The Watchdog with David Bozell

Some weeks at the Media Research Center, the pattern is so clear you almost have to laugh.

First, the media’s reaction to Operation Epic Fury in Iran. While American service members were carrying out dangerous missions and Iranian missiles were flying toward U.S. bases, the commentary class here at home went straight to its usual playbook.

On The View, co-host Sunny Hostin warned that the United States had supposedly launched a war “without a plan” and compared the operation to Russia invading Ukraine.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post published one of those familiar soft-focus profiles of Iran’s late Supreme Leader — complete with references to his “easy smile” and fondness for poetry and Victor Hugo.

Over on Saturday Night Live, the writers decided that less than 24 hours after the strikes — while American troops were still in harm’s way — was the perfect moment to mock President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Then there was the coverage of the president’s statement honoring wounded and fallen service members. When President Trump said, “We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” MS NOW​​​​​’s Catherine Rampell described it as “callous.”

That was the tone of the "reporting," if you can call it that. We’re tracking all of it with our special coverage at Newsbusters. 

At the same time, something genuinely historic happened in Washington.

The Supreme Court of the United States restored a nationwide injunction blocking California’s policy that allowed schools to conceal gender transitions from parents. In a 6–3 decision, the Court reaffirmed a simple principle: parents — not the state — hold the primary authority over their children’s upbringing and education.

It is one of the most significant rulings on parental rights in years.

Naturally, two of the biggest digital news gateways in the country acted as if it never happened.

Our team at MRC’s Free Speech America found that Google News and MSN provided zero coverage of the decision. Not one story surfaced to the millions of users who rely on those apps for daily news.

Apple News and Yahoo News did run coverage — a single Reuters article each — framed primarily as a setback for “privacy protections for transgender students.”

This is why the work we’re doing with the Digital News Tracker matters so much.

These news apps have quietly become the front door to information for hundreds of millions of Americans. When they choose to amplify some stories and bury others, they are shaping the public’s understanding of what matters.

Our job is simple: document it, expose it, and make sure it doesn’t happen in the dark.

Your support makes that possible. Thanks so much again.

​​​Take it easy, 

David Bozell
President