NewsGuard & Censorship Update
September 2025 Report
Inside This Edition:
- Congress to Consider Anti-Media Censorship Provision in Proposed FY 2026 NDAA
- Foundation for Freedom Online Report: State Dept Pushed Media Literacy to Censor
- Media Research Center Warns Trump Administration About AI’s Left Leaning Bias
- NewsGuard & Censorship Media Roundup
OVERVIEW
September is bringing fresh momentum in the fight to dismantle the censorship-industrial complex. In Washington, the Senate will soon vote on the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act which currently includes a provision barring the Pentagon from contracting with advertising firms that rely on biased media monitors like NewsGuard. This ensures taxpayer-funded recruitment campaigns will no longer be filtered through ideologically slanted gatekeepers.
Meanwhile, new disclosures highlight how censorship has been embedded in schools and emerging technologies. A Foundation for Freedom Online report exposed how the State Department has promoted “media literacy” not to teach critical thinking, but to pre-bias students against disfavored viewpoints. At the same time, the Media Research Center warned the Trump Administration that AI companies are overwhelmingly partnering with left-leaning outlets to supply training data, raising alarms about systemic bias in platforms that increasingly shape public discourse.
Across Congress, the classroom, and Silicon Valley, the pattern is clear: censorship efforts are being challenged and exposed. The IMC and its partners will continue to fight for a level playing field and defend the First Amendment.
GOVERNMENT
Congress to Soon Consider Anti-Media Censorship Provision in Proposed FY 2026 NDAA
The Senate and House are expected to consider including an anti-media censorship provision in the proposed FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA was reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee and House Armed Services Committee in July. The Senate version strengthens an existing provision in the NDAA that prevents the Defense Department from using media monitors in the placement of military recruitment ads. The House draft makes this provision permanent, but language to strengthen enforcement outcomes is expected to be inserted when the bill reaches the House floor this session.
The Senate and House bills must be reconciled in Conference Committee for final passage and enactment.
Foundation for Freedom Online Report: State Dept Pushed Media Literacy to Censor
A Foundation for Online Freedom report reveals that a 2022 memo prepared for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Europe and Eurasia promotes deploying “media literacy” and “digital literacy” curricula in schools—not primarily to protect children, but to inoculate them against certain political narratives deemed disfavored. The initiative leverages classrooms’ “oven‑ready” infrastructure and teachers’ high trust to pre‑bias students against content labeled as misinformation, disinformation, or hate speech, and is explicitly tied to combating “information disorder” and the risk of democratic erosion.
Moreover, the manual, drafted by a supposed nonpartisan expert who previously worked for the UK’s media regulator Ofcom, frames media literacy as a “demand‑side” tool—complementing supply‑side censorship efforts—designed to shape what audiences are willing to accept rather than directly regulating content. This approach, according to the report, effectively aligns media literacy with subtle ideological influence, advancing concern over democratic “backsliding” rather than safeguarding online safety.
Media Research Center Warns Trump Administration About AI’s Left Leaning Bias
Media Research Center’s (MRC) President, David Bozell, warned the Trump Administration that left leaning media sources are infiltrating AI. In recent letters to OMB’s Russell Vought and FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Bozell voiced concern about contracts between major AI companies and legacy media outlets with a predominant left-leaning slant.
An MRC analysis revealed that 59% of these training data agreements were with left-leaning sources, while just 5% involved right-leaning outlets. Bozell questioned whether these contracts violate President Trump’s recent executive order mandating ideological neutrality and urged an FTC probe into potential anti-competitive or unfair practices.
For example, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has agreements with The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Vox Media, and others; Amazon sources content from The New York Times; and Google collaborates with The Associated Press. News Corp is the only right-leaning media entity contracted by a major AI firm. These 97 contracts involving Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI undermine the purported neutrality of AI systems.
The MRC urged the FTC to investigate and requested OMB clarification on whether narrowing AI training data to ideologically aligned sources runs counter to the executive order’s neutrality requirement.
- MRC’s story: MRC Warns Trump Admin: AI-Media Contracts Infusing Leftist Bias in AI
- MRC Letter to Ferguson
- MRC Letter to Vought
MEDIA
Newsmax files antitrust lawsuit against Fox
By Sara Fischer
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/03/newsmax-sues-fox-news-antitrust-lawsuit
The Hill, Trump threatens broadcast networks in late-night social media posts
By Dominick Mastrangelo, 8/25/25
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5468568-trump-threatens-broadcast-networks-in-late-night-social-media-posts/
Newsmax’s Basile: Oppose Nexstar Merger
Newsmax Wires, 8/22/25
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/nexstar-tegna-merger/2025/08/20/id/1223278/
MRC Warns Trump Admin: AI-Media Contracts Infusing Leftist Bias in AI
MRC by Gabriela Pariseau, 8/14/25
Web Censorship Laws in Europe, CA Will Silence all Americans, Experts say
The Daily Signal by Rob Bluey, 8/4/25
Web Censorship Laws in Europe, California Will Silence All Americans, Experts Say
