EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article included an incorrect reference to Crovitz’s political affiliation.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., has announced the launch of an investigation into NewsGuard, saying the probe will focus on the news-rating system's impact on First Amendment speech and whether the company has been sponsored in any way by a federal, state, local or foreign government.
Comer, in a letter sent to NewsGuard co-Chief Executive Officers Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, said last week he is seeking documents related to their company contracts with federal agencies, as well as information about how it adheres to its "policies intended to guard against appearances of bias," reports The Hill.
The chair added that the committee wants to make an independent determination about "whether NewsGuard's intervention on protected speech" was sponsored by any government entities.
"The Committee does not take issue with a business entity providing other businesses and customers with data-based analysis to protect their brands," Comer said. "Rather, we are concerned with the potential involvement of government entities in interfering with free expression."
NewsGuard claims to rate news sources based on reliability, with scores coming from "expert journalists" who use a scale of 0-100 to rate publishers, according to its website.
The company says it bases its ratings on whether certain websites repeatedly publish fake or misleading content, and whether it separates opinion from news.
It also rates whether sites are using misleading headlines, disclose their financing and ownership, and reveals conflicts of interest.
Critics of NewsGuard have argued the group is highly biased and partisan, and uses subjective judgments as to what news stories it decides to rate for bias.
Co-founder Brill has been a long-time Democratic Party operative and donor.
Over decades he and his wife have donated heavily to Democrat candidates, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Crovitz is a former Wall Street Journal publisher.
Crovitz's wife, Minky Worden, heads the media office of the left-wing Human Rights Watch, an organization that pushes transgender policies globally.
Two studies conducted by the Media Research Center (MRC) found that NewsGuard consistently rates liberal media outlets higher than conservative ones.
"NewsGuard is just another leftist group trying to censor conservatives," MRC President Brent Bozell said in a statement. "We have the proof."
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has also criticized NewsGuard, claiming that the ratings company is a "scam" and calling for it to be "disbanded immediately."
NewsGuard ratings are used by advertising agencies to stop or restrict the flow of advertising to media platforms such as X and conservative outlets, effectively censoring their news and viewpoints.
Last year, Congress included in the National Defense Authorization Act a provision that the Pentagon could not spend advertising for recruitment with ad agencies that use misinformation services such as NewsGuard.
Crovitz told The Hill that NewsGuard is looking forward to clarifying a "misunderstanding" the Oversight Committee has about its work for the Pentagon.
"Our work for the Pentagon has been solely related to hostile disinformation efforts by Russian, Chinese and Iranian government-linked operations targeting Americans and our allies," he said in a statement.
He also touted his company as the only "apolitical service" rating news outlets, and said its system has brought positive and negative scores alike for right-leaning and left-leaning sites.
Comer also said his committee will review the truthfulness and transparency on the origin of inquiries, as well as the management of conflicts of interest that could influence the public good.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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