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FAA grounds all US flights nationwide over telecommunications outage

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 9 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Airliners parked at an airport gate area, with United and American Airlines tail fins visible.
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The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights across the United States on Friday afternoon, citing a temporary telecommunications outage. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin described the problem as a telecommunications outage but said officials did not yet know its cause. He said there was no indication of an attack or threat to the United States, and that the Department of Homeland Security would keep seeking the root cause. One right-leaning report says federal officials have not ruled out a cyberattack or an AI issue.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The FAA grounded all flights across the United States on Friday afternoon.

    Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left3Center2Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The New York Times, CBS News, NPR
    Center
    PBS NewsHour, The Hill
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Western Journal

  2. Mullin described the stoppage as a telecommunications outage.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The New York Times, CBS News
    Center
    PBS NewsHour, The Hill

  3. Mullin said officials did not yet know the cause of the outage.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    The Hill

  4. Mullin said there was no indication of an attack on the United States.

    Reported byLeft2Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, NPR
    Center
    PBS NewsHour, The Hill

  5. Federal officials have not ruled out a cyberattack or an AI issue, according to one report.

    One outletThe Western Journal· Far Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that the FAA grounded all flights nationwide on Friday afternoon and that the cause was still being determined. Left and center coverage leads with Mullin’s telecom-outage and no-attack statements; right-side coverage stresses officials have not ruled out a cyberattack.

  • the left

    5 outlets

    Left headlines lead with Mullin’s assurances of no attack or threat and the telecom outage, while the Far Left Daily Beast casts him as a Trump goon boasting over the groundings.

    DHS head Markwayne Mullin says there is not a threat to the U.S. amid FAA ground stop
    NPRLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines quote Mullin directly, pairing his denial of a nefarious attack with the note that DHS is still investigating the root cause of the telecom outage.

    Mullin: No indication of 'nefarious attack' on FAA as DHS investigates root cause of telecom outage
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side headlines stress that officials will not rule out a cyberattack, and that Trump is silent on a crisis; the Far Right outlet leads with the hacking question.

    DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin Loaded verb“Refuses to Rule Out”Refuses implies obstinacy, while the reporting describes officials leaving a possibility open.More neutral: Does Not Rule OutDisagree with this highlight? Cyberattack or AI Issue as Ground Stop Continues
    The Western JournalFar 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.

  • Left5

    suck up tospiraling crisisGoonBoasts About

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right4

    upendingcrisisbrags aboutRefuses to Rule Out

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    suck up toMore neutral: praised

    The phrase assigns the official a motive of servility that the reporting does not establish.

    Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin managed to suck up to President Donald Trump even as flights across the country were grounded in a…

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    spiraling crisisMore neutral: nationwide disruption

    Spiraling suggests escalation that the reporting does not establish.

    …to President Donald Trump even as flights across the country were grounded in a spiraling crisis.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Dehumanizing label

    GoonMore neutral: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin

    Calling the official a goon reduces him to a contemptible type rather than naming his office and role.

    Trump Goon Boasts About ‘Phenomenal Job’ as Every Plane Grounded

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Boasts AboutMore neutral: Praises

    Boasts implies vanity, while the official was answering reporters and praising a colleague.

    Trump Goon Boasts About ‘Phenomenal Job’ as Every Plane Grounded

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 5 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    upendingMore neutral: affecting

    Upending is a dramatic verb that goes beyond the reported fact that the stop affected travel plans.

    …Friday afternoon, citing 'extraordinary circumstances for safety reasons' and upending thousands of travelers's weekend plans.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    crisisMore neutral: ground stop

    Calling the stop a crisis adds drama that the reporting of the outage itself does not establish.

    President Trump is silent on nationwide ground stop crisis...

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    brags aboutMore neutral: posts about

    Brags is a verb of boasting that adds judgement about the president’s motive and tone.

    as he clears his weekend schedule and brags about his plan to 'save Hollywood' instead

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    Refuses to Rule OutMore neutral: Does Not Rule Out

    Refuses implies obstinacy, while the reporting describes officials leaving a possibility open.

    Markwayne Mullin Refuses to Rule Out Cyberattack or AI Issue as Ground Stop Continues

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    sparks furyMore neutral: drew criticism from (name who)

    Outrage from whom? Name the critics and their number.

    'Utter incompetence': Trump sparks fury with unexpected post amid national emergency

    Used byRaw Story (Far 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

  • no indication of an attack or threat
  • telecommunications outage as the cause
  • Mullin’s praise for Trump and Sean Duffy

Leaves out

  • officials not ruling out a cyberattack, reported by a right-side outlet

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

See the 5 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Mullin’s denial of a nefarious attack
  • DHS still seeking the root cause
  • Americans flying Friday are safe

Leaves out

  • officials not ruling out a cyberattack, reported by a right-side outlet

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

See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • PBS NewsHourCenterAssociated Press report

    WATCH: Homeland Security Secretary Mullin says FAA flight stoppage 'isn't another 9/11'

    Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there are no indications of an attack against the nation, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon due to communications problems.

    Read at PBS NewsHour (opens in a new tab)
  • The HillCenter

    Mullin: No indication of 'nefarious attack' on FAA as DHS investigates root cause of telecom outage

    Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stressed that Americans flying Friday are safe, even as he said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would continue to seek the root cause of a telecom outage that pushed the government to ground flights. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • possible cyberattack or AI issue
  • Trump’s silence during the stop
  • thousands of travelers’ weekend plans

Leaves out

  • the telecommunications outage cited by the FAA and Mullin

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

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Western JournalFar Right

    DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin Loaded verb“Refuses to Rule Out”Refuses implies obstinacy, while the reporting describes officials leaving a possibility open.More neutral: Does Not Rule OutDisagree with this highlight? Cyberattack or AI Issue as Ground Stop Continues

    Federal officials are not ruling out the possibility that America’s air traffic control system was hacked. A ground stop issued Friday afternoon by the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the nation’s

    Read at The Western Journal (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    President Trump is silent on nationwide ground stop Sensational language“crisis”Calling the stop a crisis adds drama that the reporting of the outage itself does not establish.More neutral: ground stopDisagree with this highlight?... as he clears his weekend schedule and Loaded verb“brags about”Brags is a verb of boasting that adds judgement about the president’s motive and tone.More neutral: posts aboutDisagree with this highlight? his plan to 'save Hollywood' instead

    The FAA grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon, citing 'extraordinary circumstances for safety reasons' and Loaded verb“upending”Upending is a dramatic verb that goes beyond the reported fact that the stop affected travel plans.More neutral: affectingDisagree with this highlight? thousands of travelers's weekend plans.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

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

    2 min later

    Its first report, Nov 13, 5:29 PM EST

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Nov 13, 5:27 PM EST

  • Right

    1 hr 38 min later

    Its first report, Nov 13, 7:04 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterNov 13, 5:27 PM EST
  2. CBS NewsLeftNov 13, 5:29 PM EST
  3. NPRLeftNov 13, 5:36 PM EST
  4. PBS NewsHourCenterNov 13, 6:00 PM EST
  5. The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 13, 6:12 PM EST
  6. The New York TimesLeftNov 13, 6:48 PM EST
  7. Daily MailRightNov 13, 7:04 PM EST
  8. The Western JournalFar RightNov 13, 7:18 PM EST
  9. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 13, 7:36 PM EST

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

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