The US House of Representatives recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025, with 124 Democrats voting against funding for the US military. Speaker Johnson commended the legislation, highlighting provisions that prohibit contracts with advertising firms like NewsGuard Technologies, known for “blacklisting conservative news sources.” Rob Bluey, president of The Daily Signal, celebrated the news that military funding for Newsguard will not proceed this year.
NewsGuard, a self-proclaimed non-partisan fact-checking organization, has faced criticism for its biased approach towards conservative outlets. Despite claiming to promote truth and honesty, NewsGuard has been accused of steering readers towards government-approved sources only, such as the CDC.
Founded in 2018, NewsGuard rates websites for reliability and determines what constitutes fake news. However, the organization has been criticized for its anti-Trump bias and targeting of pro-Trump publishers and citizen journalists. Supported by Trump critics, elites, and media giants, NewsGuard has been accused of trying to demonetize voices that do not align with its agenda.
Reports have revealed that the individuals behind NewsGuard are predominantly left-leaning and vehemently anti-Trump. Their mission appears to be the suppression of pro-Trump and conservative websites. Furthermore, NewsGuard has advised advertisers to withdraw from websites deemed “unreliable,” including Breitbart News and The Drudge Report, influencing where companies market their products and potentially alienating Trump supporters.
A 2019 report by La Corte News found that conservative sites were twice as likely to be labeled unreliable compared to liberal publishers. Additionally, it was discovered that the US Department of Defense allocated $749,387 to Newsguard in 2021, raising concerns about government involvement in content moderation and censorship.
Despite consistently targeting outlets like on topics such as COVID, the Hunter Biden laptop, election integrity, and vaccines – all of which were later proven accurate – NewsGuard has not held mainstream media accountable for spreading misinformation. The government’s funding of this censorship outfit raises questions about its support for a biased and dishonest organization like NewsGuard.
Moving forward, it remains to be seen whether the federal government will continue to fund NewsGuard or explore alternative methods of supporting fact-checking initiatives that are free from political bias.
