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Florida Bar fires employee over abusive messages to Miami football player

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Coverage spectrum

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

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

The Florida Bar fired computer technician Kade McLendon after messages containing racial and homophobic slurs and threats were sent to University of Miami football player Damon Wilson II from an Instagram account in McLendon’s name. The Bar had placed McLendon on administrative leave while it investigated. Wilson shared a screenshot of the messages after Miami’s 43-35 double-overtime win over Florida State. McLendon denies sending them and says his account was hacked. The Bar said he did not provide enough evidence that the account had been compromised, and called the messages reprehensible and inconsistent with its policies.

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. The Florida Bar placed computer technician Kade McLendon on administrative leave while it investigated messages sent to Damon Wilson II.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TheGrio
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  2. Damon Wilson II shared a screenshot of messages containing racial and homophobic slurs and threats, which he said came from an Instagram account in McLendon’s name.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TheGrio
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  3. McLendon denies sending the messages and says his account was hacked.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TheGrio
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  4. The Florida Bar fired McLendon, saying he did not provide evidence sufficient to show his account had been compromised.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TheGrio
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  5. Miami beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime, and Wilson posted the screenshot days later.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TheGrio
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • McLendon sent the racist and homophobic messages from his Instagram account.

    TheGrio headlines state it as fact; the AP report carried by the New York Post and Breitbart say McLendon is accused or that the messages were sent from his account, and McLendon denies sending them and says his account was hacked. The Bar said he did not show evidence the account had been compromised.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports the Florida Bar put Kade McLendon on leave and then fired him after abusive messages were sent to Miami player Damon Wilson II. The main difference is attribution: TheGrio headlines say McLendon sent racist messages, while right-side headlines use accused or alleged.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    TheGrio headlines state as fact that McLendon sent racist messages, and centre the leave and firing rather than McLendon’s denial.

    IT employee at The Florida Bar placed on leave after sending racist text messages to University of Miami football player
    TheGrioLeftAll 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

    NY Post headlines call the messages racist and name the Bar’s action, while the AP firing story it carries says accused; Far Right Breitbart calls it a racist tirade.

    Florida Bar suspends employee after racist messages to Miami football player
    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.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right2

    disgustingTirade

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    disgustingMore neutral: racial and violent

    The word is an emotional judgement in the outlet’s own voice, while the description of the messages can be stated without it.

    …Bar has placed one of its employees on administrative leave as it investigates disgusting racial and violent comments that were sent online to a University of Miami…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    TiradeMore neutral: messages

    The word describes a fit of rage, while the reported facts are a set of messages sent from an account.

    Florida Bar Fires Employee Over Alleged Racist Instagram Tirade Against Miami Hurricanes Player

    Used byBreitbart News (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

  • racist messages sent to the player
  • the Bar’s leave and firing
  • Wilson’s account
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 Bar’s leave and firing
  • racist content of the messages
  • Wilson’s public screenshot
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Florida Bar Fires Employee Over Alleged Racist Instagram Sensational language“Tirade”The word describes a fit of rage, while the reported facts are a set of messages sent from an account.More neutral: messagesDisagree with this highlight? Against Miami Hurricanes Player

    The Florida Bar fired a computer technician Wednesday after racist messages and threats against University of Miami defensive lineman Damon Wilson II were sent from the employee’s Instagram account. Kade McClendon denied writing the messages, which Wilson shared publicly after

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRightAssociated Press report

    Florida Bar fires employee accused of sending racist messages to Miami football player

    An account from a person using McLendon's name sent a number of messages to Miami's Damon Wilson II, including several racist and homophobic slurs.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Florida Bar suspends employee after racist messages to Miami football player

    The Florida Bar has placed one of its employees on administrative leave as it probes racial and violent comments that were sent online to a Miami player.

    Read at New York Post (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

    35 min later

    Its first report, Oct 20, 10:40 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 20, 10:05 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 20, 10:05 PM EDT
  2. TheGrioLeftOct 20, 10:40 PM EDT
  3. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 21, 9:46 PM EDT

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

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