Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) revisited a huge Media Research Center (MRC) victory over a public-private partnership to censor publications on the right.
McCormick spoke with MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider about the successful attempt to add a ban on government funding of NewsGuard censorship campaigns into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). McCormick issued a dire warning: the government is seeking to “weaponize the agencies like NewsGuard.”
McCormick said, “Now they want to use our taxpayer monies in the defense industry to hire industries like–NewsGuard which would keep people off of Newsmax and other conservative venues.” He explained how NewsGuard rates publications according to its biased standards of what is “true” or “factual” and said that failing their metrics will have severe consequences for the publications and their advertising, which is needed to survive.
Three studies conducted by the MRC have demonstrated that NewsGuard is extremely biased in favor of the left. The MRC’s most recent study showed that NewsGuard gave an average rating of 65% to publications on the right while giving an average rating of 91% to publications on the left. NewsGuard has a long history of rating left-wing sources far higher as demonstrated by earlier MRC studies.
The congressman highlighted this absurd bias at NewsGuard, attacking the pro-censorship group for targeting news sources such as One America News (OAN), Newsmax and Fox News. “So it's actually a biased way to keep you from being, just like ESG in investment, they continue to divest from investing in conservative venues,” he said.
As a former fighter pilot, McCormick discussed the role of conservatives in the armed forces, expressing outrage that NewsGuard and the government targeted patriotic Americans and their news sources. “The most conservative venues are where you get those heritages of people who enlist in the Army, in the Marines, in the Navy, in the Air Force, they’re trying to basically weaponize the agencies like NewsGuard to keep them away from advertising. It steals millions of dollars away from conservative venues and that needs to be ended,” he said.
In 2024, McCormick and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) led the passage of the 2025 NDAA, which included a pro-free speech provision effectively banning the Pentagon from contracting with NewsGuard and other outlets that target the advertising of right-leaning outlets.
Congress passed similar language a year prior for the 2024 NDAA. “This year’s NDAA will refocus our military on its core mission of defending America and its interests across the globe,” Johnson told MRC at the time.
Echoing Johnson’s remarks, McCormick stated, “Congress has a real opportunity to do something about that by reining in for-profit censors that have been funded by our own government like NewsGuard and GDI.
FLASHBACK: Rep. McCormick Champions Push to End Dystopian Censorship Industrial Complex, Touts MRC
MRC Free Speech America Assistant Editor Luis Cornelio contributed to this report.
Conservatives are under attack! Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency on WEF partnerships, clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
