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Microsoft says Outlook and Teams are gradually recovering after global outage

What’s new: Microsoft said on Friday that services were showing early signs of stabilisation and traffic was being restored.

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 29 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Microsoft logo and lettering sign in front of a glass office building with autumn trees
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Microsoft said on Friday that services including Outlook, Teams and Copilot were showing early signs of stabilisation and that traffic was being gradually restored after a global outage that began on Thursday. Microsoft said it had no indication the outage was caused by malicious or cyber activity. Outage tracker Downdetector recorded roughly 130,000 reports of Outlook problems on Thursday. The disruption reached Asia-Pacific business hours on Friday. BBC News reports that NHS services, GPs, police forces and pharmacies in the UK were affected, while the Daily Mail reports that a Colorado jail stopped releasing inmates who had posted bond online.

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. Microsoft said on Friday that services were showing early signs of stabilisation and that traffic was being gradually restored.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Just the News

  2. Microsoft said it had no indication the outage was caused by malicious or cyber activity.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    Deutsche Welle
    Far Right
    Just the News

  3. The outage affected Outlook, Teams and Copilot, among other Microsoft 365 services.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian, NBC News
    Center
    BBC News
    Far Right
    Just the News

  4. Outage tracker Downdetector recorded roughly 130,000 reports of Outlook problems on Thursday.

    One outletJust the News· Far Right

  5. NHS services, GPs, police forces and pharmacies in the UK were affected, according to the BBC.

    One outletBBC News· Center

Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. The disruption reached Asia-Pacific business hours on Friday.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  2. An Arapahoe County jail in Colorado said the outage was affecting online bond payments, so inmates had to post bond in person.

    One outletDaily Mail· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that a Microsoft outage disrupted Outlook, Teams and Copilot from Thursday and that Microsoft says services are gradually recovering. Right-leaning headlines stress paralysed US governments and prolonged struggle, while center and left headlines focus on public services, the company’s race to fix it and market reaction.

  • the left

    12 outlets

    Headlines stress the chaos and scale of the disruption to work, and Microsoft’s race to fix it, with Bloomberg tying the outage to market moves.

    First Thing: Global Microsoft outage Sensational language“chaos”The word dramatises the disruption beyond the reported facts of outages and service failures.More neutral: disruptionDisagree with this highlight? as tech firm says there are ‘signs of stabilisation’
    The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    11 outlets

    Headlines focus on effects on public services and markets, and on Microsoft’s assurances about cause and recovery, with DW quoting its statement that malicious activity was ruled out.

    GPs, police and pharmacies among UK services affected by Microsoft outage
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    6 outlets · 1 opinion

    Headlines lead with institutional paralysis in the US and a prolonged struggle to restore services, with the Daily Mail’s own headline stressing city governments and jails; Just the News is similar.

    Microsoft outage Sensational language“chaos”The word dramatises the disruption beyond the reported facts of outages and service failures.More neutral: disruptionDisagree with this highlight? Loaded verb“paralyzes”The verb suggests total halt, which the reports of partial and gradual disruption do not establish.More neutral: disruptsDisagree with this highlight? US, as city governments seize up and jail stops releasing inmates
    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.

  • Left14

    chaosor celebratingstrandsfed-up workers

  • Center1

    slumps

  • Right4

    chaosraising concernssparked chaosparalyzes

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    chaosMore neutral: disruption

    The word dramatises the disruption beyond the reported facts of outages and service failures.

    First Thing: Global Microsoft outage chaos as tech firm says there are ‘signs of stabilisation’

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)Daily Mail (Right)

  • Vague attribution

    or celebratingMore neutral: leaving office workers unable to access email

    It implies unnamed workers were glad of the outage, which the excerpt does not support.

    …States unable to access their Outlook email, leaving office workers stranded (or celebrating).

    Used byCNN (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    strandsMore neutral: disrupts email access for office workers

    The verb adds drama beyond the reported fact that users could not reach their email.

    Microsoft outage strands office workers nationwide

    Used byCNN (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    fed-up workersMore neutral: workers

    The label attaches a mood to workers that the reporting does not establish.

    • Global disruption: In the United States, fed-up workers at some companies went home early on Thursday.

    Used byCNN (Left)

Show 14 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    untold millionsMore neutral: millions

    The phrase implies an unquantified figure to add drama instead of a reported estimate.

    …As Europe woke on Friday morning, the outage was still widespread, affecting untold millions of people.

    Used byCNN (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    hurled back in timeMore neutral: disrupted, with some work reverting to older methods

    The verb ‘hurled’ adds drama to a disruption that the article itself describes as services affected for a period.

    Australian schools, courts and government services have been hurled back in time to how business used to be done after a global Microsoft outage caused emails…

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Sensational language

    sent back to time before emailMore neutral: hit by outage, with some services relying on older methods

    The headline dramatizes a partial outage as a return to a pre-digital era, which goes beyond what the reported facts show.

    ‘Looks like we’ll have to talk to people’: Australia sent back to time before email with major Microsoft outage

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Sensational language

    barely use it anywayMore neutral: How some business leaders rely on email

    The headline's aside implies the leaders are unaffected or hypocritical, a judgement the reporting does not establish.

    These business leaders barely use it anyway.

    Used byBusiness Insider (Left)

  • Vague attribution

    raising concernsMore neutral: The outage is the second to hit Microsoft 365 services this year.

    The concerns are attributed to no named source.

    It is the second disruption to Microsoft’s 365 services this year, raising concerns that repeated failures could push corporate clients to question Microsoft’s…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    MassiveMore neutral: Large

    The scale is asserted by an adjective rather than shown by a reported figure.

    Massive Email Outage Hits Millions Worldwide

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    dramatic weekMore neutral: busy week

    The adjective adds drama to a week of market events that the report describes factually.

    US stock futures edged lower ahead of inflation data that will cap a dramatic week of mounting bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes and the ouster of Jensen…

    Used byBloomberg (Left)

  • Sensational language

    causing chaosMore neutral: disrupting

    “Chaos” asserts a dramatic effect in the outlet’s own voice, while the rest of the coverage describes the disruption in more measured terms.

    Here's what we know so far about the Microsoft outage that's causing chaos for businesses.

    Used byBusiness Insider (Left)

  • Sensational language

    Scandal DeepensMore neutral: Nvidia Reports Continue

    “Scandal” and “deepens” present an unspecified Nvidia matter as escalating wrongdoing, which the supplied text does not establish.

    Microsoft Outage Hits Businesses, Nvidia Scandal Deepens

    Used byBloomberg (Left)

  • Sensational language

    thrown into chaosMore neutral: were disrupted

    The phrase dramatises the effect on workplaces and agencies beyond the reported facts.

    Workplaces, government agencies and schools around the globe were thrown into chaos after Microsoft’s servers went down Thursday afternoon.

    Used byNBC News (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    slumpsMore neutral: falls

    The verb dramatises a premarket dip that the report describes only as the stock falling.

    Microsoft stock slumps on outage that includes the Copilot tool it has been heavily promoting

    Used byMarketWatch (Center)

  • Sensational language

    crippledMore neutral: disrupted

    The word implies total incapacitation, which the reports of some but not all users affected do not establish.

    A global outage of vital Microsoft systems has crippled businesses and public services around the world.

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Sensational language

    sparked chaosMore neutral: caused disruption

    The phrase dramatises the disruption beyond the reported facts.

    A massive Microsoft outage has paralyzed city governments across the US and sparked chaos as everyday systems relying on the tech have seized up.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    paralyzesMore neutral: disrupts

    The verb suggests total halt, which the reports of partial and gradual disruption do not establish.

    Microsoft outage chaos paralyzes US, as city governments seize up and jail stops releasing inmates

    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

12 outlets

Leads with

  • scale of disruption to work
  • Microsoft’s race to fix the outage
  • early signs of recovery
  • market reaction

Leaves out

  • Colorado jail bond releases halted

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

See the 12 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

11 outlets

Leads with

  • impact on UK public services
  • Microsoft’s no-cyberattack statement
  • stock market reaction
  • global scope of the outage
See the 11 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

6 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • US city governments and courts
  • jail release disruption
  • prolonged struggle to restore services
  • global reach across 74 countries

Leaves out

  • stock market reaction
  • UK public services impact

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

See the 8 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

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

    2 hr 39 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 2:11 PM EST

  • Center

    2 hr 24 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 1:57 PM EST

  • Right

    First to report

    The Daily Wire, Nov 12, 11:33 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily WireFar RightNov 12, 11:33 AM EST
  2. Scripps NewsCenterNov 12, 1:57 PM EST
  3. Breitbart NewsFar RightNov 12, 2:00 PM EST
  4. ABC NewsLeftNov 12, 2:11 PM EST
  5. NewsNationCenterNov 12, 2:19 PM EST
  6. NewsweekCenterNov 12, 2:28 PM EST
  7. The Washington TimesRightNov 12, 2:43 PM EST
  8. New York PostRightNov 12, 3:03 PM EST
  9. United Press InternationalCenterNov 12, 3:07 PM EST
  10. BBC NewsCenterNov 12, 3:25 PM EST
  11. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 12, 3:28 PM EST
  12. CNBCCenterNov 12, 3:57 PM EST
  13. The GuardianLeftNov 12, 4:00 PM EST
  14. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 12, 4:03 PM EST
  15. Deutsche WelleCenterNov 12, 4:19 PM EST
  16. NBC NewsLeftNov 12, 6:15 PM EST
  17. The New York TimesLeftNov 12, 6:40 PM EST
  18. CNNLeftNov 12, 7:27 PM EST
  19. NPRLeftNov 12, 8:26 PM EST
  20. Sky NewsCenterNov 12, 11:33 PM EST
  21. Financial TimesCenterNov 13, 1:03 AM EST
  22. Business InsiderLeftNov 13, 1:07 AM EST
  23. The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 13, 3:44 AM EST
  24. CBS NewsLeftNov 13, 5:15 AM EST
  25. BloombergLeftNov 13, 5:59 AM EST
  26. MarketWatchCenterNov 13, 7:14 AM EST
  27. The HillCenterNov 13, 7:53 AM EST
  28. Daily MailRightNov 13, 7:55 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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