New York City Officials Call for Newsmax Removal from Taxi Screens

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal recently urged New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to remove Newsmax content from city taxi screens, despite the fact that taxis are privately owned. The request has drawn sharp criticism from prominent Republican officials who labeled the effort political censorship aimed at restricting access to fact-based reporting.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne, a Texas Republican and member of Congress, described the calls to exclude Newsmax as “absolutely about censorship.” Speaking on Newsmax’s “The Count,” she stated, “What are they so afraid of?” Van Duyne urged Newsmax to view the push for removal as a “badge of honor,” emphasizing that elected officials seek to block audiences from seeing perspectives outside their preferred political narrative.

“This is a pure act of censorship targeting a news organization reaching over 50 million Americans regularly,” Newsmax stated in response to the controversy, noting its commitment to factual reporting. Van Duyne defended Newsmax’s content as “fact-based” and globally sourced, adding that limiting access to alternative news sources undermines public understanding.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York also condemned Hoylman-Sigal’s initiative on social media, calling it an attempt to “over-regulate” taxi-screen provider Curb and “censor” Newsmax. Malliotakis highlighted that the network reaches “60 million homes” and is a “trusted news source,” stating: “If a cab rider doesn’t want to watch, they can turn it off, but that should be THEIR choice, not a leftie politician’s.”

The debate has intensified as officials from both parties clash over the role of media in public discourse.