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Mandela Barnes sues Milwaukee Journal Sentinel over stories on his personal life

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

4 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Man in gray suit speaking at a podium, inset photo of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel building sign
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes sued the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday for defamation over two stories about his personal life. The suit says the stories were false and concerned his consensual sex life during the Democratic primary for governor. It alleges that a female political reporter who worked on the coverage had an on-and-off relationship with Barnes from around 2018, and that the paper learned of the conflict without telling readers. These allegations come from the complaint.

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. Mandela Barnes sued the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday for defamation over reporting on his personal life.

    Reported byFar Left1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Right
    New York Post, The Center Square
    Far Right
    Townhall

  2. The suit says the stories were false and concerned Barnes’s consensual sex life.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Right
    The Center Square
    Far Right
    Townhall

  3. The suit alleges that a female political reporter who worked on the stories had a relationship with Barnes from around 2018.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Townhall

  4. The suit alleges the newspaper knew of the conflict and did not tell readers.

    One outletTownhall· Far Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides present report that Barnes sued the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for defamation over stories about his personal life. Right-side headlines lead with the reporter’s alleged relationship with Barnes, while the left-side headline calls the suit an explosive scandal.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The far-left Raw Story headline calls the suit an “explosive” scandal and centers the “conflicted” reporter, the only left-side headline in this set.

    Sensational language“Explosive”The adjective adds drama to a lawsuit whose contents the headline has not yet established.More neutral: Lawsuit allegesDisagree with this highlight? lawsuit alleges ‘conflicted’ reporter Loaded verb“exposed”The verb implies the reporting revealed hidden wrongdoing, which is the point the lawsuit disputes.More neutral: published a story aboutDisagree with this highlight? candidate’s Sensational language“romantic scandal”The word scandal frames a personal relationship as a wrongdoing before the facts are established.More neutral: story about his personal lifeDisagree with this highlight?
    Raw StoryFar LeftAll 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

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    The New York Post headline leads with the reporter’s alleged relationship with Barnes; the Far Right Townhall piece frames the suit as media hostility toward Democrats, while The Center Square reports it plainly.

    Ex-Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes sues newspaper, claims reporter who covered sex allegations had slept with him
    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

    Explosiveexposedromantic scandal

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right2

    explosive allegationsthe enemy of conservatives and Republicans

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    ExplosiveMore neutral: Lawsuit alleges

    The adjective adds drama to a lawsuit whose contents the headline has not yet established.

    Explosive lawsuit alleges ‘conflicted’ reporter exposed candidate’s romantic scandal

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    exposedMore neutral: published a story about

    The verb implies the reporting revealed hidden wrongdoing, which is the point the lawsuit disputes.

    Explosive lawsuit alleges ‘conflicted’ reporter exposed candidate’s romantic scandal

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    romantic scandalMore neutral: story about his personal life

    The word scandal frames a personal relationship as a wrongdoing before the facts are established.

    Explosive lawsuit alleges ‘conflicted’ reporter exposed candidate’s romantic scandal

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    explosive allegationsMore neutral: allegations

    The adjective adds drama beyond the facts of the allegations, which the excerpt describes plainly.

    …sexually involved with him for years — and that the newspaper published its explosive allegations despite learning of the conflict.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Absolutist framing

    the enemy of conservatives and RepublicansMore neutral: the media are seen by many conservatives as hostile to them

    It presents the contested view that the media are hostile to conservatives as settled fact.

    You're not wrong in thinking that the media are the enemy of conservatives and Republicans, but if you're a Democrat who happens to be in the way of the…

    Used byTownhall (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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the reporter’s conflict of interest
  • the suit as an explosive scandal
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    Sensational language“Explosive”The adjective adds drama to a lawsuit whose contents the headline has not yet established.More neutral: Lawsuit allegesDisagree with this highlight? lawsuit alleges ‘conflicted’ reporter Loaded verb“exposed”The verb implies the reporting revealed hidden wrongdoing, which is the point the lawsuit disputes.More neutral: published a story aboutDisagree with this highlight? candidate’s Sensational language“romantic scandal”The word scandal frames a personal relationship as a wrongdoing before the facts are established.More neutral: story about his personal lifeDisagree with this highlight?

    Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin’s former lieutenant governor, filed a defamation suit Tuesday against the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel over a story the paper ran while he was competing in the Democratic primary for governor, Urban Milwaukee reports . …

    Read at Raw Story (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

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • the reporter’s alleged relationship with Barnes
  • the paper’s alleged failure to tell readers of the conflict
  • media hostility toward Democrats
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Ex-Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes sues newspaper, claims reporter who covered sex allegations had slept with him

    The lawsuit alleges that Barnes and the unidentified journalist were involved on and off for several years starting around 2018.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Center SquareRight

    Former Wisconsin governor candidate Barnes sues Journal Sentinel

    The Center Square) – Former Democratic candidate for governor Mandela Barnes filed a defamation lawsuit against the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday alleging that two stories the paper wrote about his sexual relationships were false.

    Read at The Center Square (opens in a new tab)
  • TownhallFar RightOpinion

    The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Is Being Sued by a Democrat. Here's Why.

    You're not wrong in thinking that the media are Absolutist framing“the enemy of conservatives and Republicans”It presents the contested view that the media are hostile to conservatives as settled fact.More neutral: the media are seen by many conservatives as hostile to themDisagree with this highlight?, but if you're a Democrat who happens to be in the way of the party's agenda, the media are not your friend, either. …

    Read at Townhall (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

    6 hr 52 min later

    Its first report, Nov 10, 8:51 PM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    The Center Square, Nov 10, 1:59 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Center SquareRightNov 10, 1:59 PM EST
  2. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 10, 8:51 PM EST
  3. New York PostRightNov 11, 1:14 PM EST

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

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