FCC commissioner accuses media ratings provider of censorship

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr accused private company NewsGuard, which uses journalistic methods to generate reliability ratings of media outlets, of participating in a “censorship cartel” in a Nov. 13, 2024, letter to four tech companies.

Carr accused NewsGuard of targeting and censoring certain outlets by giving them low credibility ratings and allowing bias to shape its ratings.

In the letter to the heads of Microsoft, Apple, Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — and Alphabet — which owns Google — Carr demanded lists of every product or service that relies on NewsGuard, information he said would “inform the FCC’s work to promote free speech and a diversity of viewpoints.”

Carr posted the letter on X, writing, “The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with ‘fact checking’ groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives.”

According to NewsGuard’s website, it employs “a team of journalists and experienced editors” to produce reliability ratings for online publishers using “journalistic criteria.” In a statement responding to Carr’s letter, the company argued that the commissioner’s accusations were based on “false reports,” including from conservative outlet Newsmax, which NewsGuard has given a low credibility rating.

“Our journalism is itself speech protected by the First Amendment,” NewsGuard stated. “We’re concerned to see a government official using the powers of his office, however unwittingly after having been misled by Newsmax, to attempt to prevent a private company (NewsGuard) from producing journalistic content.”

When reached for comment about NewsGuard’s statement, Carr told The Washington Post, “NewsGuard’s response is a jumble of disinformation, deception and sleight of hand. In other words, it mirrors NewsGuard’s business model, in my opinion.”

Carr seems to be attempting to punish the company “for doing journalism,” NewsGuard Co-Editor-in-Chief Steven Brill told Deadline. “It’s like saying I am going to penalize Consumer Reports because it’s giving people information when they are looking to buy a toaster.”

Carr was appointed to the FCC in 2017 by President Donald Trump. On Nov. 17, 2024, after winning reelection, Trump announced that he had selected Carr as FCC chair, calling him “a warrior for Free Speech.”

Carr has supported Trump’s calls for NBC, CBS and ABC to lose their broadcast licenses over their alleged mistreatment of him, NPR reported.