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Kerman mayor accused of following hairstylist she allegedly thought was an ICE agent

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all right-leaning.

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

Surveillance-style footage of a white SUV and a dark red sedan turning on a suburban residential street
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The Daily Caller, the New York Post and the Daily Mail report a complaint by Eric Bridges, a Fresno-area hairstylist, that Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco followed him by car on October 14 for about 25 minutes and blocked his vehicle. According to the complaint, Pacheco believed Bridges was an ICE agent. Bridges says he has never worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Homeland Security. The outlets say surveillance footage submitted by Bridges’s lawyer shows an orange car following his. Bridges has filed a complaint with the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. Pacheco called the accusations “ridiculous” in a statement to the Fresno Bee and said, “If he wants to go to court, then we’ll go to court.”

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. According to a complaint filed by hairstylist Eric Bridges, Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco followed him by car for about 25 minutes on October 14 and blocked his vehicle.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  2. Bridges’s complaint alleges that Pacheco believed he was an ICE agent; Bridges says he has never worked for ICE or DHS.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  3. Surveillance footage submitted by Bridges’s lawyer reportedly shows an orange car following his vehicle.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  4. Bridges filed a written complaint with the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  5. Pacheco called the accusations “ridiculous” in a statement to the Fresno Bee.

    One outletDaily Mail· Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • Mayor Maria Pacheco followed Eric Bridges and blocked his car because she believed he was an ICE agent.

    Bridges’s complaint and surveillance footage, as reported by all three outlets, describe the following; Pacheco called the accusations “ridiculous” and said she would go to court if Bridges pursued them.

How each side tells it

Compare views

The three right-leaning outlets report that Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco allegedly followed hairstylist Eric Bridges, believing he was an ICE agent, based on his complaint and footage. They present the episode as bizarre, with the New York Post and Daily Mail mocking it more sharply than the Daily Caller.

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • 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 present the mayor’s alleged following and mistaken ICE suspicion as a bizarre episode, with the New York Post calling her unhinged, while the Far Right Daily Caller stays closest to the allegations with “allegedly”.

    Sensational language“Unhinged”The adjective assigns a mental state to the mayor before the allegations are tested in court.More neutral: California mayorDisagree with this highlight? California mayor accused of stalking hairstylist in Sensational language“weird”The word is the outlet’s own judgement of the episode rather than a description of what happened.More neutral: unusualDisagree with this highlight? ‘role-playing’ scenario
    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.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right5

    bizarreUnhingedweirdblunder

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    bizarreMore neutral: unusual

    The word is the outlet’s own judgement of the episode rather than a description of what happened.

    …hairstylist earlier this month, accusing him of secretly acting as an ICE agent in a bizarre “role-playing” scenario, according to a new complaint.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    UnhingedMore neutral: California mayor

    The adjective assigns a mental state to the mayor before the allegations are tested in court.

    Unhinged California mayor accused of stalking hairstylist in weird ‘role-playing’ scenario

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    weirdMore neutral: unusual

    The word is the outlet’s own judgement of the episode rather than a description of what happened.

    Unhinged California mayor accused of stalking hairstylist in weird ‘role-playing’ scenario

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    blunderMore neutral: alleged mistake

    The noun labels the alleged conduct as a foolish error before the allegations are established.

    Bridges detailed the alleged blunder in a written complaint against the mayor filed with the Fresno Police Department and…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    only to find outMore neutral: and later identified him as a hairdresser

    The phrase adds a mocking, dramatic reveal to an allegation that has not been resolved.

    only to find out he's actually a hairdresser

    Used byDaily Mail (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

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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

  • alleged stalking of a hairstylist
  • mistaken belief he was an ICE agent
  • bizarre or mocking tone
  • surveillance video
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Daily MailRight

    Moment mayor allegedly followed stranger around and accused him of being an ICE agent... Sensational language“only to find out”The phrase adds a mocking, dramatic reveal to an allegation that has not been resolved.More neutral: and later identified him as a hairdresserDisagree with this highlight? he's actually a hairdresser

    Maria Pacheco, the mayor of Kerman, near Fresno, allegedly followed hairstylist Eric Bridges for 25 minutes in her car.

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

    Sensational language“Unhinged”The adjective assigns a mental state to the mayor before the allegations are tested in court.More neutral: California mayorDisagree with this highlight? California mayor accused of stalking hairstylist in Sensational language“weird”The word is the outlet’s own judgement of the episode rather than a description of what happened.More neutral: unusualDisagree with this highlight? ‘role-playing’ scenario

    The mayor of a town in the Fresno area tailed a hairstylist earlier this month, accusing him of secretly acting as an ICE agent.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily CallerFar Right

    California Lawmaker Allegedly Followed, Tried To Block Car Of Random Man She Thought Was ICE

    Mayor Maria Pacheco of Kerman, California, was alleged to have followed and harassed a random man on Wednesday because she mistakenly thought he was an ICE agent. …

    Read at The Daily Caller (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

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    The Daily Caller, Oct 20, 11:59 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 20, 11:59 AM EDT
  2. New York PostRightOct 20, 2:01 PM EDT
  3. Daily MailRightOct 20, 2:39 PM EDT

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

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