Somebody do a wellness check on the embattled media ratings firms NewsGuard and Ad Fontes.
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed 217 to 199 the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), featuring a provision that blocks the Biden administration from exploiting taxpayer dollars for contracts with media rating entities like NewsGuard and Ad Fontes.
This provision is a significant win for free speech advocates and marks the second year in a row that the House, led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), has put the Department of Defense (DoD) on alert after it controversially awarded $750,000 to NewsGuard for access to its ratings data.
The new provision prohibits the DoD from partnering with entities that do not “rate or rank news or information sources for the factual accuracy of their content” or “provide ratings or opinions on news or…
