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Three killed in attacks on Riyadh airport; Houthis claim the strikes

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 15 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Smoke and fire rising behind an airport terminal beside a parked white passenger jet and tug.
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Saudi authorities said three people were killed in attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday, and the civil aviation authority said the dead included a pilot of the carrier Saudia. Yemen’s Houthis, an Iran-backed group, claimed the attacks. The Guardian reported that the group provided no evidence and that Saudi Arabia had not commented on the claim. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted three ballistic missiles, two of them headed toward Riyadh, and that it would respond firmly to the attacks. Several airlines suspended flights to the Saudi capital.

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. Saudi authorities said three people were killed in attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Thursday.

    Reported byLeft2Center3Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TIME, Bloomberg
    Center
    France 24, Financial Times, CNBC
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  2. The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Riyadh airport.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft2Center2Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, The Guardian
    Center
    France 24, CNBC
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  3. Several international airlines suspended or canceled flights to Riyadh after the attacks.

    Reported byLeft2Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg, The Guardian
    Center
    Sky News, Financial Times

  4. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three ballistic missiles, two of them headed toward Riyadh.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

  5. The Saudia pilot Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami was killed, according to Saudia and the civil aviation authority.

    One outletCNBC· Center

  6. The Guardian reported that the Houthis provided no evidence for their claim and that Saudi Arabia had not commented on it.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The Houthis carried out the attacks on the Riyadh airport.

    Several outlets report that the Houthis claimed the attacks, and the Financial Times and CNBC state the attacks as Houthi attacks. The Guardian reports that the group provided no evidence and that Saudi Arabia had not commented on the claim.

  • Missiles struck the Riyadh airport.

    The Washington Examiner and Breitbart report the Houthis claimed a successful strike on the airport, and Sky News reports a large blast at the airport. Al Jazeera reports that the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three ballistic missiles, two of them headed toward Riyadh.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    6 outlets

    Left headlines attribute the attack to the Houthis as a claim or report the death toll and airline suspensions, and TIME places the attacks inside a broader escalating war in Yemen.

    Saudi Arabia reopens Riyadh airport after Houthi attack kills three
    Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    6 outlets

    Center headlines name the Houthis as the attackers and lead with the deaths, including a pilot, or with the flight suspensions, and Sky puts the word attack in quotation marks; the Financial Times states the Houthi attack without a claim qualifier.

    Saudi coalition vows 'firm' response after airport attack kills 3
    Deutsche WelleCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Right headlines center the ballistic missile method and the airport disruption, with Breitbart leading with the Houthi claim and at least three deaths and the Washington Examiner describing disruptions at Riyadh airport.

    Saudi authorities say 3 killed in Houthi-claimed attacks on Riyadh airport
    The Washington TimesRightAll 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.

  • Center1

    vows

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    vowsMore neutral: said it would respond

    The verb vows gives the coalition’s statement a tone of commitment and drama beyond the plain report that it would respond.

    Pilot killed in attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on Riyadh airport; Saudi-led coalition vows 'firm' response

    Used byCNBC (Center)

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

6 outlets

Leads with

  • Houthi claims and their attribution
  • Airline suspensions of flights to Riyadh
  • Wider escalation of the Yemen war
  • Saudi interception of missiles

Leaves out

  • Death of a Saudia pilot
  • Saudi-led coalition vow of a firm response

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

See the 6 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

6 outlets

Leads with

  • Death toll and the pilot killed
  • Flight suspensions and cancellations
  • Saudi-led coalition response
  • Houthi aims in the wider conflict

Leaves out

  • Saudi interception of three ballistic missiles
  • Guardian note that the group provided no evidence

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

See the 6 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Ballistic missile attacks
  • Iran backing of the Houthis
  • Disruption at Riyadh airport
  • Death toll

Leaves out

  • Death of a pilot reported by CNBC
  • Saudi-led coalition interception of missiles

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

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Saudi authorities say 3 killed in Houthi-claimed attacks on Riyadh airport

    An airline pilot was among three Saudi citizens killed in attacks targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia aircraft, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said on Friday. Several people "of different nationalities" were wounded.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Houthis Claim Ballistic Missile Attacks on Saudi Airports, at Least Three Killed

    The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen claimed responsibility on Thursday for attacking King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh with a ballistic missile.

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    Saudi Arabia sees disruptions at Riyadh airport amid ballistic missile attacks from Houthis

    The Houthi rebel group claimed it successfully struck Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in the capital city of Riyadh with two ballistic missiles launched overnight Wednesday and early Thursday morning. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (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

    First to report

    TIME, Oct 8, 7:00 AM EDT

  • Center

    1 hr 53 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 8:52 AM EDT

  • Right

    3 hr 59 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 10:59 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. TIMELeftOct 8, 7:00 AM EDT
  2. France 24CenterOct 8, 8:52 AM EDT
  3. BloombergLeftOct 8, 9:21 AM EDT
  4. CBS NewsLeftOct 8, 9:52 AM EDT
  5. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 8, 10:43 AM EDT
  6. Washington ExaminerRightOct 8, 10:59 AM EDT
  7. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 8, 11:10 AM EDT
  8. Sky NewsCenterOct 8, 1:23 PM EDT
  9. The GuardianLeftOct 8, 10:28 PM EDT
  10. Financial TimesCenterOct 9, 5:25 AM EDT
  11. BBC NewsCenterOct 9, 6:07 AM EDT
  12. The Washington TimesRightOct 9, 6:23 AM EDT
  13. CNBCCenterOct 9, 6:37 AM EDT
  14. The New York TimesLeftOct 9, 6:56 AM EDT
  15. Deutsche WelleCenterOct 9, 10:01 AM EDT

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

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