Eight – that’s the total number of stories Apple News has shared from right-leaning outlets whose headlines touted wins for President Donald Trump, Republicans and conservatives in the last nine and a half months.
Rather than provide balance, Apple News has consistently promoted stories from left-leaning outlets. Since the Media Research Center began tracking Apple News data in early November 2025, it has featured 5,417 stories from AllSides-rated outlets in its morning top 20 daily news feed. From NPR to The Guardian to The Washington Post, an outlandish 72% of the stories Apple News promoted came from left-leaning outlets.
In total, Apple News has only promoted 59 stories (1%) from right-leaning outlets since November 3, 2025. The remaining 27% of the stories were from AllSides-rated center outlets.
The depth of the digital news gatekeeper’s leftist tilt becomes even clearer when analyzing the headlines of the stories Apple News has shared from right-leaning outlets. Of the 59 stories from right-leaning outlets, twice as many highlighted controversies involving Trump, Republicans and conservatives compared to the eight that the public would see as victories.
A quarter of the stories Apple News promoted from right-leaning outlets (15 of 59) had headlines that pointed to controversies involving Trump, Republicans and conservatives. The remainder (36 of 59) were neutral.
"Here’s the needle in the haystack you’ll never find,” said MRC President David Bozell. “When Apple links to a story from a left-leaning outlet, you can bet your mortgage that the headline will be framed negatively against conservatives. But on the exceedingly rare occasion when Apple does finally link to a story from a right-leaning outlet — even then — Apple cherry-picks the stories, almost guaranteeing that you will not read a story touting a victory on the right."
To be sure, Apple News’s record overwhelmingly favors the left’s narrative over that of the right.
Throughout the Republican Party primaries, Apple News selected right-leaning stories that highlighted rifts in the GOP, such as:
- “Ohio GOP family feud explodes as Sen Bernie Moreno calls on Rep Max Miller to resign,” from Fox News, promoted on Aug. 3.
- “Trump-backed voter ID bill faces GOP resistance as Tillis vows to stop it,” from Fox News, promoted on March 14.
- “Rubio braces for Hill grilling as Republicans join bid to curb Trump's Iran war powers,” from Fox News, promoted on June 2.
- “GOP advances ICE funding package after forcing Trump's controversial $2B fund into retreat,” from Fox News, promoted on June 4.
- “Trump’s Fed pick discloses $131M fortune as nomination faces headwinds,” from Fox News, promoted on April 15.
- “Double endorsement drama: Trump backs second candidate in red state’s GOP gubernatorial runoff,” from Fox News, promoted on June 20.
Apple News also curated right-leaning stories that shined a light on the various troubles Trump faces in the courts and elsewhere, like:
- “Judge blocks Trump’s push to deport Abrego Garcia, rebukes DOJ for trying to ‘dictate’ court,” from Fox News, promoted on April 9.
- “Court poised to block Trump tariffs again, teeing up new fight,” from Fox News, promoted on April 11.
- “Judge orders Trump to halt White House ballroom construction, escalating legal feud,” from Fox News, promoted on April 17.
- “More key US allies block military flights as Iran war rift widens with Trump,” from Fox News, promoted on April 1.
- “Ballot box upset: Democrats flip Florida legislative seat in Trump’s stomping ground,” from Fox News, promoted on March 25.
The eight stories from right-leaning outlets that Apple News shared that focus on Trump, Republican and conservative victories included the following:
- “Trump-backed nominees dominate primary contests as president tightens party vice grip,” from Fox News, promoted on May 21.
- “Melania Trump to take the gavel at UN Security Council in historic first,” from Fox News, promoted on Feb. 27.
- “Trump signs executive order directing FDA to review psychedelics designated as breakthrough therapy drugs,” from Fox News, promoted on April 19.
- “Pentagon hosts first-ever Israeli-Lebanese military talks aimed at curbing Hezbollah,” from Fox News, promoted on May 30.
- “Trump-backed Daylight Saving Time bill clears key House hurdle,” from Fox News, promoted on July 14.
- “Johnson scores win as conservative rebels end House floor blockade over voter ID bill,” from Fox News, promoted July 15.
- “Lindsey Graham’s final mission nears finish line as world leaders gather to honor him,” from Fox News, promoted on July 28.
- “Trump urges Senate to pass bill making daylight saving time permanent after overwhelming House vote,” from Fox News, promoted on Aug. 5.
Underscoring the left vs. right disparity emanating from Apple News, it was not until after FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson called out Apple CEO Tim Cook February 11—following MRC reporting that revealed Apple News had not shared a single story from a right-leaning outlet in 99 days in its morning feed—that the news aggregator shared an additional 58 stories from right-leaning outlets.
Methodology: Using MRC’s Digital News Tracker, MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories promoted by Apple News during the time period of Nov. 3, 2025 - August 16, 2026 at approximately 10:00 AM ET from Nov. 3, 2025 through Jan. 12, 2026 and approximately 8:30 AM ET from Jan. 13, 2026 through August 16, 2026. MRC researchers then used the AllSides media bias ratings, which categorize an outlet as “left,” “lean left,” “center,” “lean right” or “right” to determine the overall bias presented by Apple News and analyzed the results.
