Apple CEO Tim Cook faces accusations of censoring conservative news outlets in Apple News, affecting 140 million Americans' feeds amid the 2026 midterm election cycle. According to documentation from the Media Research Center, Apple News curated 620 stories over 96 consecutive days of high-traffic morning slots in January, with not a single one originating from a conservative source.
The analysis revealed zero stories from Fox News, the New York Post, or any right-leaning outlets, prompting sharp criticism of Apple's content curation practices. Of the 620 stories, 440 came from left-wing outlets including the Washington Post, AP, NBC News, and NPR, while the remaining 180 were from so-called "centrist" sources.
In response to the findings, the FTC chair has sent a letter directly to Cook demanding answers about the apparent bias in news selection. The Media Research Center's report highlights this as a complete wipeout of conservative representation during a pivotal election period.
President Trump addressed the issue on Truth Social, calling it "coordinated bias" and exposing what he described as manipulation in news feeds. Conservative commentators have echoed these concerns, pointing to similar censorship patterns across Big Tech platforms including Google News, MSN, and Yahoo.
Meanwhile, legacy media outlets are experiencing significant turmoil. The Washington Post reportedly fired reporters and locked them out of their computers on the same night, while CNN has lost nearly two-thirds of its viewership since 2016, signaling what some describe as an institutional collapse.
Adding to the context, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently had to read off a list of Trump administration victories that no reporter inquired about during a briefing. These included the Dow shattering 50,000 for the first time, murder rates plunging to a 125-year low, and nine consecutive months of zero illegal border crossings.
