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.
