The alleged bias of Apple News: Tech giant's leadership filled with major Dem donors
Apple's popular news app is facing increased scrutiny over alleged political bias, but the overwhelming left-wing tilt at the top of the company may be a factor.
Of the 25 people listed on Apple's leadership page, 15 of them made substantial contributions to Democrats in various election cycles, according to a review of FEC filings. Just six Apple executives have any record of contributing to Republicans — though four of them gave far more amounts to Democrats.
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, donated $236,100 to the Hillary Victory Fund in 2016 and $2,300 for President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, according to filings. In 2016, Cook made $10,000 donations to nearly 20 Democratic state parties and was a past donor to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., California Rep. Zoe Lofgren and now-retired Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy.
Cook, however, also made four-digit campaign contributions to Republicans like former House Speaker Paul Ryan and former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman during the 2016 election cycle. More recently, he reportedly made a $1 million contribution to President Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration.
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Katherine Adams, Apples' senior vice president and general counsel, donated more than a combined $200,000 to Kamala Harris' campaign and victory fund during the 2024 election. She also gave $10,000 to a Biden PAC in 2020 as well as several prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Mark Kelly and Raphael Warnock. Adams also gave nearly $2,000 to every state-level Democratic Party in the country.
Deirdre O'Brien, the SVP of Retail + People, and John Ternus, SVP of hardware engineering, both gave thousands to Friends of Schumer in 2021 — O'Brien also donated $250 to John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. Luca Maestri, VP of corporate services, donated $1,000 to the campaign of Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., in 2024. Isabel Ge Mahe, whose title is vice president and managing director of Greater China, gave thousands of dollars to Clinton's 2016 campaign and $500 to Biden in 2020.
Tor Myhren, VP of marketing communications, gave $4,000 to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in 2018. Kristin Huguet Quayle, VP of worldwide communications, gave more than $5,000 to Clinton's 2016 campaign. Phil Schiller, who is listed as an "Apple Fellow" who oversees the App Store and Apple Events, donated more than $60,000 to Clinton and Democrats in 2016 and was a Schumer donor in 2015.
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Adrian Perica, VP of corporate development, donated more than $8,000 to Harris and $1,700 to the DNC in September 2024, but notably later gave $3,300 to the RNC in October. He also donated to Schumer in 2021 and Clinton in 2016. It also appears he has a recurring $100 donation to Win the Era PAC that was founded by Pete Buttigieg, beginning in July 2025.
Apple's Board of Directors is similarly filled with Democratic donors. Arthur Levinson, the chairman of Apple's board, donated to Al Gore's presidential campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2000 election cycle and Joe Lieberman's 2004 campaign. He later made $1,250 contributions to both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in 2008.
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Many of Levinson's board colleagues far exceeded him regarding political donations. In addition to Cook, who also serves as a board member, Monica Lozano, the former CEO of the College Futures Foundation, donated more than $50,000 to Joe Biden and Democrats during the 2020 cycle, $8,000 to a Hillary Clinton PAC in 2016 and more than $600 to 15-state level Democratic Parties.
Andrea Jung, president and CEO of the 501 nonprofit microfinance group Grameen America, donated $100,000 to the Harris Victory Fund in 2024, $50,000 to the Biden Action Fund in 2020 and over $30,000 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars she allotted to the DNC and the fundraising arms of House and Senate Democrats, Jung contributed over $1,000 to the Democratic Party in nearly all 50 states and financially backed congressional candidates like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, ex-New Jersey Senate candidate Tammy Murphy and former Florida Rep. Donna Shalala.
Ronald Sugar, the former CEO of the Northrop Grumman Corporation, donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Schumer, the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, former Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, former California Rep. Jane Hartman as well as the late Sen. Lieberman between 2002 and 2008. Sugar notably made a $5,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2004 and $1,000 to Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. Susan Wagner, BlackRock director and co-founder, made a $2,000 campaign contribution to retired Democratic South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson in 2012.
Only two members of Apple's leadership have donated solely to Republicans — but haven't in at least a decade. Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of services who notably oversees Apple News, donated roughly $8,000 to Paul Ryan during the 2016 cycle and board member Alex Gorsky, former Johnson & Johnson chair, gave $1,000 to the late Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign and an additional $250 to the RNC at the time.
It's not just top leadership that overwhelmingly supports Democrats. More than 95% of political contributions from Apple employees went to Democrats while less than 5% went to Republicans during the 2024 election cycle, according to Open Secrets. Harris racked up nearly $2 million from staffers. Trump collected less than $73,000. Similarly, Apple employees sent the DNC more than $550,000 in contributions last election cycle, while the RNC received less than $10,000.
Apple did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Earlier this month, a study conducted by the conservative watchdog group The Media Research Center found that Apple News, the popular news aggregator which comes preinstalled on every iPhone in America, overwhelmingly promotes content from liberal outlets.
The study examined the content featured on Apple News throughout January. Of 620 stories shared between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, 440 originated from outlets rated as left-leaning, while 180 originated from centrist outlets. Zero originated from right-leaning outlets, according to the study.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Cook expressing concern over the alleged bias and suggested Apple News could be in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
"The First Amendment protects the speech of Big Tech firms. But the First Amendment has never extended its protection to material misrepresentations made to consumers, nor does it immunize speakers from conduct that Congress has deemed unfair under the FTC Act, even if that conduct involves speech," Ferguson told Cook.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also sent a letter to Cook seeking answers on how content featured on Apple News is chosen.