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Police in Lansing, Michigan, probe whether five deaths on a river trail are linked

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 10 outlets, mostly right-leaning (70%).

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

Blurred police lights behind yellow and black crime scene tape at night
Image via The Daily WireHow images are chosenReport this image

Lansing, Michigan, police are investigating the deaths of five men found along the Lansing River Trail near Michigan State University and are considering whether the cases are connected. Police Chief Robert Backus has said the cases are active investigations and that police are looking at whether a serial killer is responsible. Police describe the victims as homeless men. Fox News and TheBlaze report that four of the five cases involved apparent blunt-force trauma. The New York Times and The Center Square report that a man has been arrested in one of the deaths, and The Center Square says a 23-year-old has been charged with murder.

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. Five men have been found dead or fatally injured along the Lansing River Trail in Lansing, Michigan.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft3Right3Far Right4See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, NBC News, The New York Times
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail, The Center Square
    Far Right
    Fox News, TheBlaze, The Daily Wire, The Western Journal

  2. Police Chief Robert Backus said the cases are active investigations that may be related, and that police are considering whether a serial killer is responsible.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft3Right2Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, NBC News, The New York Times
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
    Far Right
    TheBlaze, The Daily Wire, The Western Journal

  3. Police describe the victims as homeless men.

    Reported byLeft1Right2Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Fox News, TheBlaze, The Daily Wire

  4. A man has been arrested in one of the deaths, and a 23-year-old has been charged with murder.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Right
    The Center Square

  5. Four of the five cases involved apparent blunt-force trauma, and no weapon was recovered.

    One side only: the rightReported byFar Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Right
    Fox News, TheBlaze

  6. Police say they lack surveillance footage in the cases.

    One outletDaily Mail· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that police in Lansing, Michigan, are investigating five deaths of homeless men as possibly linked, and that a man has been arrested in one. Left headlines present the serial-killer inquiry as a possibility, while right headlines emphasize fear and alarm.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left headlines frame the inquiry as a possible serial-killer case, with CBS and NBC hedging with possible or may be, while the New York Times headline states that police are hunting a killer.

    Lansing police chief warns there may be a serial killer in Michigan’s capital city
    NBC NewsLeftAll 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

    7 outlets

    Right headlines center on fear of a serial killer and on the homeless victims, with far-right outlets such as the Daily Wire and Western Journal using the words fear and grip most directly.

    Midwest police chief Loaded verb“fears”Fears gives the police chief an emotional state and adds alarm where his own words describe an open inquiry.More neutral: is investigating whetherDisagree with this highlight? serial killer may be to blame after five bodies were found along river
    Daily MailRightAll 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.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right9

    unnervingis feared to be targetingfearsstalking a popular river trail

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    unnervingMore neutral: similar

    The adjective adds an emotional reaction that the facts do not require, since the similarities can be described directly.

    Five killings along the Lansing River Trail near Michigan State University share unnerving similarities, with four of five victims suffering blunt force trauma.

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Vague attribution

    is feared to be targetingMore neutral: police are investigating whether a serial killer is targeting

    The sentence says a serial killer is feared without naming who holds that fear, presenting a police question as public alarm.

    A serial killer is feared to be targeting homeless people in Michigan’s state capital after a string of similar deaths…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    fearsMore neutral: is investigating whether

    Fears gives the police chief an emotional state and adds alarm where his own words describe an open inquiry.

    Midwest police chief fears serial killer may be to blame after five bodies were found along river

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    stalking a popular river trailMore neutral: may be targeting people on a popular river trail

    Stalking implies a hunter pursuing people, which police have not described; they said a suspect may have been targeting and attacking people at night.

    A potential "serial killer" may be stalking a popular river trail near Michigan State University, where five deaths have fueled growing…

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

Show 5 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    Sparking Serial Killer FearMore neutral: Police Probe Possible Link Between Five Trail Deaths

    The phrase adds alarm that the facts do not yet establish, since police have not connected the deaths.

    Several Men Found Dead On One Trail, Sparking Serial Killer Fear

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    unnerving possibilityMore neutral: possibility

    The phrase adds alarm in the outlet’s own voice to a possibility the police have only said they are investigating.

    …this month, the Lansing Police Department announced it is investigating the unnerving possibility that five recent deaths may be connected to an attacker allegedly lurking…

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    lurkingMore neutral: present

    The verb presents an unidentified attacker as hiding in wait, which the supplied coverage does not establish.

    …possibility that five recent deaths may be connected to an attacker allegedly lurking along the Lansing River Trail.

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Absolutist framing

    five killings were committedMore neutral: five deaths

    The phrase presents the five deaths as homicides before the supplied coverage establishes that they were killings.

    …Michigan, is concerned there may be a serial killer on the loose after five killings were committed in under one year on the same trail.

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

  • Vague attribution

    Similarities Are NotedMore neutral: Police say the deaths may be linked

    The headline does not say who noted the similarities.

    'Serial Killer' Concerns Grip Michigan's Capital as Similarities Are Noted in 5 Recent Deaths

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far 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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the police chief's serial killer warning
  • five deaths and their possible link
  • an arrest in one death
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Five Bodies Are Found Along Michigan Trail and the Police Hunt a Killer

    Lansing’s police chief says the string of attacks along a greenway raises the possibility that a serial killer has been at work. A man is under arrest in one of the deaths.

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

    Lansing police chief warns there may be a serial killer in Michigan’s capital city

    A series of deaths along a short stretch of a river trail in Michigan’s capital city may be the result of a serial killer, authorities said.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)
  • CBS NewsLeft

    Lansing police investigating possible serial killer after 5 deaths

    Lansing police are considering whether the deaths of five unhoused men could be the work of a serial killer.

    Read at CBS News (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

7 outlets

Leads with

  • fear of a serial killer
  • homeless victims
  • similarities between the deaths
  • blunt-force injuries
See the 9 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

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

    CBS News, Oct 7, 5:23 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    18 hr 39 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 12:02 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CBS NewsLeftOct 7, 5:23 PM EDT
  2. Fox NewsFar RightOct 8, 12:02 PM EDT
  3. NBC NewsLeftOct 8, 7:10 PM EDT
  4. New York PostRightOct 9, 10:25 AM EDT
  5. Daily MailRightOct 9, 1:21 PM EDT
  6. TheBlazeFar RightOct 12, 1:30 PM EDT
  7. The Daily WireFar RightOct 12, 2:47 PM EDT
  8. The Center SquareRightOct 13, 2:15 PM EDT
  9. The New York TimesLeftOct 14, 5:01 AM EDT
  10. The Western JournalFar RightOct 14, 9:34 PM EDT

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

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