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DoorDash to buy Instacart for about $17 billion

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 11 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Phone screen showing Amazon, Uber Eats, Instacart and DoorDash app logos in tiles.
Image via MarketWatchHow images are chosenReport this image

DoorDash is buying Instacart’s parent, Maplebear, for about $17 billion, according to NBC News, The New York Times, Business Insider and the Financial Times, which report the deal was announced on Thursday. Before that, several outlets, including Bloomberg, CNBC, Semafor and the Wall Street Journal, reported that the companies were in talks, citing people familiar with the matter. The combination would bring together DoorDash’s restaurant delivery business with Instacart’s online grocery platform. Business Insider says it would give DoorDash a lead over Uber and Amazon in grocery delivery, and MarketWatch’s analysts say the deal is about keeping pace with Walmart and Amazon. Just the News reports that the industry faces rising labor costs and tighter rules for delivery workers.

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. DoorDash is buying Instacart’s parent, Maplebear, for about $17 billion, a deal announced on Thursday.

    Reported byLeft3Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News, The New York Times, Business Insider
    Center
    Financial Times

  2. Before the announcement, several outlets reported that the companies were in talks, citing people familiar with the matter.

    Reported byLeft1Center3Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Center
    Semafor, MarketWatch, CNBC
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Just the News

  3. The deal would join DoorDash’s restaurant delivery business with Instacart’s online grocery platform.

    One side only: the leftReported byLeft2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, Business Insider

  4. Business Insider says the deal would give DoorDash an edge over Uber and Amazon in grocery delivery.

    One outletBusiness Insider· Left

  5. MarketWatch’s analysts say the deal is about keeping pace with Walmart and Amazon.

    One outletMarketWatch· Center

  6. The food delivery industry has faced rising labor costs, tighter rules for delivery workers and more competition as pandemic-era online ordering growth has faded.

    One outletJust the News· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • DoorDash is buying Instacart for about $17 billion.

    NBC News, The New York Times, Business Insider and the Financial Times describe the deal as announced or agreed. Just the News and the New York Post describe talks, and Bloomberg and CNBC describe a deal as near or imminent, citing people familiar with the matter.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides present report that DoorDash is pursuing or buying Instacart for about $17 billion. The main difference is emphasis: left and center outlets treat the deal as announced and stress scale and competition, while right-side outlets in this set cover the talks and the industry’s labor costs.

  • the left

    5 outlets

    Left-side headlines report the deal as done and stress its scale, with words like “giant” and “powerhouse”; Bloomberg’s “Said to Near” is the hedged exception.

    DoorDash to Buy Instacart for $17 Billion, Uniting 2 Delivery Giants
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    4 outlets

    Center headlines state the deal or its talks plainly, while MarketWatch frames it as a response to Walmart and Amazon and CNBC focuses on timing.

    DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17bn
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side headlines in this set report talks rather than a deal, using “reportedly” and “in talks”; the New York Post headline is a Reuters report.

    DoorDash reportedly in talks to acquire Instacart in potential $17 billion deal
    Just the 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.

  • Left1

    gobbles up

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    gobbles upMore neutral: to buy

    The verb describes a purchase agreement as a predatory act, where a neutral verb would state the same deal.

    DoorDash gobbles up Instacart in $17 billion deal

    Used byCBS News (Left)

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

5 outlets

Leads with

  • Scale of the combined companies
  • Competition with Uber and Amazon
  • Deal presented as agreed

Leaves out

  • Labor costs and delivery-worker rules
  • Uber’s talks with Instacart no longer active

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

See the 5 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

4 outlets

Leads with

  • Competition with Walmart and Amazon
  • Consolidation in food delivery
  • Timing of the deal

Leaves out

  • Labor costs and delivery-worker rules
  • Uber’s talks with Instacart no longer active

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

See the 4 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Talks not yet confirmed
  • Industry labor costs and delivery-worker regulation

Leaves out

  • Announced agreement reported by left and center outlets
  • Analyst view on competition with Walmart and Amazon

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

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, 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

    23 hr 29 min later

    Its first report, Oct 27, 3:00 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    Semafor, Oct 26, 3:30 PM EDT

  • Right

    3 hr 47 min later

    Its first report, Oct 26, 7:18 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. SemaforCenterOct 26, 3:30 PM EDT
  2. MarketWatchCenterOct 26, 5:16 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 26, 7:18 PM EDT
  4. BloombergLeftOct 27, 3:00 PM EDT
  5. CNBCCenterOct 28, 5:10 PM EDT
  6. NBC NewsLeftOct 29, 7:27 AM EDT
  7. The New York TimesLeftOct 29, 7:32 AM EDT
  8. Business InsiderLeftOct 29, 7:34 AM EDT
  9. Financial TimesCenterOct 29, 7:57 AM EDT
  10. CBS NewsLeftOct 29, 8:03 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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