By Gavin Boyle
Do news platforms prioritize certain perspectives over others?
A new study revealed that only 5% of the news articles promoted by major news aggregate platforms were from right-leaning sources, compared to 70% of their sources coming from left-wing media.
“MRC’s latest data exposes a glaring bias from the Big Four News Apps. Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN, and Yahoo News are blatantly tipping the scales in favor of the elitist media, who we all know have a left-wing bias,” said Media Research Center President David Bozell. “An overwhelming 70% of their top stories come from left-leaning outlets, while right-leaning points of view are hardly heard, at just 5%. This shocking neglect of conservative perspectives is a deliberate marginalization that stifles diversity of thought and hinders informed discourse, making it the true threat to our democracy.”
Related: Why Do People Get Their News From TikTok?
While it is no surprise that the major tech companies that run these news platforms favor liberal sources over conservative ones, the scale of the difference is alarming. For many Americans, these are the platforms they consume their news through, and Apple News, for example, comes pre-downloaded on all new Apple devices.
It has become more and more common for Americans, especially those in the younger generations, to turn to social media for their news rather than relying on traditional sources. This study perhaps reveals part of the reason why, as they seek out different perspectives but typically can’t find them on the most common platforms.
A study from 2023 found that more than half of all Americans receive their news from social media, with Facebook, YouTube and TikTok being the most common platforms for these consumers.
Meanwhile, a majority of Americans express low confidence in journalism, especially among conservatives.
“It used to be, as a kid, I could just turn on the news on TV and it’s like everything is believable and credible,” a Republican woman in her 40s told Pew. “But in a world where everything has become much more biased, and there’s unreliable and biased sources, you have to kind of take things with a grain of salt and look at where is it coming from, and who’s the source, and what is their main goal? And you just have to put a filter on it.”
In an age when America is more divided than ever, understanding the worldviews promoted by platforms is increasingly important. Unfortunately, instead of sharing all news sources equally to ensure every person gets the full picture, aggregate sites seem to prioritize one side over the other.
Read Next: Does Google Favor Left-Leaning News Outlets?
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