Skip to content

Government & PolicyBreaking

Appeals court upholds Pentagon's exclusion of Anthropic's Claude AI from supply chain

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

7 articles in total, 4 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

A federal appeals court in Washington ruled 2-1 to uphold the Department of War's decision to exclude Anthropic's Claude AI model from its supply chain under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018. The Pentagon acted after Anthropic refused to relax contractual restrictions barring use of Claude for lethal autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. Judge Gregory Katsas wrote the majority opinion, joined by Judge Neomi Rao, finding the Department had "ample support" for concluding Claude posed a national-security risk. The court also rejected Anthropic's First Amendment retaliation claim, concluding the exclusion stemmed from the company's refusal to accept a contract term, not from its public advocacy on AI safety.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 to uphold the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic's Claude as a supply chain risk

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  2. The exclusion was made under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018

    Reported byLeftRight

  3. Anthropic had refused to relax contractual prohibitions on using Claude for lethal autonomous warfare and domestic surveillance

    Reported byRight

  4. The court rejected Anthropic's First Amendment retaliation claim, finding no causal link between its advocacy and the exclusion

    Reported byRight

  5. Judge Gregory Katsas wrote the majority opinion, joined by Judge Neomi Rao

    Reported byRight

  6. One America News characterized the ruling as a win for President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth

    Reported byRight

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Whether the exclusion of Anthropic was retaliation for its public safety advocacy or simply a contractual dispute

    Anthropic argued the exclusion was First Amendment retaliation for its advocacy on safe AI use; the D.C. Circuit majority concluded the exclusion resulted from Anthropic's refusal to accept a specific contract term, not from its speech.

  • The political significance of the ruling

    One America News frames the outcome as a win for President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth, a characterization not present in the other outlets' coverage.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Both left-leaning outlets use straightforward, factual headlines describing the court's decision without added commentary.

    Anthropic’s Blacklisting by the Pentagon Was Legal, Federal Judges Rule
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    CNBC's headline is a plain factual statement of the ruling, noting the 2-1 vote.

    U.S. appeals court upholds Pentagon designation of Anthropic as supply chain risk
    CNBCCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    0 outlets · 3 opinion

    Reason's headlines closely track the court's legal reasoning in analytical terms, while PJ Media and One America News, both opinion pieces, frame the ruling as a political victory for the Pentagon and the Trump administration over Anthropic's AI safety stance.

    U.S. Appeals Court backs Pentagon’s supply chain risk designation for AI company Anthropic
    One America NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    Ethical Limits Just Lostdelivering a win to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    Ethical Limits Just LostMore neutral: Faces New Legal Setback

    Frames the legal outcome as a defeat for ethics rather than describing the ruling neutrally.

    Claude’s Ethical Limits Just Lost to Pentagon Procurement Law

    Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    delivering a win to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete HegsethMore neutral: a ruling favorable to the administration's position

    Characterizes a court ruling as a political victory for specific officials rather than describing the legal outcome itself.

    …(AI) company Anthropic from military contracts, delivering a win to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following disputes over the technology company's…

    Used byOne America News (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the court's ruling upholding the Pentagon
  • the Pentagon's stated justification

Leaves out

  • Anthropic's refusal to relax contract terms on lethal autonomous weapons
  • the First Amendment analysis and causation finding

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the 2-1 decision
  • the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic

Leaves out

  • details of Anthropic's contract refusal
  • the First Amendment reasoning

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • CNBCCenter

    U.S. appeals court upholds Pentagon designation of Anthropic as supply chain risk

    In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court upheld the Department of Defense's blacklisting of Anthropic.

    Read at CNBC (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets · 3 opinion

Leads with

  • the legal reasoning distinguishing contract refusal from protected speech
  • the underlying dispute over lethal autonomous weapons and surveillance restrictions
  • characterization of the outcome as a win for Trump and Hegseth
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • One America NewsFar RightOpinion

    U.S. Appeals Court backs Pentagon’s supply chain risk designation for AI company Anthropic

    A federal appeals court upheld the Pentagon's decision to ban artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic from military contracts, Loaded verb“delivering a win to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth”Characterizes a court ruling as a political victory for specific officials rather than describing the legal outcome itself.More neutral: a ruling favorable to the administration's positionDisagree with this highlight? following disputes over the technology company's safety guardrails.

    Read at One America News (opens in a new tab)
  • PJ MediaFar RightOpinion

    Claude’s Loaded verb“Ethical Limits Just Lost”Frames the legal outcome as a defeat for ethics rather than describing the ruling neutrally.More neutral: Faces New Legal SetbackDisagree with this highlight? to Pentagon Procurement Law

    Six months ago, Anthropic appeared to have stopped the Pentagon's effort to push Claude out of military systems. The legal fight continued, and on Friday, the D.C. Circuit handed the Department of War a significant victory. …

    Read at PJ Media (opens in a new tab)
  • ReasonRightOpinion

    Anthropic's "Supply Chain Risk" Designation Stemmed from Its Refusing to Agree to Contract Terms, Not Its Speech

    So the D.C. Circuit majority concluded in rejecting Anthropic’s First Amendment challenge.

    Read at Reason (opens in a new tab)
    1 more from Reason

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    3 hr 16 min later

    Its first report, Sep 25, 4:35 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    CNBC, Sep 25, 1:19 PM EDT

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CNBCCenterSep 25, 1:19 PM EDT
  2. ABC NewsLeftSep 25, 4:35 PM EDT
  3. The New York TimesLeftSep 25, 10:48 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page