{"id":2678008,"date":"2026-10-07T13:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T17:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignapple-news-offers-users-personalized-voting-guide-filled-with-leftist-sources\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T13:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T17:39:33","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignapple-news-offers-users-personalized-voting-guide-filled-with-leftist-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignapple-news-offers-users-personalized-voting-guide-filled-with-leftist-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple News Offers Midterms Guide Filled With Leftist Sources"},"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\">18<\/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%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignapple-news-offers-users-personalized-voting-guide-filled-with-leftist-sources%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=2678008&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>The article discusses how iPhone users across the United States were encouraged to vote thru Apple News alerts that provided personalized voting guides based on users\u2019 zip codes. These guides predominantly featured coverage favoring Democratic candidates and framed Republican candidates negatively, often emphasizing their associations with Donald Trump and portraying election security measures as needless. Apple did not clarify its source selection or whether it uses third-party ratings like NewsGuard, raising concerns about bias, especially given past scrutiny from the FTC regarding left-leaning promotion in Apple News.<\/p>\n<p>Coverage examples include detailed profiles of Maine democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles, with the former portrayed positively and the latter introduced with a neutral career background. In Ohio, articles highlighted Democratic views on Trump\u2019s unpopularity and framed Republican candidates\u2019 loyalty to Trump negatively, especially in relation to ballot issues. Kansas voters saw coverage emphasizing the potential to break a political streak by voting Democrat, with some coverage discussing amendments related to voting rights.<\/p>\n<p>In Michigan, voters encountered articles from outlets with known left-center biases, such as Bridge Michigan and the Detroit Free Press. The Federal Trade Commission previously warned Apple about its bias toward left-wing outlets, prompting scrutiny of its News app\u2019s content curation. Recent reports indicate a significant reduction in conservative stories promoted on Apple News, demonstrating potential ongoing bias. Apple has not responded to inquiries about its review or changes in news selection processes.The piece highlights concerns over perceived partisan bias in Apple&#8217;s curated news content.  <\/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<div>\n<p>iPhone users across the country <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/robbystarbuck\/status\/2107489841407500374?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">were<\/a> urged to vote after consulting left-wing media sites on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<p>Apple News\u2019 sent an alert to users that read \u201cThis personalized guide has all the information you need.\u201d Clicking the alert then takes user to a page with a \u201cHow to vote\u201d tab offering a \u201cpersonalized guide to casting your ballot.\u201d Users can enter their zip code to find coverage of the elections happening in their area.<\/p>\n<p>Visiting Fellow at the Heritage Foundation Robby Starbuck pointed out that much of the news provided \u201cfelt heavily biased in favor of Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For several zip codes in battleground areas, the featured coverage highlights Democrat candidates\u2019 accomplishments and opportunities to make history. Meanwhile, Republican candidates are often framed around their association to President Donald Trump and proposed election safeguards are framed as needless.<\/p>\n<p>Apple did not respond by time of publication to questions from The Federalist, such as how it selected its sources for the coverage or whether it uses third-party rating services such as NewsGuard. Notably, Apple has been called out before by media watchdogs as well as the Federal Trade Commission for its preferential promotion of left-leaning media sources. <\/p>\n<p>Consider the coverage featured for voters living in Portland, Maine\u2019s 04101 zip code. The Maine Monitor\u2019s article entitled \u201c2026 Maine General Election Voter Guide,\u201d introduces voters to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Hannah Pingree as \u201cthe youngest woman in the country to serve as state house speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The article then highlights Pingree\u2019s legislative accomplishments and frames Pingree as the candidate who, \u201cIf elected governor, she [said that she] would work to protect Maine from \u2018the overreaches of the Trump administration\u2019 and work to make housing and health care more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republican nominee Bobby Charles got a different introduction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles\u2019 career was primarily spent in Washington, D.C.\u201d The guide then notes he founded a consulting firm.<\/p>\n<p>For the state\u2019s highly watched Senate race, Democrat Troy Jackson is introduced to voters by highlighting his 20 years in the state legislature.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore his time in the Legislature, Jackson was a logger, hailing from Fort Kent. He got his start in politics by participating in a logging blockade protesting the hiring of temporary Canadian workers.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>For incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, she is described as the \u201clongest-serving Republican woman. in the chamber.\u201d The guide also says Collins is on a lot of influential committees and \u201cis known for a number of influential votes in the Senate, including her vote against a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017 and her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jackson gets a working-man background story who simply got involved in politics because politics came too close to home. Collins\u2019 record is highlighted through two votes on politically contentious topics. <\/p>\n<p>Entering an Ohio zip code brings up an article from NPR affiliate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wvxu.org\/politics\/2026-08-31\/ohio-major-races-issue-3-november-election-midterms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WVXU entitled<\/a> \u201cThe major races and single issue to watch in Ohio this November\u201d which leads with multiple paragraphs regurgitating Democrat talking points about Trump\u2019s unpopularity and Ohio Republican candidates\u2019 \u201cfealty\u201d to the president, who won Ohio by 11 points in his last election.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s approval rating is \u201cfar under water,\u201d the article says, before describing Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted as \u201csticking with Trump, for good or ill. Neither one has gone out his way to put any distance between themselves and an unpopular president.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Before the readers even meet the Republican candidates, the article has created a lens by which to view the candidates, that is, their failure to distance themselves from Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The article also highlights Ohio\u2019s voter ID amendment in a similar left-wing lens. <\/p>\n<p>Issue 3 (if passed) would amend the state constitution to require photo ID for voting. WVXU notes that \u201cthat\u2019s already required to vote, before and on Election Day, and it has been that way since 2023. But the GOP-majority legislature has said that law is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rather than explaining in that passage why a constitutional protection of voter ID matters, the article instead tries to pretend like Republicans are being dramatic in thinking \u201cthe law is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Voters in Leavenworth, Kansas (zip code 66048), can find an article from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/08\/31\/kansas-voters-guide-for-2026-elections-and-major-races\/91449087007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Topeka Capital-Journal<\/a> that frames the election as a chance to make history \u2014 by electing Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKansas voters have the change to break historical trends this election,\u201d the headline reads. \u201cA Democrat winning the U.S. Senate would break a nearly 100-year winning streak by Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The article also discussed a proposed constitutional amendment that clarifies only citizens can vote as though it is needless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo local government in Kansas has moved to allow noncitizens to vote in their elections, which is why opponents have argued the amendment is a waste of time because it doesn\u2019t change anything,\u201d the article reads. But supporters of the amendment want to prevent local governments from giving noncitizens voting rights in the future (which has been tried in blue cities across the country).<\/p>\n<p>Voters who enter a zip code in Michigan such as 48226 see two articles pop up, one from the Detroit Free Press and one from Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is published by the Center for Michigan, whose founder, Phil Power, is a Democrat, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Influence Watch<\/a>. Bridge Michigan is listed as having a left-center bias, according to Influence Watch. Meanwhile The Detroit Free Press is rated Lean Left by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allsides.com\/news-source\/detroit-free-press-media-bias?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AllSides<\/a> and Left-Center by <a href=\"https:\/\/mediabiasfactcheck.com\/detroit-free-press\/\">M<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mediabiasfactcheck.com\/detroit-free-press\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">edia Bias\/Fact Check<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Apple News has faced scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over concern about bias in the past.<\/p>\n<p>The FTC had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/apple-news-warning-letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously sent Apple a warning letter<\/a> in February about the slant in Apple News. The letter, sent to then-Apple CEO Tim Cook, raised concerns that Apple News \u201chas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-antitrust-shake-up-reflects-effort-to-define-maga-antitrust\/\" title=\"DOJ antitrust shake-up reflects effort to define \u2018MAGA antitrust\u2019\">systematically promoted news articles<\/a> from left-wing news outlets and suppressed news articles from more conservative publications.\u201d The FTC encouraged Apple to \u201cconduct a comprehensive review of Apple\u2019s terms of service and ensure that Apple News\u2019 curation of articles is consistent with those terms and representations made to consumers and, if it is not, to take corrective action swiftly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Apple did not respond when asked by The Federalist whether that review has been completed, or even begun. <\/p>\n<p>Notably, The Media Research Center (MRC) <a href=\"https:\/\/mrcfreespeechamerica.org\/blogs\/free-speech\/michael-morris\/2026\/10\/05\/apples-leadership-has-changed-its-news-app-has-only\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> Monday that Apple News \u201chas gone from promoting just over a dozen stories from right-leaning outlets (13) in August to sharing a relative few (3) in September.\u201d In August, Apple News reportedly promoted 381 stories from left-wing outlets and just 13 from right-leaning outlets, MRC found.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApple has no shortage of conservative journalism to choose from. Apple is choosing to exclude conservative voices and deny its audience anything resembling a balanced news diet,\u201d Media Research Center President David Bozell said in a statement. <\/p>\n<p>Further, according to MRC, it took Apple News \u201c100 days to publish a single story from a right-leaning outlet\u201d on its top 20 morning feed between November 3, 2025 and February 13, 2026. In that same time frame, Apple News \u201cpromoted 1,379 stories from left-leaning outlets,\u201d MRC found. <\/p>\n<p>Apple further did not provide comment to The Federalist by the time of publication as to \u201cWhat changes were made to Apple New\u2019 selection process from August to September?\u201d <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IPhone users urged to vote via left-leaning media guides<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2678009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/50534592708_06d193973f_k-e1791340585820.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[86841,86843,86842,43116],"class_list":["post-2678008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-apple-news-2","tag-leftist-sources","tag-midterms-2024","tag-political-bias"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/50534592708_06d193973f_k-e1791340585820.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678008","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\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2678008"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2678016,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678008\/revisions\/2678016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2678009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2678008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2678008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2678008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}