House Oversight Chair James Comer announced a probe into NewsGuard, an organization that ranks news outlets' dependability but has been accused of left-wing bias. Comer believes NewsGuard could be in breach of its own claims of impartiality due to social media postings made by its staff and penalizes news organizations with low viewership if they do not modify their reporting to satisfy the watchdog.
The company rates and evaluates news organizations, providing data to businesses for advertising purposes. However, those who have worked with NewsGuard claim that it forces them to look for liberal sides in articles.
NOTE: This is what Newsguard did to our website in 2020, "The third largest increase came from WayneDupree.com, the website of conservative radio host Wayne Dupree, which has repeatedly published false and misleading claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The site’s engagement increased 308.66%, from 21,774 interactions to 88,982, while its number of tweets increased by 18.67% from 284 to 337. WayneDupree.com receives a 7.5 trust score from NewsGuard."
Comer used the example of a British website, The Daily Sceptic, publishing an article on a research that cast doubt on the value of lockdowns during a coronavirus epidemic. After NewsGuard pressed the publication about the study, the Sceptic revised their article to clarify that the study had not undergone peer review.
Only a retraction, according to NewsGuard, would meet its demands. Comer issued a letter to NewsGuard's senior executives, stating that the company subsequently lowered the outlet's reliability rating shared with advertisers after the outlet chose to stand by its published story on the study.
Commer also emphasized the social media postings that he believed were objectionable, including reposts and those critical of former President Donald Trump, made by NewsGuard writers and staff. He requested that NewsGuard provide Congress with a breakdown of its operations. In the past, NewsGuard has worked under contract with the US government, particularly the Defense Department, which led Republicans to include language restricting the department's use of its advertising budget in the yearly military policy bill.
The company rates and evaluates news organizations, providing data to businesses for advertising purposes. However, those who have worked with NewsGuard claim that it forces them to look for liberal sides in articles.
NOTE: This is what Newsguard did to our website in 2020, "The third largest increase came from WayneDupree.com, the website of conservative radio host Wayne Dupree, which has repeatedly published false and misleading claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The site’s engagement increased 308.66%, from 21,774 interactions to 88,982, while its number of tweets increased by 18.67% from 284 to 337. WayneDupree.com receives a 7.5 trust score from NewsGuard."
Comer used the example of a British website, The Daily Sceptic, publishing an article on a research that cast doubt on the value of lockdowns during a coronavirus epidemic. After NewsGuard pressed the publication about the study, the Sceptic revised their article to clarify that the study had not undergone peer review.
Only a retraction, according to NewsGuard, would meet its demands. Comer issued a letter to NewsGuard's senior executives, stating that the company subsequently lowered the outlet's reliability rating shared with advertisers after the outlet chose to stand by its published story on the study.
Commer also emphasized the social media postings that he believed were objectionable, including reposts and those critical of former President Donald Trump, made by NewsGuard writers and staff. He requested that NewsGuard provide Congress with a breakdown of its operations. In the past, NewsGuard has worked under contract with the US government, particularly the Defense Department, which led Republicans to include language restricting the department's use of its advertising budget in the yearly military policy bill.
