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California woman charged with automobile homicide over fatal Utah interstate crash

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all right-leaning.

4 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The New York Post, The Western Journal, The Daily Wire and The Washington Times report that Utah prosecutors charged Christine Chao, 44, of California, with automobile homicide over a June 12 crash on Interstate 15 in Utah. The charging documents say Chao’s vehicle struck the rearmost of two slowed cars, setting off a three-vehicle crash in construction-related traffic, and that Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, a passenger in one of the vehicles, died of a head injury. According to the same documents, Chao told officers she was at fault, and an examination of her phone showed she accessed a pornographic website less than two minutes before the crash.

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. Christine Chao, 44, of California, was charged with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, over a June 12 crash on I-15 in Utah.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, The Washington Times
    Far Right
    The Western Journal, The Daily Wire

  2. Construction had slowed traffic on I-15 when Chao’s SUV struck the rearmost of two slowed vehicles, causing a chain-reaction crash.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Western Journal, The Daily Wire

  3. Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, a passenger in one of the vehicles, died of a head injury, according to the reports.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Western Journal, The Daily Wire

  4. According to charging documents, Chao told officers at the scene that she was at fault.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  5. Charging documents say Chao’s phone accessed xvideos.com less than two minutes before the crash.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Western Journal

How each side tells it

Compare views

All four right-side outlets report the charges against Christine Chao from the charging documents and lead with the alleged pornography viewing, while the Western Journal treats the case as a broader argument about pornography in American culture.

  • the left

    No coverage yet

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

  • 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

    3 outlets · 1 opinion

    Right-side headlines put the phone porn allegation at the front, attributed to police or suspicion; the Far Right Western Journal opinion piece instead frames the crash as evidence of a ‘sick addiction’ to pornography.

    Woman causes deadly three-car crash in Utah — while watching porn on her phone: police
    New York PostRightAll 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.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right4

    plowedslammed into trafficSick Addictionslammed

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    plowedMore neutral: struck

    ‘Plowed’ describes the impact with more force and intent than the charging documents’ wording that the vehicle struck the rearmost car.

    At the time, construction on I-15 had slowed traffic to a near halt, when Chao plowed her SUV into a car — and cause it to smack into another slowed vehicle.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    slammed into trafficMore neutral: struck traffic

    ‘Slammed’ adds force and blame beyond the documented collision in slowed traffic.

    According to KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Chao’s vehicle slammed into traffic on I-15, killing 66-year-old Scott LaVar Lichfield.

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    Sick AddictionMore neutral: pornography use

    ‘Sick’ passes a moral verdict on people who view pornography, which the reported facts about the crash do not establish.

    Deadly Car Crash Reportedly Exposes America's Sick Addiction to Pornography

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    slammedMore neutral: struck

    ‘Slammed’ adds force and blame beyond the reported fact that her car struck two other vehicles.

    …she was suspected of watching pornography on her phone minutes before she allegedly slammed into two other cars.

    Used byThe Washington Times (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

0 outlets

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

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

3 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • phone porn allegation
  • driver distraction as cause
  • police and charging documents as source
See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Driver charged in connection with fatal collision suspected of watching porn minutes before crash

    Utah prosecutors charged a California woman in connection with a fatal collision in which she was suspected of watching pornography on her phone minutes before she allegedly Loaded verb“slammed”‘Slammed’ adds force and blame beyond the reported fact that her car struck two other vehicles.More neutral: struckDisagree with this highlight? into two other cars.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily WireFar Right

    Woman Watched Porn Just Before Causing Fatal Crash, Police Say

    A 44-year-old California woman is accused of watching pornography moments before causing a multi-vehicle crash that left a Utah man dead. Christine Chao was charged Tuesday with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, in connection with the fatal June 12 crash, local outlet …

    Read at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Woman causes deadly three-car crash in Utah — while watching porn on her phone: police

    The Rosemead native reportedly “told officers she was at fault” and after examining her phone police found that she had hopped on a porn site “less than two minutes before the crash.”

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Western JournalFar RightOpinion

    Deadly Car Crash Reportedly Exposes America's Loaded modifier“Sick Addiction”‘Sick’ passes a moral verdict on people who view pornography, which the reported facts about the crash do not establish.More neutral: pornography useDisagree with this highlight? to Pornography

    One would love to say that the case of Christine Chao was an aberration. Instead, it’s an illustration of just how intertwined pornography has become with American culture. Chao, 44,

    Read at The Western Journal (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

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 20, 10:33 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 20, 10:33 PM EDT
  2. The Daily WireFar RightOct 21, 7:40 AM EDT
  3. The Washington TimesRightOct 21, 2:49 PM EDT

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

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