California government and Google partner to fund state newsrooms, sparking fears of propaganda

Google and California’s government just settled on a deal to pull together $180 million to fund local news outlets, prompting fears from critics that the state’s newsrooms will be beholden to the Democratic government and tech company's progressive views.

"It’s hard to see this as anything other than progressives enlisting Big Tech to amplify their views and entrench their political dominance," The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote on Monday. 

The deal will also be guided by the UC Berkeley school of journalism, with its newly established "News Transformation Fund" administering the money. As the Journal detailed, the fund’s board features members from groups such as Latino Media Collaborative, California Black Media, and other identity-politics-focused groups, further amplifying concerns that the initiative will promote progressive narratives.

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Google recently cut a deal with the California government for both entities to pay a combined $180 million for funding state newsrooms.  (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said the deal will ensure "the survival of newsrooms."

The Journal reported that the deal came about following a dispute between Google and state Democrats after lawmakers advanced legislation requiring internet platforms to pay online publishers some of the money they earn from advertisers.

"Google and others threatened to sue and remove links to California news sites if the law passed," WSJ noted. Avoiding a lawsuit, both entities cut a deal where "Google will contribute $110 million, and the state will kick in $70 million, over five years to local newsrooms and journalism programs" via the fund administered by UC Berkeley.

The editorial board ripped the deal, stating, "This collusion between Big Tech and Sacramento will turn media outlets into de facto government subsidiaries."

It also suggested that Berkeley directing the funds will further force these newsrooms to toe the liberal line, pointing to the board of its "News Transformation Fund" being comprised of individuals from progressive groups.

"One sign of the nonprofit’s political tilt is that its board will include members from such identity-politics shops as the Ethnic Media Services, Latino Media Collaborative, California Black Media and the Media Guild of the West, which is the union that represents journalists," the board wrote.

"Yes, a rainbow coalition of media shops with the same political views," the paper added.

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Despite critics warning that this deal will reinforce Google and liberal California's views on local outlets, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said it will ensure "the survival of newsrooms."

Additionally, the board detailed how a local outlet might be hamstrung by government funding. "Don’t expect the nonprofit to back hard-hitting investigations into how California’s union-controlled public schools harm minority children. Will media outlets that want money risk their funding by telling the truth about their political benefactors? They will know to toe the progressive line – while claiming to be unbiased."

However, censorship isn’t the only fear among critics of the deal. According to Politico, journalists and some Democratic lawmakers are worried about a provision of the deal that would "steer $70 million in private dollars toward the development of artificial intelligence tools through a to-be-established nonprofit."

Critics of this portion of the deal fear that it would bolster the prevalence of a "technology that many journalists fear could replace their jobs," Politico reported.

UC Berkeley, Newsom’s office, and Google did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.