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Great white shark leaps from water at California beach as visitors take photos

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly right-leaning (60%).

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

Large shark dorsal fin and dark body break the surface of blue ocean water
Image via The Washington TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

Videos and photos taken by visitors show a great white shark leaping from the water near Marina State Beach, about 100 miles south of San Francisco, over the weekend. The Guardian, The Washington Times, the Daily Mail and the New York Post report the footage, which shows the shark launching several feet out of the water behind a group of friends posing for photos. The Washington Times places the sighting on Saturday. The reports rest on videos circulating online, and the articles describe no official confirmation of the sighting and no injuries.

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 great white shark leapt out of the water off the Monterey Bay coast in California over the weekend.

    Reported byLeft1Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail, The Washington Times

  2. Footage shows the shark launching several feet out of the water while visitors posed for photos on the beach.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Right
    The Washington Times

  3. The sighting took place at Marina State Beach, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Right
    The Washington Times

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that a great white shark leapt from the water at a California beach while visitors were taking photos, based on videos circulating online. The right-side headlines stress spectacle and menace with words such as “Monster” and “Jumping jaws!”, while the single left-side report uses a plain, descriptive headline.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Only one left-side outlet is present, and its plain headline describes the leap and the photobomb without adjectives or added drama.

    Great white shark leaps from water and photobombs California beachgoers
    The GuardianLeftAll 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

    3 outlets

    Headlines lead with spectacle and the shark’s size and teeth, using words such as “Monster” and “Jumping jaws!” and treating the sighting as a beach photobomb.

    Jumping jaws! Great white shark photobombs California beachgoers
    The Washington TimesRightAll 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.

  • Left1

    spectacular display

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right4

    terrifyingtoothy terrorMonsterbreathtaking

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    terrifyingMore neutral: Sharp-toothed

    The adjective states the reaction the outlet wants readers to feel rather than describing the event.

    This beachside photobomb came with a terrifying set of razor-sharp teeth.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    toothy terrorMore neutral: shark

    The phrase turns the shark into a figure of fear, an intensifier beyond the facts reported.

    …of beachgoers’ innocent photo session into a scene straight out of “Jaws.” The toothy terror made its surprise appearance at Marina State Beach along Monterey Bay, where a…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    MonsterMore neutral: Great white

    The word casts the animal as a villain and adds drama the facts of the sighting do not require.

    Monster great white leaps out of ocean off scenic Monterey Bay beach

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    breathtakingMore neutral: sudden

    The adjective adds an emotional judgement to the description of the sighting.

    A California resident captured the breathtaking moment an enormous great white shark leaped out of the Pacific Ocean near Monterey…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    spectacular displayMore neutral: leaped

    The phrase praises the event as a show, adding a judgement the reported leap does not require.

    A great white shark put on a spectacular display for California beachgoers over the weekend, leaping from the water off Marina…

    Used byThe Guardian (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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the shark leaping from the water
  • beachgoers photobombed
  • the videos circulating online
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • ABC NewsLeft

    WATCH: Great white shark leaps out of ocean off California's Marina Beach

    A great white shark surprised visitors off Marina Beach, California, when it leapt out of the ocean as a beachgoer was taking a video.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)
  • The GuardianLeft

    Great white shark leaps from water and photobombs California beachgoers

    Videos show shark launching several feet from water as a group of friends pose for photos along Marina state beach A great white shark put on a spectacular display for California beachgoers over the weekend, leaping from the water off Marina state beach and photobombing …

    Read at The Guardian (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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the photobomb angle
  • the shark’s size and teeth
  • the beach visit
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Jumping jaws! Great white shark photobombs California beachgoers

    Visitors to Marina State Beach, 100 miles south of San Francisco, had an unusual cameo in their photos and videos Saturday: a breaching great white shark.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Sensational language“Breathtaking”The word judges the moment as awe-inspiring instead of describing what was filmed.More neutral: Video showsDisagree with this highlight? moment enormous great white shark leaps out of Pacific just off Monterey Bay

    A California resident has captured the breathtaking moment an enormous great white shark leaped out of the Pacific Ocean near Monterey Bay.

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

    Sensational language“Monster”The word casts the animal as a villain and adds drama the facts of the sighting do not require.More neutral: Great whiteDisagree with this highlight? great white leaps out of ocean off scenic Monterey Bay beach

    This beachside photobomb came with a Sensational language“terrifying”The adjective states the reaction the outlet wants readers to feel rather than describing the event.More neutral: Sharp-toothedDisagree with this highlight? set of razor-sharp teeth.

    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

    13 hr 46 min later

    Its first report, Oct 20, 12:45 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 19, 11:00 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 19, 11:00 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 20, 11:44 AM EDT
  3. The GuardianLeftOct 20, 12:45 PM EDT
  4. The Washington TimesRightOct 20, 2:59 PM EDT
  5. ABC NewsLeftOct 20, 8:15 PM EDT

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

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