Microsoft has quietly severed ties with NewsGuard, a left-wing fact-checking outfit that has helped advertisers blacklist conservative media.
The move comes after US Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, launched an investigation into NewsGuard’s funding and influence, revealing its ties to USAID and its history of labelling right-leaning outlets as “unreliable” while giving favourable ratings to progressive publications.
Microsoft now claims its support for NewsGuard was limited to a one-time donation in 2018, despite the organisation previously crediting Microsoft for funding its “media literacy” programme. After Cruz’s inquiry, NewsGuard scrubbed all mention of Microsoft from its website.
Cruz, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, welcomed the tech giant’s decision, stating, “Big Tech is finally beginning to recognise that censorship of conservative viewpoints will no longer be tolerated.” He condemned NewsGuard’s rating system, which he said “stifles intellectual diversity” and “undermines our nation’s core values of free expression.”
NewsGuard has been used by major advertising agencies to justify pulling ads from conservative sites such as The Federalist and The Daily Wire, while boosting left-wing publications like Jacobin and The Atlantic. The organisation has also partnered with the American Federation of Teachers to distribute its browser extension in over 800 public libraries worldwide.
Cruz’s probe follows a letter from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in November, demanding that Big Tech companies disclose their censorship activities.
Centrist Ltd.