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Justice Department says it seized servers used in North Korean $400M crypto scam

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly center (80%).

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

Carved seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice on dark wood.
Image via Deutsche WelleHow images are chosenReport this image

The Justice Department said Thursday it had seized cloud servers used by North Korean hackers in a video-call scheme the FBI calls “FaceStealer.” The FBI says the hackers have stolen more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months, with more than 900 victims. The hackers send meeting invitations from accounts they have taken over, record targets’ webcam video and play clips of earlier victims, the department said. The department also said it had court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion taken in the recent Binance hack.

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 Justice Department said it seized cloud servers used in the FaceStealer scheme.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Deutsche Welle
    Right
    New York Post

  2. North Korean hackers have stolen more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months, the FBI says.

    One side only: the centerReported byCenter3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Deutsche Welle, BBC News, The Hill

  3. More than 900 victims are thought to have been caught in the scheme over the last 18 months.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  4. The hackers use imposter video-conference platforms and secretly record webcam video of targets.

    One side only: the centerReported byCenter2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Deutsche Welle, The Hill

  5. The Justice Department said it had court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion taken in the Binance hack.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Deutsche Welle
    Right
    New York Post

How each side tells it

Compare views

Center and right outlets both report that US authorities seized cloud servers used by North Korean hackers in a fake video-call scheme and moved to recover funds. Center outlets lead with the $400 million stolen and the FBI’s attribution, while the New York Post stresses a cunning ruse and $1.2 billion clawed back.

  • 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

    4 outlets

    Center headlines attribute the $400 million theft to the FBI in plain terms, while Deutsche Welle’s headline centres on the US seizure of servers and funds.

    FBI: North Korean hackers have stolen $400 million in crypto over last 18 months
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The New York Post headline stresses a cunning ruse and a massive heist, with the feds clawing back $1.2 billion, framing the event as a recovery.

    FBI reveals Sensational language“cunning ruse”The adjective “cunning” adds a judgement about the hackers’ intent beyond the reported facts.More neutral: methodDisagree with this highlight? North Korean hackers used in massive crypto heist as feds claw back $1.2B
    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.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    devious methodscunning ruse

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    devious methodsMore neutral: methods

    The adjective “devious” attributes an intent to deceive beyond the reported facts.

    Federal authorities pulled back the curtain on North Korean hackers’ devious methods for stealing hundreds of millions in cryptocurrency while announcing the agency…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    cunning ruseMore neutral: method

    The adjective “cunning” adds a judgement about the hackers’ intent beyond the reported facts.

    FBI reveals cunning ruse North Korean hackers used in massive crypto heist as feds claw back $1.2B

    Used byNew York Post (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

4 outlets

Leads with

  • $400 million stolen
  • FBI attribution
  • fake video-call method
See the 4 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • United Press InternationalCenter

    U.S. disrupts North Korean fake video scheme tied to $400 million theft

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that it had disrupted a fake video call scheme used by North Korean hackers to steal more than $400 million in cryptocurrency.

    Read at United Press International (opens in a new tab)
  • Deutsche WelleCenter

    US disrupts North Korea's $400 million crypto scam, FBI says

    The US has seized servers linked to a North Korean scam that used fake video meetings and deepfakes to steal more than $400 million in crypto, and has moved to seize $1.2 billion that was taken from Binance.

    Read at Deutsche Welle (opens in a new tab)
  • BBC NewsCenter

    North Korean hackers used fake video calls in $400m crypto hack, says FBI

    More than 900 victims are thought to have fallen prey to the FaceStealer scheme in the last 18 months.

    Read at BBC News (opens in a new tab)
  • The HillCenter

    FBI: North Korean hackers have stolen $400 million in crypto over last 18 months

    The FBI said Thursday that North Korean hackers have stolen more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over the past 18 months using a social engineering scheme called “FaceStealer. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • cunning ruse
  • massive crypto heist
  • $1.2B clawed back

Leaves out

  • the $400 million loss figure
  • the 900 victims

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

See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    FBI reveals Sensational language“cunning ruse”The adjective “cunning” adds a judgement about the hackers’ intent beyond the reported facts.More neutral: methodDisagree with this highlight? North Korean hackers used in massive crypto heist as feds claw back $1.2B

    The Justice Department said authorities seized the cloud servers used in the social engineering scheme, dubbed “FaceStealer.”

    Read at New York Post (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

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Nov 12, 5:52 PM EST

  • Right

    2 hr 39 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 8:31 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterNov 12, 5:52 PM EST
  2. New York PostRightNov 12, 8:31 PM EST
  3. BBC NewsCenterNov 12, 9:48 PM EST
  4. Deutsche WelleCenterNov 12, 11:19 PM EST
  5. United Press InternationalCenterNov 13, 2:23 AM EST

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

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