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FBI officials tell MS NOW they fear orders to seize ballots and voting machines

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all left-leaning.

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

The Daily Beast, The Independent and HuffPost all report on an MS NOW report that current and former FBI officials fear they could be ordered to seize ballots and voting machines before the midterm elections. MS NOW cites unnamed current and former officials, one of whom says they are worried that a U.S. attorney and an FBI agent might be willing to sign on to such actions. The report says fair-election advocates are preparing legal and ethical guidance for agents who receive orders they consider illegal or unethical. It also notes that the FBI seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year, a seizure that did not result in criminal charges. The White House disputed the report, with a spokesperson saying Democrats were the ones causing fears about election security.

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. Current and former FBI officials told MS NOW they fear being ordered to seize ballots and voting machines before the midterm elections.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast, HuffPost
    Left
    The Independent

  2. The report relies on unnamed current and former bureau officials.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast, HuffPost
    Left
    The Independent

  3. Fair-election advocates are preparing legal and ethical guidance for FBI agents who receive orders they consider illegal or unethical.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast, HuffPost
    Left
    The Independent

  4. The FBI seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year, and the seizure did not result in criminal charges.

    One outletThe Independent· Left

  5. The White House disputed the report, with a spokesperson saying Democrats were causing fears about election security.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The Trump administration could order FBI agents to seize ballots and voting machines before the midterm elections.

    The outlets report that current and former FBI officials fear such orders, citing MS NOW reporting; the White House disputed the report, saying Democrats are the ones causing fears about election security.

How each side tells it

Compare views

The left-side outlets present all report that FBI officials fear being ordered to seize ballots before the midterms, with the Daily Beast and HuffPost using more emotive words such as nightmare and sketchy.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Headlines present agents fear of seizure orders as an election threat, with the Far Left outlets using the most dramatic words, Nightmare and sketchy, and the Independent using election takeover.

    FBI agents fear Trump team will order them to seize voting machines and ballots in Sensational language“election takeover”The phrase asserts a takeover that the reporting describes only as a fear of possible orders.More neutral: possible seizure of voting materialsDisagree with this highlight?: report
    The IndependentLeftAll 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

    No coverage yet

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

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.

  • Left8

    dubious claimsinto chaosNightmareflimsy claims

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    dubious claimsMore neutral: claims of election fraud

    Calling the claims dubious pre-judges their merit before the facts are established.

    …told MS NOW they fear the Trump administration could use the FBI to pursue dubious claims of election fraud.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    into chaosMore neutral: affect next week's vote

    The phrase predicts a dramatic outcome that the reporting presents as a fear, not an established result.

    FBI agents fear Trump’s Justice Department could throw next week’s vote into chaos.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    NightmareMore neutral: Concern

    The word adds dread that the reporting does not establish; the headline could simply name the officials' concern.

    FBI Agents Reveal Nightmare Election Day Fear

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    flimsy claimsMore neutral: claims

    Calling the claims flimsy pre-judges their strength before the facts are established.

    …some FBI agents are concerned that they may be instructed to investigate flimsy claims of fraud — using legally dubious measures, according to a new report.

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

Show 4 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    legally dubious measuresMore neutral: legal measures under review

    Calling the measures legally dubious asserts a legal judgement that the reporting attributes only to officials' fears.

    …that they may be instructed to investigate flimsy claims of fraud — using legally dubious measures, according to a new report.

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

  • Sensational language

    election takeoverMore neutral: possible seizure of voting materials

    The phrase asserts a takeover that the reporting describes only as a fear of possible orders.

    …agents fear Trump team will order them to seize voting machines and ballots in election takeover: report

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    sketchyMore neutral: White House orders

    The word is a casual judgement of the orders that the reporting does not establish.

    Several agents expressed concern about sketchy or illegal White House orders to interfere in the election, according to the channel.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    efforts to interfereMore neutral: efforts in the midterm elections

    The phrase assigns a purpose of interference to the president before the facts are established.

    FBI agents expressed fear about becoming pawns in President Donald Trump’s efforts to interfere in the midterm elections, MS NOW reported Wednesday.

    Used byHuffPost (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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • agents fears about seizure orders
  • possible seizure of ballots and voting machines
  • risk to the midterm elections
  • Trump administration role
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • HuffPostFar Left

    FBI Agents Say They're Worried About Being Ordered To Seize Midterm Ballots: MS NOW

    Several agents expressed concern about Loaded modifier“sketchy”The word is a casual judgement of the orders that the reporting does not establish.More neutral: White House ordersDisagree with this highlight? or illegal White House orders to interfere in the election, according to the channel.

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)
  • The IndependentLeft

    FBI agents fear Trump team will order them to seize voting machines and ballots in Sensational language“election takeover”The phrase asserts a takeover that the reporting describes only as a fear of possible orders.More neutral: possible seizure of voting materialsDisagree with this highlight?: report

    ‘It is going to take people of high moral character to hold the line between doing what they’re told and doing what is right and lawful,’ one former official said

    Read at The Independent (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    FBI Agents Reveal Sensational language“Nightmare”The word adds dread that the reporting does not establish; the headline could simply name the officials' concern.More neutral: ConcernDisagree with this highlight? Election Day Fear

    FBI agents fear they could be ordered to seize ballots and voting machines on Election Day, potentially throwing the midterms into chaos, according to a new report. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (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

0 outlets

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

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

    First to report

    The Daily Beast, Oct 29, 9:27 AM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 29, 9:27 AM EDT
  2. The IndependentLeftOct 29, 9:35 AM EDT
  3. HuffPostFar LeftOct 29, 11:54 AM EDT

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

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