{"id":2629523,"date":"2026-07-14T10:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/google-and-apple-news-suppressed-platner-stories-for-months-study\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T10:45:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:45:23","slug":"google-and-apple-news-suppressed-platner-stories-for-months-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/google-and-apple-news-suppressed-platner-stories-for-months-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Google and Apple News suppressed Platner stories for months: Study"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgoogle-and-apple-news-suppressed-platner-stories-for-months-study%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2629523&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Two major U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >news distributors allegedly suppressed negative coverage<\/a> of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner for months, according to a recent study by the Media Research Centre.Platner, the democratic nominee challenging republican Susan Collins in 2026, withdrew his campaign last week amid controversies including accusations from an ex-girlfriend.The study claims that Apple and Google News did not report over 100 negative stories about Platner during that period,suggesting intentional censorship,even though both companies denied systematic bias. The blackout reportedly began during the Democratic primary when polls showed Platner as a potential challenger capable of defeating Collins. Coverage resumed after unfavorable polling in late June. The Maine Senate race is highly notable nationally, as control of the Senate could hinge on its outcome. Platner&#8217;s withdrawal has caused chaos in the race, prompting Democrats to quickly select a replacement nominee through a party convention by the end of July.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of the United States\u2019s leading news distributors suppressed negative coverage of former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maine\/\">Maine<\/a> Senate candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/graham-platner\/\">Graham Platner<\/a> for months, according to a new study. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner was the Democratic Party\u2019s nominee in the race against Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susan-collins\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1302\">Susan Collins<\/a> (R-ME) in the 2026 election. He ended his campaign last week after months of controversies, which culminated with one of his ex-girlfriends accusing him of rape. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4647152\/mike-lee-judiciary-chair-senate-lindsey-graham\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Mike Lee says Judiciary chairmanship \u2018hard to turn down\u2019 if GOP keeps Senate majority<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4647139\/trump-i-dont-know-mitch-mcconnell-health\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump says \u2018I don\u2019t know\u2019 about McConnell\u2019s condition despite hospital photo<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4646870\/what-to-know-darline-graham-nordone-senator\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>What to know about Darline Graham Nordone, South Carolina\u2019s newest senator<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apple and Google News published zero stories on their daily morning news drop for millions of smartphone users between November and May about the high-profile controversies that rocked Platner\u2019s campaign,\u00a0including headlines about his Nazi tattoo and contentious Reddit posts, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/mrcfreespeechamerica.org\/blogs\/free-speech\/luis-cornelio\/2026\/07\/13\/special-report-inside-apple-googles-failed-attempt\">according to<\/a> an analysis by Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group. The two news sites declined to promote more than 100 stories that scrutinized Platner during that time frame, according to the group. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MRC accused the leading news aggregators of \u201cintentional censorship\u201d for the blackout that it said began during the Democratic Party primary when polling indicated only Platner would defeat Collins in a hypothetical matchup. The blackout \u201cslightly ebbed\u201d after the <em>New York Times\u2019s <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/30\/us\/politics\/graham-platner-maine-senate-texts.html\">May 30<\/a> report on sexting allegations against Platner, and \u201ccompletely collapsed \u201d after <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/fox-news-poll-maine-senate-race-tight-concerns-about-both-candidates\">polling<\/a> published on June 30 showed he would likely no longer defeat Collins, according to the group. MRC said that news aggregators then promoted 12<strong> <\/strong>negative stories about the embattled candidate on July 7 and 8.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor months, while Platner looked like the one Democrat who could beat Susan Collins, the two most powerful news apps in America buried scandal after scandal,\u201d MRC President David Bozell said. \u201cThen the polls turned, Platner became a liability, and suddenly the blackout ended. News judgment had nothing to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google News denied claims it engaged in systematic censorship, saying the analysis is \u201ctotally false and based on a completely flawed methodology.\u201d It suggested that the analysis \u201cmistakes volume of news for bias, and said that results on Google News \u201care curated automatically by our systems, not by editors.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe study checked Google News once a day from a single account, ignoring the fact that Google News automatically updates throughout the day, and shows news personalized to your interests and location,\u201d the company told the Washington Examiner. \u201cYou can also easily select sources you want to see more often in News and Search.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MRC <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/mrcfreespeechamerica.org\/blogs\/free-speech\/gabriela-pariseau\/2026\/07\/13\/google-tries-fails-rebut-mrc-special-report\">pushed back<\/a>, saying the news aggregators failed to deny that it suppressed \u201cat least 112 significant stories\u201d and did not point \u201cto a single piece of evidence\u201d proving the analysis wrong. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoogle wants us to believe that checking their platform once a day missed the magic window where they actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-throws-biden-and-his-inner-circle-under-the-bus-in-scorching-book-excerpt\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris Throws Biden and His &#039;Inner Circle&#039; Under the Bus in Scorching Book Excerpt\">allowed negative news<\/a> about Graham Platner to exist,\u201d Bozell said. \u201cThat is an insult to the intelligence of every consumer and investor.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The<em> Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to Apple News for comment, but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Maine Senate race is one of the most closely watched in the country because the Republican Party\u2019s control of the upper chamber could hinge on its outcome. With Collins viewed as a highly vulnerable incumbent, Democrats selected Platner as their nominee to challenge her in November. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4643042\/democrats-fume-bernie-sanders-graham-platner-maine-senate-race\/\"><strong>DEMOCRATS FUME AT BERNIE SANDERS FOR ENABLING GRAHAM PLATNER\u2019S RISE IN MAINE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner\u2019s exit has thrown the race into mayhem. Democrats are now scrambling to elect a replacement by 5 p.m. on July 27. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Candidates to replace Platner must declare their campaign to do so by 5 p.m. on July 15. Then, they will take part in a whirlwind convention held by the Maine Democratic Party to select the new nominee by July\u2019s end. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Major US news outlets hid negative stories on Maine candidate Platner for months<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2629524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/zumaamericasfiftyfour304362-e1783705623733.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50972,6063,79707,82692,82693],"class_list":["post-2629523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-apple-2","tag-google","tag-media-suppression","tag-news-censorship","tag-platner-stories"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/zumaamericasfiftyfour304362-e1783705623733.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629523"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2629527,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629523\/revisions\/2629527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2629524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2629523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2629523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}