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Minnesota Republican candidate removes website text that read like an AI prompt

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Eric Pratt, the Republican candidate in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, has removed text from his campaign website that read like an instruction to an artificial intelligence tool. The passage said “The President is not popular” and advised that messaging focus on local politics and needs. The Hill and The Washington Times report that the sentence was deleted. The Daily Beast and The New Republic describe the text as an apparent AI prompt that was posted accidentally. The Daily Beast also reports that a rival had accused Pratt of being “scared of Daddy Trump.”

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. Text on Eric Pratt’s campaign website, a Republican candidate in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, said the President is not popular and advised focusing messaging on local issues.

    Reported byFar Left3Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    MeidasTouch, The Daily Beast, The New Republic
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times

  2. The sentence was deleted from the campaign website.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times

  3. The text appeared to be a prompt written for an artificial intelligence tool that had been left on the public site.

    Reported byFar Left2Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    MeidasTouch, The New Republic
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times

  4. A rival had accused Pratt of being “scared of Daddy Trump,” according to the Daily Beast.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that text on Eric Pratt’s campaign website read like an AI prompt saying Trump is unpopular. The left treats it as a blunder that exposes Trump’s unpopularity, while the center and right focus on the sentence and its deletion from the site.

  • the left

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    Headlines treat the text as an AI blunder that exposes Trump’s unpopularity, with dramatic wording such as “awkward truth” and “brutal verdict”; the Far Left outlets use the sharpest phrasing.

    GOP Candidate Accidentally Posts Sensational language“Brutal Verdict”The headline adds a dramatic judgement to what was a written assessment of Trump’s popularity.More neutral: Assessment of TrumpDisagree with this highlight? on Trump
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Headline quotes the apparent AI prompt directly and reports that the candidate cut it from the website, using neutral attribution words such as “apparent”.

    'The President is not popular': GOP candidate cuts apparent AI prompt from website
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    Headline leads with the website deleting the quoted sentence, and the description says it read like a recommendation from an AI chatbot.

    House Republican nominee's website deletes 'The President is not popular'
    The Washington TimesRightAll 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.

  • Left6

    Exposes Awkward Truthextraordinary strategywidely hated presidentembarrassing instruction

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    Exposes Awkward TruthMore neutral: Candidate’s Website Included AI Prompt Calling Trump Unpopular

    The headline presents a campaign’s website text as revealing a truth about Trump rather than reporting what the text said.

    Republican Candidate’s AI Blunder Exposes Awkward Truth About Trump

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    extraordinary strategyMore neutral: strategy

    The adjective manufactures drama about a campaign line that the article itself says appeared to be an AI error.

    A Republican congressional candidate has revealed an extraordinary strategy for dealing with Donald Trump’s unpopularity—to pretend he doesn’t exist.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    widely hated presidentMore neutral: unpopular president

    The label states an opinion about the president’s standing as fact rather than reporting it.

    …rival of being “scared of Daddy Trump,” published a brutal assessment of the widely hated president on his campaign website in what appeared to be an AI blunder.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    embarrassing instructionMore neutral: instruction

    The word judges the candidate’s conduct before the article describes it.

    A Republican hoping to win a hard-fought House seat left an embarrassing instruction on his website.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    Brutal VerdictMore neutral: Assessment of Trump

    The headline adds a dramatic judgement to what was a written assessment of Trump’s popularity.

    GOP Candidate Accidentally Posts Brutal Verdict on Trump

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    dismal approval ratingsMore neutral: low approval ratings

    Dismal is a judgement of the ratings that the level itself does not require; the ratings can be described without it.

    …him asking the AI tool to avoid talking about President Trump due to his dismal approval ratings.

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

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

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • the candidate’s AI blunder
  • Trump’s unpopularity among voters
  • Pratt’s distance from Trump

Leaves out

  • that the sentence was deleted from the site

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

See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    GOP Candidate Accidentally Posts Sensational language“Brutal Verdict”The headline adds a dramatic judgement to what was a written assessment of Trump’s popularity.More neutral: Assessment of TrumpDisagree with this highlight? on Trump

    A Republican congressional candidate has revealed an Sensational language“extraordinary strategy”The adjective manufactures drama about a campaign line that the article itself says appeared to be an AI error.More neutral: strategyDisagree with this highlight? for dealing with Donald Trump’s unpopularity—to pretend he doesn’t exist. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • MeidasTouchFar Left

    Republican Candidate’s AI Blunder Loaded verb“Exposes Awkward Truth”The headline presents a campaign’s website text as revealing a truth about Trump rather than reporting what the text said.More neutral: Candidate’s Website Included AI Prompt Calling Trump UnpopularDisagree with this highlight? About Trump

    Eric Pratt’s campaign website included a message apparently intended for an AI tool warning that Trump is unpopular and advising the campaign to focus on local issues instead.

    Read at MeidasTouch (opens in a new tab)
  • The New RepublicFar LeftOpinion

    Republican Candidate Publishes AI Prompt About Trump’s Unpopularity

    Minnesota GOP House candidate Eric Pratt accidentally left an artificial intelligence prompt up on his website that showed him asking the AI tool to avoid talking about President Trump due to his Sensational language“dismal approval ratings”Dismal is a judgement of the ratings that the level itself does not require; the ratings can be described without it.More neutral: low approval ratingsDisagree with this highlight?. …

    Read at The New Republic (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the deleted phrase about Trump’s unpopularity
  • the apparent AI prompt
  • the candidate’s district
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    'The President is not popular': GOP candidate cuts apparent AI prompt from website

    A Republican candidate in Minnesota has deleted a phrase from his campaign website stating that President Trump is unpopular, a mention that appeared to be a prompt given to AI to generate a message for the candidate. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the deleted sentence
  • the chatbot-style wording
  • the nominee’s website

Leaves out

  • the rival’s accusation that Pratt is scared of Trump

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

See the headline 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

    MeidasTouch, Oct 20, 6:14 PM EDT

  • Center

    16 hr 26 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 10:41 AM EDT

  • Right

    19 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 1:15 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. MeidasTouchFar LeftOct 20, 6:14 PM EDT
  2. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 21, 5:26 AM EDT
  3. The HillCenterOct 21, 10:41 AM EDT
  4. The Washington TimesRightOct 21, 1:15 PM EDT

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

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