggling vessels, and former President Bill Clinton’s deposition related to the Jeffrey Epstein files. The remaining article came from the British publication The Telegraph and focused on the arrest of the former Prince Andrew.

In his letter, Ferguson called on Cook to “conduct a comprehensive review of Apple’s terms of service and ensure that Apple News’ curation of articles is consistent with those terms and representations made to consumers and, if it is not, to take corrective action swiftly.”

Separately, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee pressed Cook for answers, asking whether Apple had “systematically suppressed” conservative perspectives.

“The American public increasingly relies on services like Apple News to provide them with information, and they deserve to have access to perspectives across the political spectrum,” Blackburn wrote in a letter on Feb. 19.

{Matzav.com}