The Associated Press (AP) enjoys one of the most prestigious reputations in global journalism. It’s often referred to as the “gold standard” for objective, fact-based reporting. Its wire service feeds newspapers, broadcasters, and digital platforms around the world—its content reaching more than half the globe’s population on any given day. For decades, the AP symbolized traditional journalism: terse headlines, inverted pyramids, and just-the-facts prose.
To this day, many Americans assume that because the AP lacks high-profile TV hosts, op-eds, or talk shows, it must be impartial. That assumption is deeply mistaken.
The AP’s ideological drift has not come with flashy graphics or viral outrage—it has come quietly, through word choices, story selection, terminology mandates, and the systematic exclusion of conservative and religious frameworks. It speaks softly, but carries an enormous cultural stick. Through its influence on local newspapers and mainstream media feeds, the AP shapes the worldview of Americans who never directly visit its website.
This installment will examine how AP’s ownership structure, institutional evolution, and editorial decisions have aligned it more closely with progressive (woke) assumptions, despite its continued public image as neutral and dependable.
Ownership and Worldview
The Associated Press is not a for-profit company in the traditional sense. It is a not-for-profit cooperative, owned by its member news organizations—over 1,300 U.S. newspapers and broadcasters, including giants like The New York Times, ABC, and USA Today. Because of this structure, it is often assumed to be free from corporate or political bias.
But neutrality is not guaranteed by structure. It depends on editorial philosophy, personnel choices, and cultural trends within the newsroom. And in recent years, the AP has made a deliberate leftward turn, following the broader ideological current of elite institutions.
Key developments that reflect this drift include:
- The hiring of journalists and editors from activist backgrounds, especially in race, gender, and immigration
- Changes to AP’s style guide (e.g., capitalizing “Black” but not “white,” or mandating “pregnant people” instead of “women”)
- Foundation funding, particularly for “racial equity journalism,” including major grants from groups like the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations
- An editorial tone that subtly reinforces progressive norms as default, and traditional or conservative norms as exceptional, outdated, or dangerous
While the AP maintains no formal political allegiance, its worldview reflects a secular, internationalist, technocratic progressivism—one that sees religion, national borders, gender norms, and traditional morality as suspect, and structural inequality, climate urgency, and technocratic solutions as unquestionable goods.
Typical Claims and Outlook
AP stories rarely use polemical language. Their power lies in editorial framing—the choice of what to cover, what to omit, and how to label. Over time, these patterns create a narrative environment where the progressive worldview is assumed, and dissent from that worldview is marked as “controversial,” “far-right,” or “misinformation.”
For example:
- A pro-life law is described as a “restrictive abortion ban.”
- Election security laws are “voting restrictions that critics say target minorities.”
- Parental rights bills are “anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that limits classroom discussion.”
The cumulative effect is not just slanted reporting—it’s cultural catechesis. And because AP content is distributed to thousands of smaller outlets, this framing shapes public perception without the reaJulieder ever seeing the AP byline.
Its global reach only magnifies the issue. Whether it’s Israel-Palestine, transgender sports, or COVID mandates, the AP acts as a worldview distributor, reinforcing elite liberal assumptions across international contexts under the guise of neutral journalism.
Issue-by-Issue Breakdown
The position of a media outlet on these twenty issues serves as good litmus tests to determine whether the outlet belongs on the woke, left, “Progressive” side of the political aisle or the right, conservative political side of the aisle.
It is evident that this media outlet belongs on the left side of the aisle.
1. Election Integrity and Voter Laws
The AP treats GOP-sponsored voter ID laws and election reforms with suspicion, echoing Democratic framing that these measures are “voter suppression.” Critics of mail-in ballots or unsecured drop boxes are often cast as “election deniers,” while claims of 2020 fraud are framed as baseless, even when discussed in the context of legitimate audits or lawsuits.
2. Abortion and Reproductive Rights
AP reporting favors the abortion lobby’s terminology—using “abortion rights” or “abortion care” and avoiding “unborn child.” Laws limiting abortion are described in negative terms, while those expanding access are lauded. The Dobbs decision was reported as a historic setback for women, with little space for pro-life legal or moral arguments.
3. Gender Identity and Transgender Policies
The AP is fully committed to gender ideology. Its style guide mandates the use of preferred pronouns, including singular “they,” and recommends “pregnant people” instead of “pregnant women.” Coverage of transgender issues favors activist narratives, portrays transition as standard care, and marginalizes concerns about youth medicalization or detransitioner testimony.
4. Race and Systemic Racism
Stories are routinely framed within Critical Race Theory assumptions. The AP capitalizes “Black” but not “white,” endorses the idea of systemic oppression, and often presents racial disparities as prima facie evidence of injustice. Stories on police violence, education, and housing use race as a central analytical lens, often excluding alternative explanations.
5. Climate Change and Energy Policy
Climate alarmism is embedded in AP reporting. Terms like “climate crisis” and “climate emergency” are normalized. Fossil fuels are demonized, renewables are praised, and nuclear power is underrepresented. Critics of climate policies are rarely quoted, and ESG mandates are covered positively, without economic counterbalance.
6. Immigration and Border Security
AP’s immigration reporting overwhelmingly features the stories and language of migrant advocates. Illegal immigrants are referred to as “undocumented,” and deportations are often framed as cruel or unjust. Border security measures are scrutinized as oppressive, and the moral argument for sovereignty is rarely included. Cartel violence, human trafficking, and national security concerns are downplayed.
7. Israel and the Middle East Conflict
AP’s coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict leans toward moral equivalency, if not subtle anti-Israel bias. During clashes, AP highlights Palestinian casualties with language that suggests Israeli overreach, while downplaying the role of Hamas. In 2021, the AP was widely criticized for housing its Gaza bureau in the same building as Hamas intelligence—a fact revealed after an Israeli airstrike. The network claimed ignorance, but the incident raised serious credibility concerns.
8. Second Amendment and Gun Control
Gun control advocates are given more favorable treatment than Second Amendment defenders. Mass shootings dominate headlines, while defensive gun use and the arguments of responsible gun owners receive limited coverage. Gun rights groups are portrayed as obstructionist, while gun control measures are described as common-sense or overdue.
9. LGBTQ+ Rights and Religious Liberty
The AP consistently sides with LGBTQ+ activists, particularly on transgender issues. Legal battles involving Christian business owners or religious institutions are framed around discrimination, not conscience. The AP does not provide balanced theological perspectives and treats religious liberty claims as obstacles to progress rather than constitutional rights.
10. COVID-19 Policy and Mandates
During the pandemic, the AP parroted the CDC, WHO, and NIH without substantial critical analysis. Mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine requirements were promoted, while dissenters were often marginalized. Reports on vaccine side effects or scientific disagreement were rare. The lab-leak theory was initially treated as fringe, then later revised without clear acknowledgement of the shift.
11. Policing and Criminal Justice
The AP’s reporting reflects the assumptions of the “Defund the Police” movement. Stories focus heavily on police misconduct and systemic racism, while downplaying rising crime rates or the costs of de-policing. Progressive prosecutors are rarely scrutinized, and police reform is cast as a moral necessity.
12. Education and Parental Rights
The AP regularly refers to parental rights movements as “culture war” issues driven by the far-right. Legislation aimed at transparency, curriculum oversight, or bans on CRT/gender theory is labeled as discriminatory. Teachers’ unions are covered favorably, and concerns about indoctrination are rarely validated.
13. Censorship and Big Tech
The AP often justifies social media censorship in the name of “misinformation.” It supported the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, later acknowledging its legitimacy without apology. The AP’s own fact-checking arm tends to side with progressive interpretations and labels conservative views as “disputed,” “baseless,” or “false,” even when issues are nuanced or legitimately debated.
14. January 6 and Political Violence
Coverage of the Capitol riot is thorough, emotional, and ongoing. The event is framed as an “insurrection” or “attempted coup,” with broad claims about threats to democracy. Meanwhile, the 2020 BLM/Antifa riots are reported with more neutral or sympathetic language, often focused on racial justice rather than the destruction and fatalities they caused.
15. Corporate Wokeness and ESG
The AP’s business reporting promotes ESG as an inevitable trend and a moral good. It presents DEI mandates as best practices and critiques of corporate progressivism as regressive. Shareholder resistance to politicized investing is often omitted or downplayed.
16. Hunter Biden and Political Corruption
Like many legacy outlets, the AP dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as potentially foreign disinformation prior to the 2020 election. It did little original reporting, instead echoing statements from intelligence officials. Even after confirmation, coverage of Biden family influence-peddling has been cautious and limited.
17. Trump and the Republican Party
AP’s Trump coverage is largely negative. Though more measured than MSNBC or CNN, it subtly delegitimizes Trump’s base and policies through consistent framing: “baseless claims,” “far-right,” “divisive,” and “anti-democratic.” Populist candidates are portrayed as threats, while moderate Republicans are elevated as reasonable alternatives.
18. Affirmative Action and Racial Preferences
After the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, the AP covered the ruling as a loss for diversity and civil rights. It offered little attention to the constitutional arguments or the Asian-American students who brought the case. Racial preferences are consistently portrayed as necessary for justice.
19. International Institutions and Sovereignty
The AP favors global governance institutions and often uses their declarations as authoritative sources. It echoes the UN’s language on climate, gender, and migration and tends to present nationalism or skepticism of multilateralism as dangerous or isolationist.
20. Culture War Issues
The AP heavily promotes progressive cultural causes: LGBTQ+ inclusion, drag events, pronoun policies, and critiques of traditional families. It frames traditional Christian ethics as controversial and presents “hate” as a category easily applied to dissenters from the cultural Left.
Cultural Marxism and Ideological Influence
The Associated Press doesn’t shout. It doesn’t sermonize. It doesn’t rage. But it systematically redefines language, embeds assumptions, and curates narratives that reflect the core logic of Cultural Marxism.
Instead of asking what is true, it often asks: What is harmful? And “harm” is increasingly defined not by measurable damage but by whether someone feels marginalized. That’s the axis of oppression-versus-victim that defines Cultural Marxist thinking.
The AP’s editorial shifts—from redefining gendered language to adopting activist terms—reveal an embrace of this worldview. Truth becomes relative. Identity becomes self-declared. Institutions are presumed to be oppressive until proven otherwise. Objective reporting becomes constructed narrative management, always in the service of “progress.”
Notable Journalists, Editorial Practices, and Scandals
Because the Associated Press doesn’t feature celebrity hosts or household-name commentators, its influence is more structural and editorial than personal. But even so, several incidents and individuals have helped expose the network’s underlying ideological commitments.
Notable Editorial Trends and Figures
- Julie Pace – Former Washington bureau chief and now AP’s Senior Vice President and Executive Editor. Under her leadership, the AP emphasized “racial equity journalism,” restructuring coverage to highlight issues of race, gender, and systemic injustice.
- Zeke Miller – A White House correspondent known for close ties to Democratic administrations and favorable coverage of Biden. He was previously president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, reflecting AP’s establishment role in shaping Beltway narratives.
- Matt Lee – A longtime State Department reporter, Lee stands out for challenging left-wing narratives, especially on foreign policy. He has gained viral attention for holding the Biden administration to account—making him an exception rather than the rule within AP’s ranks.
Major Scandals and Editorial Biases
- 2021 Gaza Bureau Controversy
During Israel’s military operations against Hamas in 2021, Israel targeted a building in Gaza that housed Hamas intelligence operations. It was later revealed that the same building also housed the AP’s Gaza bureau. AP claimed ignorance, but critics noted the danger of reporters sharing space with a terror group and raised concerns about compromised coverage. - Hunter Biden Laptop Suppression (2020)
The AP was slow to report on the Hunter Biden laptop story, citing uncertainty and possible disinformation. It uncritically repeated statements from former intelligence officials that the story had “hallmarks of Russian disinformation.” This echoed the broader media suppression that arguably influenced the 2020 election outcome. - Foundation-Driven “Equity” Reporting
In 2022, it was revealed that AP accepted millions in funding from left-wing foundations (including the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation) to support coverage of “climate justice” and “racial equity.” These funding streams influenced editorial direction, blurring the line between journalism and advocacy. - COVID-19 Lab Leak Coverage
Like many outlets, the AP initially treated the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origin as conspiracy theory. Only after mounting evidence and bipartisan acknowledgment did it update its tone—without acknowledging its earlier bias or revisiting the credibility of dismissed voices.
These events show that while the AP’s tone is more restrained than cable networks or opinion pages, it is no less committed to progressive framing—and far more influential in setting the media’s baseline language and assumptions.
Conclusion: AP – The Nerve Center of Narrative Management
The Associated Press is not your uncle’s wire service anymore. While it continues to carry the appearance of objectivity and neutrality, its actual editorial practices reflect a worldview steeped in modern leftist ideology. It whispers bias through headlines, embeds activism in grammar, and spreads assumptions like wildfire—all under the cloak of impartiality.
Its understated tone and absence of flamboyant personalities make it easy to trust. But this trust has been exploited. The AP’s quiet editorial shifts, funded influence campaigns, and evolving terminology reveal a newsroom deeply committed to the moral and cultural priorities of the progressive Left.
For Christian and conservative Americans, the Associated Press represents a far more insidious threat to truth than overtly partisan outlets. Because it passes as neutral, its worldview penetrates unchallenged into thousands of local papers, schoolrooms, and news broadcasts.
It doesn’t scream. It doesn’t mock. It simply redefines reality, one quiet sentence at a time.
And for that, the Associated Press earns its place in the Hall of Shame.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
MMXXV
christiannewsjunkie@gmail.com
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