FIRST ON FOX — Apple and Google spent months suppressing negative news stories about the scandal-plagued Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner prior to his recent downfall, according to a new study obtained by Fox News Digital.

The Media Research Center (MRC), a conservative watchdog group, found that Apple News and Google News published zero stories between November of last year and May of this year about the various controversies that muddied Platner’s Senate bid, including headlines about his Nazi tattoo and his offensive Reddit posts.

The MRC study said the blackout in coverage began after a poll released in late October suggested Platner was the most formidable Democrat to unseat Maine’s incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and that the blackout ended following The New York Times’ May 30 report about Platner’s sexting controversy.

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According to the study, Apple News and Google News failed to promote “at least 112” news stories published by conservative-leaning outlets that scrutinized Platner during that November-May period.

MRC President David Bozell accused the tech platforms of having run a “protection racket” for Platner.

“For months, while Platner looked like the one Democrat who could beat Susan Collins, the two most powerful news apps in America buried scandal after scandal,” Bozell said. “Then the polls turned, Platner became a liability, and suddenly the blackout ended. News judgment had nothing to do with it.”

“Millions of smartphone users were denied the truth while Platner was politically useful and finally allowed to see it once he wasn’t,” Bozell added.

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According to the Media Research Center, Apple News and Google News avoided a whopping 112 negative stories about Platner between November and May. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Google firmly pushed back, suggesting the study “mistakes volume of news for bias” while dismissing the methodology and providing a link to “facts” about Google News. 

“These claims are totally false and based on a completely flawed methodology. The study checked Google News once a day from a single account, ignoring the fact that Google News automatically updates throughout the day, and shows news personalized to your interests and location. You can also easily select sources you want to see more often in News and Search,” a Google spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Apple did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Platner officially withdrew from the race on Friday after two of his exes came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him, all of which he has firmly denied.

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Platner suspended his campaign after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images)

Jennifer Racicot alleged in an interview with Politico that in 2021, Platner drunkenly entered her home uninvited and sexually assaulted her. Lyndsey Fifield claimed in an interview with The Washington Post that during her relationship with Platner between 2013–2015, he repeatedly removed his condom during sex without her knowledge nor consent, an action known as stealthing, which has been made illegal in multiple states.

Fifield previously alleged physical abuse from Platner, including an instance where he once “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out,” according to an interview with the Times.

Despite all the controversies that have mounted over the past several months, it wasn’t until after Racicot’s interview with Politico that Democrats began pulling their support from Platner.

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Platner, who overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary last month, said he plans to formally withdraw his name from the ballot on Monday, giving Maine Democrats a chance to replace him in hopes of defeating Collins in November.