House Investigation into NewsGuard Over Alleged Conservative Media Censorship

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, chaired by Representative James Comer (R-KY), has launched an investigation into NewsGuard, a news-rating organization, over concerns about its impact on First Amendment rights and potential involvement in censorship, particularly against conservative media. The probe seeks to determine if NewsGuard is operating as a non-transparent agent of censorship, possibly with backing from federal entities.

NewsGuard, which rates news outlets based on their perceived reliability, has been accused of bias by conservative groups. Critics argue that NewsGuard's partnerships with corporations and advertisers enable it to blacklist conservative media by flagging them as unreliable, effectively choking their ad revenue and audience reach.

American Intelligence: Hamas rockets exploded near the hospital

Israeli Intelligence: Hamas rockets exploded near the hospital

NewsGuard: We still don’t know whose rockets hit the hospital

These “fact checkers” sure do love making up their own “facts”!https://t.co/H9RGO0DEkS pic.twitter.com/CA2Twkfg22

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 29, 2023

Marissa Streit, CEO of PragerU, and Mike Benz, Executive Director of the Foundation for Freedom, have highlighted these concerns, noting that NewsGuard's ratings often favor liberal outlets while penalizing conservative ones.

The House investigation is particularly focused on NewsGuard's contracts with federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, which has reportedly paid over $700,000 to the organization to monitor online misinformation. Chairman Comer's letter to NewsGuard's CEOs, Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, requests documents related to these contracts and questions the company's adherence to its own bias prevention policies.

NewsGuard’s “news ratings labels” are the censorship commercial product equivalent of a Lehman Bros CDO

Just like pre-2008, the scam went unnoticed by most pundits bc few could fathom depth of its elaborate brazenness, & how many other firms & agencies were all entangled in it https://t.co/37ye4rFrc7 pic.twitter.com/W42mDCwRNn

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) November 22, 2023

Comer has expressed concern that NewsGuard's activities may be an extension of government efforts to suppress certain viewpoints, potentially infringing on free speech rights​.

NewsGuard has defended its work, stating that its ratings are designed to combat misinformation and are applied consistently across the political spectrum. However, a study by the Media Research Center suggested that liberal outlets receive higher ratings from NewsGuard compared to their conservative counterparts, sparking further allegations of partisan bias.

This investigation is part of a broader effort by House Republicans to address perceived censorship by media and tech companies​.

The outcome of this investigation could have significant implications for how news-rating agencies operate and interact with government entities. It aims to ensure that practices like those of NewsGuard do not infringe upon free speech or contribute to governmental overreach in media regulation.