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Justice Elena Kagan says Supreme Court rulings have undermined democracy

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 12 outlets, mostly left-leaning (66%).

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

A woman in a red blazer speaks at a hearing table, with a nameplate reading Associate Justice, Supreme Court.
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Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan criticized the court’s recent rulings on voting rights, campaign finance and redistricting in remarks at Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. She said the court has blinded itself to the harmful effects of its rulings on how the political system works. The remarks came about two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. Kagan, one of three liberal justices, is quoted as saying the court has created a democracy that works less well than it should. According to Newsweek, citing Gallup, 34 percent of Americans approve of the Court as of September 2026.

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. Justice Elena Kagan spoke on Tuesday at Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The Guardian, TIME
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    Washington Examiner

  2. Kagan said the conservative majority has blinded itself to the harmful effects of its rulings on how the political system works.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian, TIME
    Center
    Newsweek
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  3. Kagan criticized the court’s recent rulings on voting rights, campaign finance and redistricting.

    Reported byFar Left2Left3Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost, The Daily Beast
    Left
    ABC News, The Guardian, TIME
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner

  4. The remarks came about two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.

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

  5. According to Newsweek, citing Gallup, 34 percent of Americans approved of the Supreme Court in a September 2026 poll.

    One outletNewsweek· Center

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The court’s recent rulings have undermined democracy and deepened polarization.

    Kagan says so, and left and center outlets report it as her view. The supplied excerpts include no response from the conservative justices or the court.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports Justice Elena Kagan saying the conservative majority’s recent rulings on voting rights, campaign finance and redistricting have undermined democracy. Left headlines frame it as a warning before the midterms, right ones as the majority failing to grasp consequences, and the center as a critique of polarization.

  • the left

    8 outlets

    Left headlines present the remarks as a warning that the conservative majority is undermining democracy before the midterms, and the Far Left Daily Beast goes further with blistering takedown language.

    Supreme Court justice warns conservative majority is destroying American democracy ahead of midterms
    The IndependentLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines describe the remarks as a critique of rulings that heightened polarization, while Newsweek’s headline uses the sharper verb trashes and centers on originalism.

    Kagan: Supreme Court rulings have heightened political polarization
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right headlines attribute the criticism to Kagan as a claim about the majority, and the Far Right Epoch Times frames it as the court failing to understand the consequences of its rulings.

    Justice Kagan Says Supreme Court Majority Loaded verb“Fails to Understand”The headline states as fact a verdict on the justices’ understanding, while the excerpt reports only Kagan’s view that they did not weigh consequences.More neutral: Does Not Account forDisagree with this highlight? ‘Consequences’ of Their Rulings
    The Epoch TimesFar RightAll 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.

  • Left3

    scathing attackTears IntoBlistering Takedown

  • Center1

    Trashes

  • Right1

    Fails to Understand

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    Fails to UnderstandMore neutral: Does Not Account for

    The headline states as fact a verdict on the justices’ understanding, while the excerpt reports only Kagan’s view that they did not weigh consequences.

    Justice Kagan Says Supreme Court Majority Fails to Understand ‘Consequences’ of Their Rulings

    Used byThe Epoch Times (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    scathing attackMore neutral: criticism

    The adjective “scathing” adds emotional force to a description of the justice’s remarks.

    Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has launched a scathing attack on some of the conservative-majority court’s decisions, calling them detrimental…

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Tears IntoMore neutral: criticizes

    The verb “tears into” conveys a violent, personal attack rather than the criticism the article describes.

    Supreme Court Justice Tears Into Colleagues in Blistering Takedown

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Blistering TakedownMore neutral: sharp criticism

    The phrase adds dramatic intensity beyond the content of the speech.

    Supreme Court Justice Tears Into Colleagues in Blistering Takedown

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    TrashesMore neutral: criticizes

    Trashes is a dismissive verb for a legal critique and adds a judgement the reported remarks do not carry.

    Elena Kagan Trashes Conservative SCOTUS Justices' 'Misconceived' Theory

    Used byNewsweek (Center)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    a nightmareMore neutral: undermined the political system

    The headline gives top billing to the most dramatic word from the speech, which is more vivid than the substance of the remarks.

    Kagan says supreme court conservatives have made US political system ‘a nightmare’

    Quoted byThe Guardian (Left)

    These are Elena Kagan’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

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

8 outlets

Leads with

  • conservative majority undermining democracy
  • polarization before the midterms
  • voting rights and gerrymandering rulings
See the 8 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • TIMELeft

    Ahead of Midterms, Elena Kagan Says the Supreme Court Is Undermining Voting Rights

    The liberal justice says the conservative majority’s rulings have weakened democracy. Here’s how those decisions affect the midterms—and what Congress could do in response.

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

    Kagan says supreme court conservatives have made US political system ‘Sensational language“a nightmare”The headline gives top billing to the most dramatic word from the speech, which is more vivid than the substance of the remarks.More neutral: undermined the political systemThese are Elena Kagan’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?’

    Liberal justice says recent decisions on redistricting and campaign finance have undermined democracy and polarized US even more US politics live – latest updates Elena Kagan criticized rulings made by the US supreme court’s conservative majority this week, arguing that its …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Supreme Court Justice Loaded verb“Tears Into”The verb “tears into” conveys a violent, personal attack rather than the criticism the article describes.More neutral: criticizesDisagree with this highlight? Colleagues in Sensational language“Blistering Takedown”The phrase adds dramatic intensity beyond the content of the speech.More neutral: sharp criticismDisagree with this highlight?

    Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has launched a Sensational language“scathing attack”The adjective “scathing” adds emotional force to a description of the justice’s remarks.More neutral: criticismDisagree with this highlight? on some of the conservative-majority court’s decisions, calling them detrimental to the country’s democracy just weeks before the crucial midterm elections. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • The IndependentLeft

    Supreme Court justice warns conservative majority is destroying American democracy ahead of midterms

    Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday said the court's conservative majority has undermined democracy

    Read at The Independent (opens in a new tab)
  • HuffPostFar LeftAssociated Press report

    Justice Kagan Warns Supreme Court Rulings Are Fueling Polarization And Undermining Democracy

    She blasted rulings that weakened the Voting Rights Act and campaign finance regulations while opening the door for more partisan gerrymandering.

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by ABC News. It counts once.

  • The New York TimesLeft

    Ahead of Midterms, Justice Kagan Says Rulings Have Intensified Polarization

    The justice said during a discussion that recent Supreme Court decisions on voting rights, gerrymandering and campaign finance have deepened America’s divides.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • NBC NewsLeft

    Justice Elena Kagan accuses Supreme Court’s conservative majority of undermining democracy

    The liberal Supreme Court justice took aim at various recent rulings, including one that paved the way for rampant partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    Justice Kagan warns Supreme Court rulings fueling polarization, undermining democracy

    ABC News published a report that is shown in full at HuffPost. The headline is the one ABC News gave it.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • rulings heightened polarization
  • political spending and voting rights
  • originalism critique and public trust in the Court
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • NewsweekCenter

    Elena Kagan Loaded verb“Trashes”Trashes is a dismissive verb for a legal critique and adds a judgement the reported remarks do not carry.More neutral: criticizesDisagree with this highlight? Conservative SCOTUS Justices' 'Misconceived' Theory

    Justice Kagan warned the conservative-led Court has created “a democracy that does not work as well as it should."

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

    Kagan: Supreme Court rulings have heightened political polarization

    Justice Elena Kagan offered a pointed critique on Tuesday of recent Supreme Court decisions that opened the door for more political spending and weakened key voting rights protections, suggesting those rulings by her conservative colleagues have driven the country further apart. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • court failing to grasp consequences
  • damage to democracy
  • timing before the November elections
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    Elena Kagan says Supreme Court’s recent decisions have hurt democracy

    Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan criticized the high court’s recent election-related rulings Tuesday, arguing that the justices have failed to account for how their decisions affect the functioning of American democracy. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (opens in a new tab)
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    Justice Kagan Says Supreme Court Majority Loaded verb“Fails to Understand”The headline states as fact a verdict on the justices’ understanding, while the excerpt reports only Kagan’s view that they did not weigh consequences.More neutral: Does Not Account forDisagree with this highlight? ‘Consequences’ of Their Rulings

    'In all these areas the court has blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works,' the justice said.

    Read at The Epoch Times (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

    First to report

    NBC News, Oct 20, 7:50 PM EDT

  • Center

    13 hr 34 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 9:25 AM EDT

  • Right

    10 hr 12 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 6:02 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. NBC NewsLeftOct 20, 7:50 PM EDT
  2. The New York TimesLeftOct 20, 8:38 PM EDT
  3. HuffPostFar LeftOct 20, 11:42 PM EDT
  4. ABC NewsLeftOct 21, 2:44 AM EDT
  5. The IndependentLeftOct 21, 4:04 AM EDT
  6. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 21, 6:02 AM EDT
  7. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 21, 6:03 AM EDT
  8. Washington ExaminerRightOct 21, 7:41 AM EDT
  9. The HillCenterOct 21, 9:25 AM EDT
  10. The GuardianLeftOct 21, 9:57 AM EDT
  11. NewsweekCenterOct 21, 3:43 PM EDT
  12. TIMELeftOct 21, 4:59 PM EDT

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

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