A study by the conservative-leaning Media Research Center claims that Apple News and Google News algorithms failed to surface negative coverage of Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democratic candidate for the Michigan Senate, in their top morning news stories. The finding feeds into broader claims from conservative commentators that major tech platforms' news curation systems favour left-leaning candidates by shielding them from critical scrutiny, a charge that has recurred in previous election cycles regarding Apple and Google's news products.

According to the report, no negatively framed headlines about El-Sayed appeared among the top 20 morning stories reviewed on the two platforms after 1 February. Separately, Fox News coverage has highlighted criticism of El-Sayed from other angles, including his reported 2025 household income of $686,069, well above Michigan's median, and his association with streamer Hasan Piker, who has faced controversy over past comments on the September 11 attacks.