MRC Original: The editors at Apple News and the algorithm behind Google News appeared to receive the same marching orders ahead of the 2026 midterm elections: Don’t promote negative stories about scandal-plagued Democrats, but don’t extend the same treatment to Republicans.
The Media Research Center has uncovered another apparent double standard at Apple News and Google News. Days after revealing that the news aggregators effectively shielded Graham Platner and Abdul El-Sayed from scrutiny, MRC found that the same news aggregators had no hesitation in amplifying controversies involving two Republican candidates.
The apparent disparate treatment comes as both digital news gatekeepers scramble to defend their editorial and algorithmic decisions, even as MRC’s research has repeatedly found those decisions favor left-leaning viewpoints. Their negative coverage of Ken Paxton and Tony Gonzales further reinforces MRC’s findings.
MRC Findings:
Google News happily promoted four negative headlines about Paxton and four negative headlines about Gonzales during their respective primaries. Similarly, Apple News featured four negative headlines involving Gonzales.This marked a stark contrast to the zero stories with negative headlines that each news aggregator promoted about Platner and El-Sayed as they rose in the polls in their respective Senate races in Maine and Michigan.Apple News and Google News’s erasure of Democratic Party candidate controversies is consistent with a broader pattern of the two news aggregators promoting left-leaning sources while shunning right-leaning ones, as assessed by independent media bias firm AllSides.
Apple News and Google News Had One Standard for Republican Controversies, Another for Democrats
By promoting negative stories about Republican-tied controversies and overlooking scandals involving Democratic candidates, Apple News and Google News appeared to apply markedly different standards during the 2026 election cycle.
Now in his 11th year as Texas attorney general, Paxton is a longtime fixture in Lone Star State politics and certainly no stranger to negative media coverage. He defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
Google News ensured that its readers learned of Paxton’s alleged financial struggles, the turmoil his candidacy caused anti-Trump Republicans and concerns that he could lose the general election.
Examples of headlines on Google News:
“Republicans are freaking out over Texas Senate race,” by Politico, promoted Feb. 26“Texas Voters Head To Polls Amid Concerns Over Senate Choice,” by The Washington Post, promoted May 26.“Republicans brace for money problems in Texas after Ken Paxton’s win,” by NBC News, promoted May 28.“Paxton win sparks GOP money panic,” by Politico, promoted May 28.
Separately, Apple News and Google News promoted stories about Gonzales, a now-former Republican lawmaker who served in Congress from 2021 to 2026. He halted his re-election campaign in March 2026 after admitting to having an extramarital affair with a congressional aide. He later resigned from Congress, effective on April 14.
Apple News and Google News each featured at least four stories about Gonzales’s decision to cancel his reelection, including two stories that even targeted Brandon Herrera, the Republican candidate who was challenging Gonzales.
Examples of headlines on Google News:
“Tony Gonzales drops reelection bid after pressure from GOP leadership,” by Axios, promoted March 6.“A Sex Scandal and ‘Mein Kampf’ Give Democrats Hope in West Texas Race,” by The New York Times, promoted March 6.“Accused Sexual Harasser GOP Candidate Steps Down, An Apparent Neo-Nazi Takes His Place,” by Rolling Stone, promoted March 7.
Examples of headlines on Apple News:
“Rep. Gonzales drops reelection bid after admitting to affair with aide,” by The Washington Post, promoted March 6.“Calls increase for expulsion of Swalwell and Gonzales over sexual abuse allegations,” by Politico, promoted April 13.
Democratic Scandals Were All But Erased from the Same News Apps
Read Full Article: https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2026/08/04/apple-news-google-news-overlooked-platner-el-sayed
