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Arizona mother describes toddler's near-drowning and his discovery alive in a hospital morgue

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Coverage spectrum

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

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Woman with long curly dark hair in denim jacket speaking during a television interview.
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

Daily Mail, NBC News and the New York Post report that Alexus Fiordilino, whose 18-month-old son Vincent was found in the family pool in Gilbert, Arizona, on February 8, spoke publicly about the events that followed. Vincent was pronounced dead at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, and the outlets say he was later found breathing in the hospital morgue when a medical examiner's transport arrived, more than five hours after he was pronounced dead. Fiordilino said in interviews with ABC 15 and NBC News that she believed the emergency room doctor, Dr. Aryan Toosi, and that she is questioning the decisions made that day. The New York Post reports, citing ABC, that the boy suffered serious brain damage. The coverage in the sample comes from right-side and left-side outlets; the account of the hospital's decisions rests on the mother's statements and is not confirmed by a hospital or official record in the supplied text.

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. Vincent Fiordilino, 18 months old, was found floating face down in the family pool in Gilbert, Arizona, on February 8.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  2. Vincent was pronounced dead at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, at 6:20 p.m., according to NBC News.

    One outletNBC News· Left

  3. Vincent was later found breathing in the hospital morgue when a medical examiner's transport arrived, more than five hours after being pronounced dead.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  4. The New York Post reports, citing ABC 15, that Vincent suffered serious brain damage and will need lifelong assistance.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  5. Alexus Fiordilino says she believed the emergency room doctor, and that the decisions made that day are being questioned by the family.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    Daily Mail

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The emergency room doctor's decision to pronounce Vincent dead was wrong.

    Alexus Fiordilino and the family question the doctor's decisions; the supplied coverage does not include a response from the doctor or the hospital.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that Vincent Fiordilino was found breathing in a hospital morgue after being pronounced dead. The main difference is emphasis: the right-side headlines stress the mother's horror and anguish, while the left-side headline quotes her about the doctor's decision.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    NBC News' headline quotes the mother's statement and centers her experience of the doctor's decision, using a quoted line rather than adjectives.

    Arizona mom whose son was found alive in hospital morgue speaks out: ‘It’s an unexplainable feeling’
    NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Headlines lead with the mother's emotional account and words such as horror, heartbreaking and distressed, framing the event as a personal ordeal.

    Anguished mom shares Sensational language“heartbreaking ordeal”The adjective heartbreaking adds emotional drama beyond the reported facts.More neutral: accountDisagree with this highlight? of toddler son who was found breathing in morgue after being declared dead at hospital
    Daily MailRightAll 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.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right2

    heartbreaking ordealhorror

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    heartbreaking ordealMore neutral: account

    The adjective heartbreaking adds emotional drama beyond the reported facts.

    Anguished mom shares heartbreaking ordeal of toddler son who was found breathing in morgue after being declared dead at…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    horrorMore neutral: experience

    The noun horror adds dramatic emotion in the outlet's own voice where a neutral description would do.

    Distressed mom recalls horror of toddler being pronounced dead, before he’s discovered alive in morgue: ‘I had to…

    Used byNew York Post (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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the mother's account of the doctor's decision
  • the discovery in the morgue
  • her reaction of relief

Leaves out

  • the boy's reported brain damage

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • NBC NewsLeft

    Arizona mom whose son was found alive in hospital morgue speaks out: ‘It’s an unexplainable feeling’

    Alexus Fiordilino said she thought her 18-month-old son, Vincent, was still breathing when she gave him a final hug, but the emergency room doctor insisted he was gone.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the mother's anguish and grief
  • the morgue discovery as a shocking twist
  • the near-drowning and the doctors' conduct

Leaves out

  • the hospital's or medical examiner's own account

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

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Distressed mom recalls Sensational language“horror”The noun horror adds dramatic emotion in the outlet's own voice where a neutral description would do.More neutral: experienceDisagree with this highlight? of toddler being pronounced dead, before he’s discovered alive in morgue: ‘I had to say goodbye’

    “I remember feeling him and being like, ‘he’s so cold.’”

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Anguished mom shares Sensational language“heartbreaking ordeal”The adjective heartbreaking adds emotional drama beyond the reported facts.More neutral: accountDisagree with this highlight? of toddler son who was found breathing in morgue after being declared dead at hospital

    Alexus Fiordilino opened up about the anguish she felt after her toddler son was found breathing at a hospital morgue, despite being declared dead

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

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

    21 hr 42 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 6:02 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Daily Mail, Oct 20, 8:19 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Daily MailRightOct 20, 8:19 PM EDT
  2. NBC NewsLeftOct 21, 6:02 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 21, 6:42 PM EDT

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

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