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Man drives excavator into government service centre in China

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets across the spectrum.

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

A man drove an excavator into the Fengdong New City Government Service Centre in China’s Shaanxi province on Monday, November 9, damaging the building’s facade and entrance. Police said they detained a 47-year-old man for damaging a government building. The New York Post reports that he was unhappy with compensation offered for the demolition of his livestock farm, but BBC News reports that police did not give a motive. Staff and visitors were evacuated and no one was injured.

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. A man drove an excavator into a government service centre in Shaanxi province, China, damaging its facade and entrance.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  2. Police said they detained a 47-year-old man for damaging the government building.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  3. The incident happened on Monday, November 9, and no one was injured.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  4. Staff and visitors were evacuated from the building.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  5. The New York Post reports the man was unhappy with compensation offered for demolishing his livestock farm.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that a man drove an excavator into a government service centre in China, damaging it, with no injuries. The centre’s coverage stresses police detention and video, the right stresses the man’s anger and farm compensation dispute, and the left stresses the destruction itself.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Al Jazeera’s headline presents the event as the destruction of a government building by a man using an excavator, with no detail on the cause.

    Man uses excavator Loaded verb“to destroy”Overstates the damage: the reports describe damaged facades and entrances, not a destroyed building.More neutral: to damageDisagree with this highlight? Chinese government building
    Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    BBC News’s headline leads with a video of the incident, describing the man as smashing the building with an excavator, and its text centres on the police detention.

    Watch: Man smashes Chinese government building with excavator
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The New York Post’s headline frames the event as an emotional moment of a furious man’s attack, and its text centres on his reported grievance over compensation for his farm.

    Moment Loaded modifier“furious”Describes the man’s state of mind before the facts about his motive are established.More neutral: a manDisagree with this highlight? Chinese man Loaded verb“tears into”Uses a dramatic verb for the act, when the description says the excavator smashed the entrance and damaged structures.More neutral: drives intoDisagree with this highlight? government building with excavator
    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.

  • Left1

    to destroy

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    furioustears into

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    to destroyMore neutral: to damage

    Overstates the damage: the reports describe damaged facades and entrances, not a destroyed building.

    Man uses excavator to destroy Chinese government building

    Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    furiousMore neutral: a man

    Describes the man’s state of mind before the facts about his motive are established.

    Moment furious Chinese man tears into government building with excavator

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    tears intoMore neutral: drives into

    Uses a dramatic verb for the act, when the description says the excavator smashed the entrance and damaged structures.

    Moment furious Chinese man tears into government building with excavator

    Used byNew York Post (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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the excavator attack itself
  • destruction of the building
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • video footage on social media
  • police detention of the 47-year-old suspect
  • evacuation and no injuries

Leaves out

  • the reported dispute over livestock farm compensation

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

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the man’s anger
  • compensation for demolished livestock farm
  • evacuation and no injuries

Leaves out

  • police detention of the suspect

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

See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Moment Loaded modifier“furious”Describes the man’s state of mind before the facts about his motive are established.More neutral: a manDisagree with this highlight? Chinese man Loaded verb“tears into”Uses a dramatic verb for the act, when the description says the excavator smashed the entrance and damaged structures.More neutral: drives intoDisagree with this highlight? government building with excavator

    A 47-year-old man drove an excavator into the Fengdong New City Government Service Centre in China on November 9, repeatedly smashing the building’s entrance and damaging other structures. …

    Read at New York Post (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

    First to report

    Al Jazeera English, Nov 9, 11:15 AM EST

  • Center

    17 hr 22 min later

    Its first report, Nov 10, 4:37 AM EST

  • Right

    2 days 3 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 11, 2:32 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 9, 11:15 AM EST
  2. BBC NewsCenterNov 10, 4:37 AM EST
  3. New York PostRightNov 11, 2:32 PM EST

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

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