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Apple News maintains left-leaning tilt under new CEO John Ternus, conservative watchdog group says
A study by the conservative Media Research Center says Apple News continued to feature more stories from left-leaning outlets and predominantly negative coverage of Donald Trump after John Ternus became Apple’s chief executive. The findings add to ongoing debate about political balance in news platforms, though they reflect one watchdog group’s analysis.
The MRC counted 504 stories promoted during the first 27 days of October: 67.3% came from outlets rated left-leaning by AllSides, while 2% came from right-leaning outlets, including 11 stories in total. In a separate review of 96 headlines naming Trump from 1 to 28 October, it classified 49 as negative, 47 as neutral and none as positive. Apple did not immediately respond to the article’s request for comment.
In short
- MRC says Apple News favoured left-leaning outlets in October.
- It counted 11 stories from right-leaning outlets among 504.
- Its review found no positive Trump headlines among 96.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The figures may support concern that Apple News gives substantially more visibility to outlets classified as left-leaning and that its Trump coverage was not evenly framed. Because the service selects and promotes stories for a large audience, users can reasonably expect transparent methods and meaningful political diversity, whatever the cause of the imbalance.
The case against
The counts come from a conservative watchdog’s analysis, and the outlet ratings and headline tone classifications involve judgements that may be contested; the figures alone do not establish that Apple favoured a political side. A difference in story numbers or negative headlines could also reflect what publishers reported during that period, while a fair assessment would need the full selection method, context and Apple’s response.
Explained simply
Apple News is a service built into Apple devices that selects and promotes articles from news organisations. Its choices can affect which stories readers see, and how prominent those stories are.
The Media Research Center is a US conservative watchdog group that studies news coverage. In its analysis, it used AllSides’ ratings to classify outlets by political leaning and judged the tone of headlines mentioning Donald Trump; these are the group’s assessments.
The findings feed into a wider debate about political balance and how news platforms choose what to show. Apple’s chief executive is John Ternus, but the study examines promoted stories and headlines rather than establishing how Apple makes its selections.