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Kenyan court convicts cult leader Paul Mackenzie over deaths of 190 children

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 10 outlets across the spectrum.

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

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A Kenyan court on Monday found Paul Mackenzie, a preacher who ran the Good News International Church, and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult. Prosecutors said Mackenzie told followers to starve themselves, and reports say hundreds of bodies have been found since 2023 at the group’s base in Shakahola Forest, inland from the Kenyan resort of Malindi.

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 Kenyan court found Paul Mackenzie guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult.

    Reported byLeft3Center3Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, CBS News
    Center
    Sky News, Deutsche Welle, France 24
    Right
    New York Post

  2. About 30 others were found guilty alongside Mackenzie.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Right
    New York Post

  3. Prosecutors accused Mackenzie of ordering followers to starve themselves to death.

    Reported byLeft2Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian, CBS News
    Center
    BBC News, Deutsche Welle

  4. Hundreds of bodies have been found since 2023 at the group’s base in Shakahola Forest, inland from Malindi.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    France 24

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that a Kenyan court found Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult. Left and center headlines mostly lead with the verdict and the cult label, while the right’s only coverage, a Reuters report, leads with the doomsday cult framing.

  • the left

    4 outlets

    Left-side headlines lead with the murder verdict and the child death toll, often using cult or starvation labels such as ‘starvation cult leader’.

    Starvation cult leader found guilty of murder of 190 children
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    4 outlets

    Center headlines pair the guilty verdict, often on all charges, with the death toll and a cult or preacher label, such as ‘Kenyan cult leader guilty on all charges’.

    Kenyan cult leader guilty on all charges over 191 starvation deaths
    France 24CenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    The only right-side coverage is a Reuters report run by the New York Post, whose headline leads with ‘doomsday cult leader’ and the child death toll.

    Kenyan doomsday cult leader and followers convicted of murdering 190 children in mass starvation
    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.

  • Left3

    infamousself-proclaimed pastorself-proclaimed

  • Center3

    infamousnotoriousso-called

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    infamousMore neutral: known for (describe)

    Judgement of reputation as fact.

    …were found guilty of murdering 191 people, all but one of them children, in an infamous starvation cult by a Mombasa court on Monday.

    Used byCBS News (Left)France 24 (Center)

  • Delegitimizing label

    self-proclaimed pastorMore neutral: pastor

    “Self-proclaimed” casts doubt on his standing as a pastor, which the other outlets state without qualification.

    …in the Kenyan city of Mombasa is set to deliver a verdict in the trial of a self-proclaimed pastor and his associates accused of the murder of 191 people, all but one of whom…

    Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    self-proclaimedMore neutral: pastor

    The word casts doubt on Mackenzie's standing as a pastor without any evidence cited in the story.

    The court in the city of Mombasa announced on Monday that the self-proclaimed pastor and dozens of his associates were guilty of the murder of 190 children and…

    Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    notoriousMore neutral: known for (describe)

    Judgement of reputation as fact.

    …and 28 associates guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult as part of a notorious Christian starvation cult.

    Used byDeutsche Welle (Center)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Delegitimizing label

    so-calledMore neutral: Good News International Church

    Calling the church “so-called” casts doubt on its name without evidence.

    Mackenzie established his so-called Good News International Church in 2003 and was alleged to have incited his followers…

    Used byDeutsche Welle (Center)

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

4 outlets

Leads with

  • the murder conviction
  • the death toll of children
  • the cult or starvation label

Leaves out

  • the Good News International Church name

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

See the 4 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

4 outlets

Leads with

  • the guilty verdict on all charges
  • the 191 deaths
  • the Shakahola Forest massacre name
See the 4 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the doomsday cult label
  • the 190 children killed
  • the leader and followers convicted together

Leaves out

  • the Shakahola Forest location of the bodies

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

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Kenyan Starvation Cult Leader Found Guilty of Murdering 190 Children

    A Kenyan doomsday cult leader on Monday was found guilty by a Mombasa court of murdering 190 children and one adult.

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

    Kenyan doomsday cult leader and followers convicted of murdering 190 children in mass starvation

    A Kenyan court on Monday found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult.

    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

    11 hr 10 min later

    Its first report, Oct 19, 10:54 AM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    BBC News, Oct 18, 11:44 PM EDT

  • Right

    13 hr 25 min later

    Its first report, Oct 19, 1:08 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BBC NewsCenterOct 18, 11:44 PM EDT
  2. Sky NewsCenterOct 19, 5:21 AM EDT
  3. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 19, 10:54 AM EDT
  4. Deutsche WelleCenterOct 19, 11:49 AM EDT
  5. The GuardianLeftOct 19, 12:08 PM EDT
  6. The New York TimesLeftOct 19, 12:11 PM EDT
  7. CBS NewsLeftOct 19, 12:13 PM EDT
  8. New York PostRightOct 19, 1:08 PM EDT
  9. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 20, 4:56 AM EDT
  10. France 24CenterOct 20, 6:25 AM EDT

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

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