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Made in California business directory lets buyers filter by identity but excludes White men

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Cite

Hall, A. (2026, October 15). Made in California business directory lets buyers filter by identity but excludes White men. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/made-california-business-directory-lets-buyers-filter-identity-excludes-white-men

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-16 · by Alexander Hall

Quick Summary

A new California government website called Made in California allows users to filter local businesses by categories such as Asian-Owned, Black-Owned, Hispanic-Owned, LGBTQ-Owned, Native American-Owned, Pacific Islander-Owned, Veteran-Owned, and Woman-Owned. Notably absent are filters for White-owned or male-owned businesses. Christopher Rufo, a critic of diversity policies, highlighted this exclusion on the platform X, prompting responses from Elon Musk and others discussing the implications of identity-based business categorization.
Written by AI on 2026-10-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A new “Made in California” website launched by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate has drawn criticism for allowing searches based on business ownership categories such as Asian-Owned, Black-Owned, Hispanic-Owned, LGBTQ-Owned, Native American-Owned, Pacific Islander-Owned, Veteran-Owned, and Woman-Owned but excluding White-owned or male-owned businesses. The initiative was announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in August 2026 to help consumers find locally made products. To qualify for the program, a product must have at least 51% of its wholesale value added within California. Critics like Christopher Rufo, an outspoken critic of diversity policies, and even Elon Musk have expressed surprise and disapproval over the exclusion of White men from identity filters on the site.

Written for “Made In California Identity Filters Controversy” on 2026-11-06, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Made In California Identity Filters Controversy
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6759 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Alexander Hall
28 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Alexander Hall
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Alexander Hall →

Topics

Asian Black California Hispanic the California Office of the Small Business Advocate

Subjects

California GPE · 7× Asian NORP · 2× Black NORP · 2× Fox News Digital ORG · 2× Hispanic NORP · 2× the California Office of the Small Business Advocate ORG · 2× Native American NORP · 1× Pacific Islander NORP · 1× White NORP · 1× the U.S. Census Bureau ORG · 1×

Narrative

Christopher Rufo, a prominent critic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, criticized the government website on X, noting, "The California state government has released a ‘Made in California’ website that allows you to select products by every identity group except for one: White men." Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk was surprised by the news, replying to Rufo's post with, "Wow." "
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16
🔮 Certified businesses can appear in the official public directory and use the Made in California seal on their packaging and marketing materials." Entrepreneur Will Fry, founder and CEO of American Operator, a company that specializes in American small businesses, spoke to Fox News Digital about the controversy. "

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

A new government website in California allows people to search for local businesses based on the identity of their owners but does not offer specific search filters for White-owned or male-owned businesses. asserted
people → allow → businesses
The Made in California website lets users search by business ownership categories, including Asian-Owned, Black-Owned, Hispanic-Owned, LGBTQ-Owned, Native American-Owned, Pacific Islander-Owned, Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned. asserted
users → make → Owned
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 40% of California's population is Hispanic or Latino, more than 30% is non-Hispanic White, roughly 17% is Asian and about 6% is Black. uncertain
% → accord → population
Christopher Rufo, a prominent critic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, criticized the government website on X, noting, "The California state government has released a ‘Made in California’ website that allows you to select products by every identity group except for one: White men." Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk was surprised by the news, replying to Rufo's post with, "Wow." " asserted
Musk → criticize → Wow
Managed by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, the program is designed to help consumers and corporate buyers find products manufactured in the Golden State," the New York Post reported. asserted
Post → manage → State
"To qualify, a product must have at least 51% of its wholesale value added within the state. asserted
% → qualify → state
Certified businesses can appear in the official public directory and use the Made in California seal on their packaging and marketing materials." Entrepreneur Will Fry, founder and CEO of American Operator, a company that specializes in American small businesses, spoke to Fox News Digital about the controversy. " asserted
that → appear → controversy
Support local business is not exactly the same thing as support the minority you like the most," Fry said. asserted
Fry → support → minority
"The concept of a Made in California database is great and one I can get behind. asserted
I → make → one
"But I guess it comes as no surprise that California seems to have decided to turn it into a virtue signaling exercise about identity, and that should not be the focus of doing business. asserted
that → guess → business
"Last time I checked, red tape, untrained labor and rising prices are hurting all small businesses, not just the minority-owned." asserted
tape → check → businesses
Theo Wold, a former assistant attorney general and White House deputy assistant for domestic policy during the Trump administration, warned that such race-based distinctions are part of a broader Democratic Party agenda. asserted
distinctions → warn → agenda
"Race-based preferences — in college admissions or in government-run, taxpayer-backed small business lending — is anathema. asserted
preferences → base → lending
But to be clear: Race-based preferences have never been about remediating supposed systemic racism or the overrepresentation of certain racial groups in society," he said. asserted
he → base → society
"It’s always been a tool to manipulate demographics and to undermine White men," Wold continued. asserted
Wold → manipulate → men
"California’s policies show that, once empowered, the left not only disavows so-called 'colorblind' governance but actively promotes advantaging certain races over others. asserted
left → show → others
Fox News Digital contacted the California Office of the Small Business Advocate and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office for comment but did not immediately receive responses. asserted
Digital → contact → responses
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