EXCLUSIVE: The Big Four News Apps have flooded users with cruise ship headlines tied to hantavirus fears. Missing from any coverage, however, is news that federal immigration officials raided a Disney Cruise Line ship during a child sexual abuse investigation.
The ship, Disney Magic, is operated by Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC News. The Media Research Center previously found ABC conveniently failed to provide on-air coverage of the raid on its flagship news programs, Good Morning America and World News Tonight.
Not to be outdone, Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News followed the same playbook from May 6 through May 11. So far this year, the Big Four News Apps have published a total of 228 stories from ABC News among their daily top morning editions, calling into question whether the digital news gatekeepers covered for Disney/ABC because of connected business interests or because ABC News is the most anti-Trump among the Big Three News broadcasters, as shown by MRC research.
MRC’s Findings:
- The Big Four News Apps excluded the Customs and Border Protection raid on the Disney/ABC cruise ship from their top 20 morning stories despite it being widely covered, although mostly among right-leaning outlets. Examples of outlets that covered the story: Fox News, New York Post, Daily Wire, Daily Caller, Breitbart, The Washington Times and Daily Telegraph.
- Instead, the Big Four News Apps promoted at least 33 stories about a different cruise — the one with the Hantavirus outbreak. The break down is as follows:
- Apple News: 14 stories
- Google News: five stories
- Microsoft’s MSN: one story
- Yahoo News: 13 stories
Big Four News Apps Quiet Amid Disney Cruise Child Sexual Abuse Scandal
The scandal directly implicates a Disney/ABC-owned cruise line that markets heavily to families and children, while raising questions about the conglomerate’s employee background screening.
CBP said Disney Magic was one of eight cruise ships raided between April 23 and April 27 as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation material, according to NBC News.
The federal agency added that 27 of the 28 crewmembers from multiple cruises targeted in the operation were allegedly “involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography.”
The suspects’ names were not released, though authorities identified them as 26 Filipinos, one Portuguese national and one Indonesian national. CBP suggested that the 27 suspects were deported to their home countries.
The Disney/ABC-linked scandal first surfaced publicly on May 5, when passengers told local San Diego outlets that they had witnessed federal agents detaining individuals while the ship disembarked in April. Other passengers reported seeing crewmembers handcuffed by authorities.
A subsequent DHS statement confirmed the operation involved CBP agents conducting an ongoing child sexual exploitation investigation, part of the agency’s “Operation Tidal Wave.”
“The arrests targeted individuals suspected of involvement with Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), based on information received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” ICE spokesperson Sandra Grisolia told NBC San Diego. “The arrestees were transported to Los Angeles for processing, and their visas were revoked.”
The story quickly gained traction on social media but received comparatively little attention from Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News. The lack of coverage was particularly notable given the digital news gatekeepers’ appetite for cruise-related stories.
During the same period reviewed, MRC found that the Big Four News Apps collectively promoted at least 33 stories tied to Hantavirus concerns and reported outbreaks aboard cruise ships, including at least one story by ABC News, promoted by Apple News.
But the Big Four News Apps all chose to hide stories about the Disney/ABC scandal despite several publications they could have promoted, including:
“Disney cruise workers busted in child porn sting, hauled off ships for deportation,” by Fox News, published May 7.
“Disney cruise ship staffers among 28 arrested in massive child porn operation,” by the New York Post, published May 6.
“Disney Does Damage Control After Several Staffers Arrested on Cruise Ship in Massive Child Porn Sting,” by Breitbart, published May 7.
“Feds Raid Disney Cruise Ship In Major Child Porn Sting,” by The Daily Write, published May 7.
“Authorities Reportedly Arrest Disney Cruise Workers In Child Porn Sting,” by the Daily Caller, published May 8.
“Disney cruise crew detained in federal child exploitation operation,” by The Washington Times, published May 9.
“‘Really unsettling’: Disney cruises staff arrested in child porn sting,” by The Daily Telegraph, published May 7.
Instead, the Big Four went with headlines about a very different cruise, including the following:
Apple News
- “Hantavirus live updates: American tests positive, another symptomatic, HHS says,” by ABC News, promoted May 11.
Google News
- “Three sick passengers evacuated from virus ship and Trump-backed candidates win in Indiana: Morning Rundown,” by NBC News, promoted May 6.
Microsoft’s MSN
- “WHO gives update on hantavirus-hit cruise ship as passengers are tracked across 12 countries,” by Fox News, promoted May 8.
Yahoo News
- “Two passengers from hantavirus cruise ship back in Georgia, GPH says,” by USA Today, promoted May 7.
Methodology: The Media Research Center analyzed the top 20 stories published by Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News from May 6 through May 11 at approximately 8:30 a.m. ET. Researchers reviewed the dataset to identify stories related to Hantavirus coverage across cruise ships, as well as to determine whether the aggregators included coverage of the CBP raid on the Disney cruise ship.
