Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law this week a state budget with a key provision that bars state agencies from using advertising firms that rely on media monitors and “misinformation” blacklisters. The move marks Florida’s second consecutive year of enacting such restrictions.
The measure, included in Florida’s Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget, prohibits state agencies from contracting with any advertising firm that uses media-rating or monitoring organizations to rate news outlets for bias, accuracy, brand safety, or “misinformation.” Such groups include left-wing monitors like NewsGuard, Ad Fontes Media, and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) when placing taxpayer-funded advertising.
The Independent Media Council (IMC), a coalition of conservative and independent media organizations, praised DeSantis for renewing the measure after first enacting it in 2025. Christine Czernejewski, spokesperson for the IMC, stated: “Gov. DeSantis has once again demonstrated Florida’s leadership in defending free speech and viewpoint diversity. By signing this provision for a second year, Florida is sending a clear message that taxpayer-funded advertising should be focused on reaching the broadest possible audience, not filtered through politically motivated media blacklist systems.”
Supporters argue that organizations such as NewsGuard, GDI, and Ad Fontes Media influence corporate advertising decisions by assigning ratings or risk assessments to news outlets. These ratings, they contend, steer advertising dollars away from conservative and independent publishers. Famed legal expert Jonathan Turley has described NewsGuard’s ratings system as a “massive censorship system.” Many of these media monitors are reportedly run by left-wing activists and journalists. For example, NewsGuard was founded in 2018 by Steven Brill, a longtime Democratic Party activist and donor. The Media Research Center found that NewsGuard consistently ranks conservative media significantly lower than left-wing media across its annual reviews.
Ratings systems like NewsGuard’s effectively create “blacklists” that disadvantage media outlets based on political viewpoint rather than audience reach or advertising performance. Florida first adopted the budget language last year, becoming one of the first states to directly address the use of media-monitoring organizations in state advertising contracts. By extending the policy for another year, the state is signaling its intent to keep taxpayer dollars from flowing through advertising firms that rely on those ratings.
The move comes amid broader national scrutiny of advertising industry practices. Congress has included provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at limiting the Department of War’s use of advertising firms that employ politically biased media-monitoring systems. The Federal Trade Commission has also increased its examination of alleged political discrimination within the advertising industry.
State governments are beginning to follow Florida’s lead, with West Virginia enacting the First Amendment Preservation Act earlier this year. “What began as a first-in-the-nation effort is increasingly becoming a national movement,” Czernejewski said. “Policymakers across the country are recognizing that government advertising dollars should not be used to subsidize censorship or reward organizations that discriminate based on viewpoint.”
DeSantis signed the overall $117.6 billion state budget on June 29 after exercising nearly $810 million in line-item vetoes. The spending plan marks Florida’s fourth consecutive year of declining state spending while continuing funding for education, infrastructure, and public safety.
