Apple News did not promote a single story about the Democratic National Committee’s financial troubles among its top 20 stories from Jan. 1 through Sept. 28, according to a Media Research Center analysis that identified 78 such articles, the New York Post reported.
None of those stories appeared in the platform’s daily top 20, the conservative watchdog said, even as the findings land weeks before the 2026 midterm elections. “Apple isn’t curating the news,” MRC president David Bozell said. “It’s running a high-tech protection racket for the political left.”
Researchers found that 78 outlets published pieces on the DNC’s debt during the period, and that none of them were featured in Apple News’ promoted top 20. At least 14 stories from outlets Apple News frequently promotes also went unfeatured, including USA Today, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Politico and the New York Post.
The analysis comes as Democrats face a cash gap heading into the midterms. In December 2025, the DNC attributed nearly $16 million in debt to the failed 2024 Biden-Harris campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings cited by the Post. Kamala Harris’ campaign spent roughly $1.5 billion, and the DNC was left with $20.5 million in debt. The party then took out a $15 million loan in October 2025 to support off-year gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.
Despite Democratic wins in both states, the DNC entered 2026 with $17.5 million in debt, the New York Times first reported. That is the highest comparable level since 2014, when the party owed roughly $16 million. The shortfall has fueled calls to oust DNC Chairman Ken Martin, and some donors have shifted money to other liberal groups. Several Democrats have questioned the party’s “very purpose entirely,” Politico reported. The Republican National Committee, by contrast, has $230 million on hand and no debt.
“For years, the media lectured Americans about ‘dirty money in politics’ whenever Republicans had the fundraising advantage,” Bozell said. “Now Democrats are facing a financial mess of their own making, and suddenly the story isn’t worth telling.”
Unlike Google News and Microsoft’s MSN, which rely heavily on algorithms, Apple News uses human editors to select much of what appears on the service. The debt finding follows earlier MRC analyses that accused Apple News of a left-leaning tilt, including claims that it failed to promote coverage of scandals involving former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and that it disproportionately promotes left-leaning outlets in its morning top 20.