MRC Original: It’s official: Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News hate America, and MRC has the evidence.
As Americans rejoiced over the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Big Four News Apps delivered a starkly different message, filling their feeds with bizarre headlines that distorted America's semiquincentennial and turned it into an opportunity to smear President Donald Trump and advance partisan narratives.
The Media Research Center found that between July 4 and July 6, the Big Four News Apps promoted 52 stories about America’s 250th anniversary. Rather than highlighting the patriotic significance of the semiquincentennial, the coverage overwhelmingly emphasized negativity, political conflict and criticism of Trump’s celebrations.
The ideological imbalance behind that coverage was also clear. Of the 52 Independence Day-related stories promoted across the platforms, the overwhelming majority came from left-leaning outlets, resulting in feeds that largely ignored the celebratory spirit surrounding America’s 250th birthday.
MRC’s Findings:
- The Big Four News Apps largely veered clear of offering headlines with an unambiguously patriotic view of America’s 250th anniversary. Apple News offered 12 negative, non-patriotic or lackluster headlines; Google News promoted 11 negative or non-patriotic headlines; Microsoft’s MSN promoted 10 negative or non-patriotic headlines; and Yahoo News promoted 11 negative or non-patriotic headlines.
- Rather than overwhelmingly commemorate America’s semiquincentennial, the Big Four News Apps did their utmost to reduce the historic celebration to partisan attacks, cultural grievances and relentless negativity.
The Big Four News Apps’ July 4 coverage overwhelmingly relied on left-leaning outlets, with 75% of promoted stories coming from left-leaning sources, compared to 19% from center outlets and just 6% from right-leaning outlets.
Big Four News Apps Curated a Bleak Picture of America’s Semiquincentennial
America’s 250th anniversary is no small feat. The United States is recognized worldwide as the oldest surviving constitutional republic, one equipped with the oldest continuous constitution. Countries have tried and failed to replicate the vision laid out by the Framers for centuries. Despite some historical shortcomings, America’s semiquincentennial should be a point of pride for everyone.
But users of the Big Four News Apps encountered a far different portrayal of the milestone.
The MRC found Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News promoted 52 stories about America’s 250th anniversary, with the overwhelming majority featuring headlines that either emphasized negativity or lacked patriotism rather than promoting the patriotic significance of the milestone.
Other headlines smeared Trump’s festivities as partisan, linked the celebration to slavery, highlighted political division, zeroed in on Trump’s approval ratings and downplayed crowd sizes. Examples below:
Apple News
- “Why the Constitution is making our politics worse,” by Apple News, promoted July 4.
- “Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America's 'joyous' 250th anniversary,” by The Associated Press, promoted July 5.
- “DOGE self-deletes on July 4th. The grand experiment fell apart long before that,” by Politico, promoted July 5.
Google News
- “Trump launches US’s 250th birthday celebrations with partisan attack,” by The Guardian, promoted July 4.
- “America’s 250th celebrations marked by severe weather, political division,” by The Washington Post, promoted July 5.
- “At Mount Rushmore, Trump Veers From Patriotism to ‘Communism,’” by The New York Times, promoted July 4.
- “The Great American Betrayal,” by The Hill, promoted July 5.
MSN
- “Trump celebrates installation of slave owner statue in Washington,” by The Independent, promoted July 4.
- “How Trump’s America 250 crowd size compares to 1976 Bicentennial,” by Newsweek, promoted July 6.
Yahoo News
- “Trump-backed organizer of America’s 250th birthday events may have duped donors, report from House Democrats alleges,” by CNN, promoted July 4.
- “Trump hails US exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250,” by The Associated Press, promoted July 4.
- “Trump presidency reignites its founding debate - how much power is too much?” by BBC News, promoted July 4.
- “Through heat, storms and division, how America marked its 250th,” by USA Today, promoted July 5.
Big Four’s Negative America 250 Coverage Came Almost Entirely From Left-Wing Sources
MRC found that the negative framing that characterized the majority of the headlines was closely tied to the news sources promoted across the Big Four News Apps.
MRC has repeatedly warned that the Big Four News Apps’ heavy reliance on left-leaning sources is not an abstract concern. These digital news aggregators collectively receive hundreds of millions of visits, meaning millions of Americans are repeatedly exposed to coverage shaped by a narrow ideological perspective.
For Independence Day, the digital news gatekeepers ensured that their coverage overwhelmingly originated from outlets rated by independent media bias firm AllSides as left-leaning:
- Apple News: 13 total stories — 12 left-leaning, 1 center
- Google News: 16 total stories — 13 left-leaning, 3 center
- MSN: 11 total stories — 6 left-leaning, 4 center, 1 right-leaning
- Yahoo News: 12 total stories — 9 left-leaning, 2 center, 1 right-leaning
The Big Four News Apps overwhelmingly amplified a familiar lineup of left-leaning and legacy media outlets, like CNN, HuffPost, NBC News, The New York Times, Politico, The Associated Press, USA Today and The Washington Post. Even foreign publications like Al Jazeera, The Guardian and The Independent received prominent placements.
That imbalance shaped the type of coverage Americans encountered, with the aggregators frequently elevating the most negative or politically charged angles surrounding America’s historic milestone.
MRC Free Speech America Intern Abel Jones contributed to this special report.
Methodology: The Media Research Center tracked the top 20 stories on Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News each morning from July 4 through July 6, highlighting all stories related to America’s 250th anniversary. The focus was on identifying stories related to America’s 250th anniversary. The MRC then evaluated the ideological bias of the news sources promoted by the Big Four News Apps, using ratings provided by the independent media bias ratings organization AllSides. Outlets not yet rated by AllSides were excluded from the tally.
