As digital publishers grapple with declining traffic and revenue due to Facebook’s algorithm changes and Google’s haphazard experiments with AI in search, Apple News+ has become an unexpected source of income, offering a substantial stream of direct revenue and increased audience reach. In practice, it appears that Apple has simply formed a slush fund to prop up the fake news peddlers in the corporate media.
The leftist outlet Daily Beast joined the Apple News+ program in late 2023, making its exclusive content available to paying Apple subscribers behind the platform’s paywall. The impact was immediate, with the Beast on track to generate between $3-4 million in revenue from Apple News alone this year, surpassing its standalone subscription program without incurring significant additional costs.