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Fire breaks out at Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; all workers accounted for

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

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

Thick black smoke and flames rising from a large industrial plant with Quaker sign visible.
Image via Daily MailHow images are chosenReport this image

A fire broke out Saturday afternoon at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and firefighters were called to the building about 4:45 p.m. Officials said all plant workers were accounted for. The Cedar Rapids Fire Department said the fire evidently began with an explosion. PepsiCo Foods US, which owns Quaker Oats, said fire responders went to the scene and that how the fire started will be investigated. Coverage reports no immediate information on the cause of the fire.

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. A fire broke out Saturday afternoon at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Western Journal

  2. The Cedar Rapids Fire Department was called to the plant about 4:45 p.m.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Western Journal

  3. Officials said all plant workers were accounted for.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Western Journal

  4. The fire department said the fire evidently began with an explosion.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Western Journal

  5. PepsiCo Foods US said how the fire started will be investigated.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report a Saturday fire at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with all workers accounted for. The right-side outlets lead with the explosion, flames and smoke; the left-side AP report stresses the fire and no injuries.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Its only coverage is an Associated Press report carried by ABC News, headlined as a plain account of a fire with no injuries and no known cause.

    Fire breaks out at Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; no injuries
    ABC NewsLeftAll 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

    2 outlets

    Headlines lead with the explosion and visual drama: the Daily Mail stresses a massive explosion and flames, while the far-right Western Journal adds Breaking, Rocks and Looms.

    Emergency crews rush to Iowa Quaker Oats factory after Sensational language“massive explosion”“Massive” adds drama to an explosion whose cause was not yet known when the coverage was written.More neutral: explosionDisagree with this highlight? sends flames shooting through shattered windows
    Daily MailRightAll 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.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right5

    dauntingravagedmassive explosionRocks

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    dauntingMore neutral: large black smoke plume

    “Daunting” describes the smoke with an emotional judgement rather than a fact.

    Dramatic video footage showed a daunting black smoke plume over the Cedar Rapids factory as flames ravaged the building.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    ravagedMore neutral: burned

    “Ravaged” adds a sense of destruction beyond what the report states.

    …showing a daunting black smoke plume over the Cedar Rapids factory as flames ravaged the building.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    massive explosionMore neutral: explosion

    “Massive” adds drama to an explosion whose cause was not yet known when the coverage was written.

    Emergency crews rush to Iowa Quaker Oats factory after massive explosion sends flames shooting through shattered windows

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    RocksMore neutral: is reported at

    “Rocks” presents the reported explosion as a dramatic shock to the city.

    Breaking: 'Explosion' at Quaker Oats Factory Rocks Midwest City as Large Smoke Cloud Looms

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    LoomsMore neutral: rises

    “Looms” gives the smoke a threatening tone the report does not establish.

    Breaking: 'Explosion' at Quaker Oats Factory Rocks Midwest City as Large Smoke Cloud Looms

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far 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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the fire and its location
  • no injuries reported
  • the fire department’s account of an explosion
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the explosion as the event
  • smoke, flames and video
  • emergency response

Leaves out

  • that no injuries were reported

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

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

    Breaking: 'Explosion' at Quaker Oats Factory Sensational language“Rocks”“Rocks” presents the reported explosion as a dramatic shock to the city.More neutral: is reported atDisagree with this highlight? Midwest City as Large Smoke Cloud Sensational language“Looms”“Looms” gives the smoke a threatening tone the report does not establish.More neutral: risesDisagree with this highlight?

    A fire erupted at a Quaker Oats facility in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday after a reported explosion took place. Local Iowa outlets reported a large emergency response to

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

    Emergency crews rush to Iowa Quaker Oats factory after Sensational language“massive explosion”“Massive” adds drama to an explosion whose cause was not yet known when the coverage was written.More neutral: explosionDisagree with this highlight? sends flames shooting through shattered windows

    Dramatic video footage showed a Sensational language“daunting”“Daunting” describes the smoke with an emotional judgement rather than a fact.More neutral: large black smoke plumeDisagree with this highlight? black smoke plume over the Cedar Rapids factory as flames ravaged the building.

    Read at Daily Mail (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

    36 min later

    Its first report, Oct 24, 7:36 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Daily Mail, Oct 24, 7:00 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Daily MailRightOct 24, 7:00 PM EDT
  2. The Western JournalFar RightOct 24, 7:26 PM EDT
  3. ABC NewsLeftOct 24, 7:36 PM EDT

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

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