News Rating Firm Claims Trump Administration Targeting Its Business

NewsGuard Technologies has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Trump administration's Federal Trade Commission is conducting a vindictive investigation aimed at shutting down the company's news credibility rating service. The dispute centers on accusations that NewsGuard unfairly targets conservative media outlets, while the company maintains its ratings are based on objective journalism standards.

A news credibility rating service has taken the Trump administration to federal court, claiming government regulators are conducting a politically motivated campaign to destroy its business operations.

NewsGuard Technologies operates with relatively little public attention, focusing on evaluating the trustworthiness of various news organizations. However, the company has now become another target in the current administration’s expanding conflicts with media entities.

The legal battle has escalated with NewsGuard filing suit against the Federal Trade Commission and Chairman Andrew Ferguson to halt what it calls a vindictive government probe. Federal regulators claim the rating service works to silence conservative voices, while NewsGuard maintains it faces retaliation for refusing to bow to political pressure.

The Trump administration’s media confrontations have multiplied since taking office in January 2025. Current legal battles include disputes with The Associated Press over Gulf of Mexico naming preferences, a settlement with CBS News regarding “60 Minutes” editorial practices, litigation against The Wall Street Journal concerning Trump-Epstein coverage, and ongoing conflicts with The New York Times over Pentagon reporting limitations.

In documents filed last month at U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., NewsGuard alleges Trump’s FTC is “brazenly using its power not for any issue concerning trade or commerce but rather to censor speech simply because it disagreed with NewsGuard’s judgments about the reliability of news sources.”

Federal trade officials dismiss these claims as “untethered from both law and fact.”

Chairman Ferguson’s FTC mirrors the Federal Communications Commission under Brendan Carr – traditionally quiet agencies now actively pursuing Trump administration priorities, especially regarding media oversight. The FCC has initiated media company investigations and recently indicated plans to enforce “equal time” broadcasting regulations for political television appearances.

Ferguson openly acknowledges his guidance source, stating in a July interview: “I am a law enforcer, and I will follow the law. But the policy priorities are set by the man the people chose to run this government.”

Media Matters for America, a liberal advocacy organization, previously faced similar FTC scrutiny. A federal judge blocked that investigation last summer, ruling the inquiry into advertising boycott campaigns violated the group’s constitutional speech protections.

Though NewsGuard lacks widespread name recognition, significant financial interests affect news organizations favored by the president. The venture launched in 2018 under founders Steven Brill, who created Court TV, and Gordon Crovitz, formerly with The Wall Street Journal. NewsGuard employs journalists to evaluate thousands of news websites and outlets, assigning credibility scores based on journalistic reliability and accuracy standards.

Individual subscriptions cost $4.95 monthly, though most revenue comes from advertising consultants helping brands avoid problematic news sites, plus artificial intelligence companies seeking trustworthy information sources.

The rating service drew hostility from Trump-supporting network Newsmax after assigning its website a score of 20 out of 100 points. NewsGuard explains “this website is unreliable because it severely violates basic journalism standards.” According to the lawsuit, Newsmax has repeatedly pressured Republican officials and regulators to silence NewsGuard’s operations.

Newsmax spokesman Bill Daddi responded: “NewsGuard was started by Steve Brill to target conservative media and get ad agencies to deny them advertising revenue as a means of censorship. Brill is a Democratic Party activist and donor over many decades with a long history of advocating for liberal causes. He is not a respected journalist and in no way should be running a ratings service used by major ad agencies.”

Brill counters that his sole political involvement was working for Republican John Lindsay during his New York City mayoral tenure in the late 1960s and early 1970s while attending college and law school. “I have been a journalist ever since,” Brill stated, emphasizing he has never contributed money to political candidates.

The rating service defends its methodology using specific standards including accuracy verification, source diversity, news-opinion separation, and error correction practices. Addressing liberal bias allegations, NewsGuard points to instances where Fox News received higher ratings than former MSNBC programming.

However, the conservative Media Research Center has published research suggesting NewsGuard favors liberal-leaning outlets in its scoring system. FTC court filings indicate the investigation began after congressional researchers linked the company’s services to “coordinated actions to demonize disfavored media entities.”

Regulators have demanded extensive company records including internal communications, financial statements, and customer information dating to NewsGuard’s establishment. The company considers these demands financially burdensome and fears the government will use subscriber data to target clients.

As part of approving the merger between major media buying companies Omnicom and IPG, the FTC banned the combined entity from utilizing news rating services. Officials claim this prevents advertising decisions based on political considerations, though NewsGuard reports losing business as a result.

“The whole idea that any speaker has to justify to the government that it’s not biased is a really troubling thought,” Brill explained in an interview. “We have a constitutional right to be biased. It just so happens that we started the company on the core principle that we were going to be totally apolitical.”

The FTC press office did not respond to requests for comment. In legal documents, the agency describes conducting a comprehensive investigation into potential antitrust violations involving advertiser boycotts, noting it has issued over a dozen similar information requests beyond NewsGuard’s case. Officials call the company’s accusations “completely meritless.”

Regarding NewsGuard’s delayed legal response eight months after receiving the information order, FTC attorneys questioned the timing.

“We tried to cooperate in the belief that the more that we told them what we do, the more likely it would be that they would decide that they didn’t have any case,” Brill explained. “We soon realized that they weren’t worried about the merits.”

NewsGuard argues FTC actions “will continue until NewsGuard knuckles under.” When asked whether he believes the government seeks to eliminate his company entirely, Brill declined further comment.