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74-year-old Italian escapes house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition

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Coverage spectrum

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

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

Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, a former Red Brigades member awaiting extradition to Italy, escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires, according to The Washington Times, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and BBC News. The reports say he climbed down from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope, prompting a nationwide search. According to Al Jazeera, citing Argentine police officials who spoke to the Associated Press, he was still on the run on Wednesday. According to Agence France-Presse, carried by The Guardian, Argentina’s security ministry confirmed the escape. Al Jazeera reports that an Italian court convicted him in absentia for his role in the kidnapping and death of a former Italian prime minister by the group, and that Argentina revoked his refugee status.

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. Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, a former Red Brigades member awaiting extradition to Italy, escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, The Guardian
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    The Washington Times

  2. He climbed down from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, The Guardian
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    The Washington Times

  3. Argentina’s security ministry confirmed the escape.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

  4. A nationwide search was launched, and police said he was still at large on Wednesday.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

  5. An Italian court convicted him in absentia for his role in the kidnapping and death of a former Italian prime minister by the Red Brigades.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, a former Red Brigades member, escaped house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition to Italy. The left headlines stress the group and the balcony escape; the center’s BBC headline labels him a kidnapper; the right’s single outlet stresses terrorism-related convictions.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left headlines lead with the escape and the former group membership; the Guardian’s AFP-written headline adds ‘radical Marxist group’ and ‘scales balcony’, while Al Jazeera keeps to the escape itself.

    Former Italian Red Brigades member escapes house arrest in Argentina
    Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The BBC headline leads with the label ‘Kidnapper’, then the abseiling escape from the balcony, placing the kidnapping conviction at the front of the story.

    Kidnapper, 74, escapes from house arrest in Argentina by abseiling from balcony
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The Washington Times is the only right-side outlet in this sample; its headline names the Red Brigades and the pending extradition, and its description stresses terrorism-related convictions.

    Former Italian Red Brigades member escapes house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition
    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

    radical

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    radicalMore neutral: Marxist

    The word adds an ideological judgement to the group that the other outlets describe simply as Marxist.

    Ex-member of radical Marxist group scales balcony, escapes house arrest in Argentina

    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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • former Red Brigades membership
  • escape method and nationwide search
  • extradition to serve a 27-year sentence
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New York TimesLeft

    How Does a 74-Year-Old in Argentina Escape House Arrest on the Fifth Floor?

    The answer involves a heating pad, a bomb scare and animal fats. Police are still searching for an Italian man facing extradition on terrorism charges from the 1970s.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Al Jazeera EnglishLeft

    Former Italian Red Brigades member escapes house arrest in Argentina

    Bertulazzi used a rope and harness to climb down from a fifth-floor apartment and evade authorities in Argentina.

    Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)
  • The GuardianLeftAgence France-Presse report

    Ex-member of Loaded modifier“radical”The word adds an ideological judgement to the group that the other outlets describe simply as Marxist.More neutral: MarxistDisagree with this highlight? Marxist group scales balcony, escapes house arrest in Argentina

    74-year-old Leonardo Bertulazzi, awaiting extradition to Italy, reportedly used harness to flee custody A 74-year-old former member of Italy ’s radical Marxist group the Red Brigades has escaped from house arrest in Argentina , the country’s security ministry confirmed on …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • kidnapping label
  • balcony escape method
  • pending extradition to Italy
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • BBC NewsCenter

    Kidnapper, 74, escapes from house arrest in Argentina by abseiling from balcony

    Leonardo Bertulazzi, a former member of the Marxist guerrilla group the Red Brigades, was about to be extradited to his home country of Italy.

    Read at BBC News (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • terrorism-related convictions
  • pending extradition
  • harness and rope escape
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Former Italian Red Brigades member escapes house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition

    A 74-year-old Italian convicted of terrorism-related crimes for his involvement in a far-left militant group escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires by descending from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope, prompting a nationwide search as he awaited extradition to Italy.

    Read at The Washington Times (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

    4 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 11, 2:00 PM EST

  • Center

    First to report

    BBC News, Nov 11, 9:56 AM EST

  • Right

    6 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 11, 3:57 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BBC NewsCenterNov 11, 9:56 AM EST
  2. The GuardianLeftNov 11, 2:00 PM EST
  3. The Washington TimesRightNov 11, 3:57 PM EST
  4. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 11, 8:04 PM EST
  5. The New York TimesLeftNov 13, 4:56 PM EST

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

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