Letter seeks answers on Microsoft’s sponsorship of NewsGuard’s “Media Literacy” program, citing censorship of conservative voices

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently sent a letter to Microsoft Corporation seeking answers over the company’s “generous” financial support for NewsGuard’s “Media Literacy” programs, which force ideological conformity on children by censoring their exposure to conservative viewpoints. Instead of teaching children about “misinformation,” NewsGuard’s inconsistent and biased rating system is pushing an anti-conservative ideological agenda and distorting kids’ media literacy. 

In his letter to Microsoft, Sen. Cruz wrote:

It has come to my attention that Microsoft is actively promoting and funding NewsGuard’s so-called “Media Literacy” tool, which is being rolled out to schoolchildren across the country.  Given growing concerns about NewsGuard’s ideological bias and its efforts to manipulate young minds, I ask for transparency regarding Microsoft’s involvement in and financing of this Orwellian censorship project. Your company’s financial support for NewsGuard is especially troubling given Microsoft’s purported commitment to protecting free expression online.

NewsGuard, which touts itself as an “apolitical” “news rating” organization,  has been under increasing scrutiny for its bias against conservative viewpoints.  Specifically, NewsGuard has labeled conservative outlets, such as the Federalist, the Daily Wire, and Newsmax, as “unreliable” based on a subjective, opaque, and inconsistent rating system, while flagging their accurate reporting as misinformation.  In contrast, NewsGuard rates left-leaning outlets like Jacobin, the Atlantic, and the New Republic as highly credible even when they have peddled deceptive and sensational headlines and articles that were factually incorrect. 

The organization’s “Media Literacy” program, which is actively marketed to schools, has faced criticism for pushing a left-wing ideological agenda while censoring conservative perspectives and news outlets.  NewsGuard’s marketing of its services to schools appears to be less about education and more about ideological conformity. Instead of encouraging critical thinking,NewsGuard’s extreme bias limits young minds from questioning authority and forming independent opinions. This distorts media literacy by limiting the range of ideas to which students are exposed.

NewsGuard has found a willing partner in the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), with whom it has entered into a licensing agreement to provide “the AFT’s 1.7 million members, tens of millions of kids they teach, and their families” with “free, real-time ‘traffic light’ news ratings and detailed ‘Nutrition Label’ reviews, via a licensed copy of NewsGuard’s browser extension, whenever they search the web for news and information.” 

America is unique amongst democracies for enshrining in its constitution a foundational respect of the right of free men and women to communicate with each other without government censorship. Whether being done by Big Government or Big Tech, the censorship of ideas and speech is antithetical to this tradition and our shared cultural values. Given Microsoft’s significant influence in America’s tech and education sectors, it is crucial that the company takes responsibility for the tools it promotes, especially when those tools have the potential to influence young minds in ways that limit intellectual diversity and the free flow of ideas.

The letter requests information about Microsoft’s financial support of NewsGuard’s “Media Literacy” program and efforts to silence conservative viewpoints.

Read the full text of this letter HERE.

###