South Carolina Bars State Ads from Firms Using Media Rating Blacklists
South Carolina’s new budget bars state agencies from purchasing advertising from companies that rely on media-monitoring ratings to allocate ad dollars.
In the 2026-27 budget, South Carolina enacted a rule that prevents state agencies from contracting with advertising companies that depend on media-monitoring systems to determine ad placement, a measure signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster. The policy joins Florida and West Virginia in restricting the use of rating services like NewsGuard, Ad Fontes Media and the Global Disinformation Index, which have been accused of rating conservative outlets lower than left-leaning ones.
Advocates cite analyses showing NewsGuard giving an average credibility score of 91 to left-leaning sites versus 65 for right-leaning outlets. The law’s supporters claim it safeguards taxpayer-funded advertising from partisan censorship, while opponents warn it may limit tools used for brand safety. The issue extends to artificial-intelligence platforms that rely on these ratings to assess source reliability, potentially affecting the information presented by chatbots. Federal actions, including provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act and heightened FTC scrutiny, reflect a broader national debate over viewpoint-based advertising restrictions.
Why it matters
The rule stops government money from supporting private systems that filter news based on political bias.
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