EXCLUSIVE: As Apple News faces relentless criticism for systematically erasing right-leaning sources from its app, Microsoft’s MSN has quietly pulled a similar stunt. But unlike Apple’s brazen elimination of right-leaning outlets, MSN camouflages its censorship behind a thin veil of human interest stories from Fox News.
When accounting for MSN’s shell game, the results are similar to prior studies by the Media Research Center: MSN only promoted 20 genuine political stories from right-leaning outlets out of 493 AllSides-rated top stories in the mornings throughout February.
Additionally, after tracking MSN’s top 20 daily stories each morning, MRC found that the digital news gatekeeper consistently amplified left-leaning outlets while sidelining conservative voices, mirroring the bias documented on Apple News and Google News.
In response, MRC President David Bozell sharply rebuked MSN’s camouflage tactic, pointing out how the digital news gatekeeper relies more on deception than on exclusion:
“MSN is attempting to drive the political narrative by cherry-picking the outlets that hate President Trump the most. Somebody needs to explain why the number-one cable news outlet in America is being sent to the back of the bus. MSN might think it can avoid scrutiny from federal regulators by adding a few stories from Fox, but it is not going to work. Consumer harm is the same, regardless of how you dress it up.”
MRC Findings of Microsoft MSN’s Top 20 Morning Editions in February:
- Microsoft’s MSN excluded stories from every right-leaning outlet except Fox News and Fox Business, resulting in a ratio of 68 left-leaning outlets and others to only two right-leaning outlets.
- Although the digital news gatekeeper published 57 stories from Fox outlets, only 20 stories (35%) addressed top political issues. The remaining 37 articles highlighted public interest topics like Hollywood gossip, sports and crime, mostly steering clear of controversial issues like immigration and President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
- Microsoft’s MSN completely omitted a wide range of highly viewed right-leaning news sources like New York Post, Daily Mail, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Newsmax, all of which are among the Press Gazette’s top 50 most-visited websites.
- Out of 493 AllSides-rated stories, Microsoft’s MSN amplified left-leaning sources 55% of the time (270 stories) and center outlets 34% (166 stories), while largely shutting out right-leaning sources, showing just under 12% (57 stories).
How MSN Exploits Fox News Public Interest Stories to Create Illusion of Balance
MRC concluded, after reviewing the top 20 stories promoted by MSN each morning in February, that the digital news gatekeeper was slightly more likely to feature a right-leaning story than other news aggregators. However, that apparent balance was an illusion.
A closer analysis of the outlets and stories promoted by MSN revealed that the digital news gatekeeper simultaneously relies on Fox while trivializing it. Fox was the lone right-leaning source in MSN’s top 20 morning editions. Even then, MSN primarily reserved prime placements for Fox’s Hollywood news, crime coverage and sports coverage.
Overall, only a little under 12% of MSN’s promoted stories came from right-leaning sources, exclusively Fox News and Fox Business. Of that nearly 12%, a mere 20 out of 57 addressed top political issues. Specifically, MSN promoted Fox News 55 times and Fox Business twice during the month
The types of stories that MSN promotes from Fox News and Fox Business expose the illusion of balance, as it promotes lifestyle topics like a “small-ship cruise line” ceasing operations and an elderly actress posing in a swimsuit photo.
Among the Fox headlines MSN pushed:
- “Popular cruise company abruptly shuts down, disrupting upcoming vacations,” by Fox News, promoted Feb. 15.
- “Jane Seymour embraces 75th birthday with swimsuit beach photo and message of gratitude” by Fox News, promoted on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.
- “LeAnn Rimes says ‘Coyote Ugly’ ended ‘America’s Sweetheart’ era: ‘Put me on a bar and then it was all over'” by Fox News, promoted on Feb. 28.
Other stories had a similar tone and covered similar topics:
- “Island cracks down as tourists are slapped with new fees, fed-up locals revolt,” by Fox News, promoted Feb. 12.
- “Comedian Bill Maher regrets rift with Jimmy Kimmel, worries they may never speak again,” by Fox News, promoted by MSN Feb. 10.
One Fox Business piece profiled wine importer Victor Owen Schwartz after he sued Trump over tariffs and won at the Supreme Court.
The MSN-promoted Fox Business piece — headlined “‘We were right’: He took Trump’s tariffs to the Supreme Court and won” — centered on Schwartz’s claim that Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs amounted to an “unconstitutional act of government overreach.”
Microsoft’s MSN Locked Out All Right-Leaning Outlets Not Named Fox News, Fox Business
MSN’s reliance on soft, public interest Fox stories to create the veneer of balance came at the expense of other popular right-leaning outlets, which were effectively shunned by the digital news gatekeeper.
Fox News ranked among the top most-visited websites in the U.S. in February, according to data from the Press Gazette. But so did the New York Post, Daily Mail, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Newsmax and The Epoch Times, all of which are rated right-leaning by AllSides.
These outlets were completely absent from MSN’s top 20 morning placements throughout the month despite their massive reach. MSN might argue that it only promotes outlets with dedicated channels, but that defense falls apart under scrutiny.
The New York Post and Daily Mail already have dedicated channels on MSN, yet the digital news gatekeeper did not feature them during the period reviewed. As for the remaining right-leaning outlets, MSN has not publicly explained why they have not been admitted into its exclusive, invite-only news aggregator.
Microsoft MSN’s Promotion of Fox Pales in Comparison to the Overall Leftist Outlets
MSN’s use of Fox News public interest stories to fabricate balance was not the only thing MRC discovered in its analysis. MSN has repeatedly favored left-wing news outlets in its aggregation, and like clockwork, February was no different.
MRC took all the top 20 stories each month and used AllSides to determine the bias of each promoted outlet. Of the 560 articles, 493 came from AllSides-rated outlets, with MSN repeatedly awarding top placements to leftist sources.
- 270 stories (55%) came from outlets AllSides rates as left-leaning.
- 166 stories (34%) came from center-rated outlets.
- 57 stories (12%) came from right-leaning outlets, exclusively from either Fox News or Fox Business.
MSN’s veneer of balance does not inoculate the digital news gatekeeper from charges of politicizing its content or from potentially running afoul of consumer protection laws.
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Methodology: MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories on Microsoft’s MSN at approximately 8:30 AM ET from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28. MRC researchers 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 Microsoft’s MSN and analyzed the results.
