Skip to content

Crime & JusticeBreaking

New York arrests 16 people accused of staging car crashes for insurance claims

By

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

New York state officials announced the arrest of 16 people accused of staging car crashes and filing fraudulent insurance claims, with the cases involving nearly $500,000. Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat seeking reelection, said the arrests are part of her push to cut auto insurance fraud and costs, and that more arrests will follow. Bloomberg, The Center Square and the New York Post report the arrests, but they differ on whether the money was collected: Bloomberg says the suspects collected nearly $500,000 from insurers, while The Center Square describes attempted claims. The people arrested have been accused, not convicted.

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. New York state investigators arrested 16 people accused of staging car crashes and filing insurance claims.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Right
    The Center Square, New York Post

  2. The cases involve nearly $500,000 in insurance claims.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Right
    The Center Square, New York Post

  3. Hochul said the arrests are part of her push to cut auto insurance fraud and costs.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Right
    The Center Square, New York Post

  4. Hochul said insurance fraud cases had tripled over the last five years and more arrests would follow.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  5. The announcement came from the governor with the New York State Police and the Department of Financial Services.

    One outletThe Center Square· Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The people arrested collected or attempted to collect nearly $500,000 in insurance payments.

    Bloomberg says the accused collected nearly $500,000 from insurers. The Center Square describes attempted fraudulent claims of nearly $500,000. The New York Post describes $500,000 in bogus claims filed.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that New York officials arrested 16 people accused of staging crashes for about $500,000 in insurance claims. Bloomberg frames the arrests as part of Hochul’s effort to lower costs, while right-side outlets focus on her announcement and her reelection, with The Center Square linking them to tort reform.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Bloomberg’s headline states the arrest count and the dollar figure plainly, and links the arrests to Hochul’s effort to lower driver costs.

    New York Arrests 16 in Crackdown on Staged Insurance Crashes
    BloombergLeftAll 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

    Headlines center on Hochul’s own announcement and her political standing, with The Center Square tying the busts to tort reform and the New York Post quoting her warnings.

    Hochul, NY police announce 16 busts in statewide crackdown on car insurance fraud: ‘Sensational language“We are onto you”The headline puts a threatening quote forward for dramatic effect, although the arrests are the news.More neutral: Hochul says more arrests are comingThese are Kathy Hochul’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?’
    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.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right5

    industry experts saytoutscar insurance scammersbogus claims

In the outlets’ own words

  • Vague attribution

    industry experts sayMore neutral: insurers say

    The claim that fraud is driving up costs is attributed to unnamed experts without saying who they are.

    …efforts to crack down on auto insurance fraud rings and staged accidents that industry experts say are driving up costs for consumers.

    Used byThe Center Square (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    toutsMore neutral: describes

    The verb suggests promotion for political gain, while the article only reports that the governor announced the arrests and described her efforts.

    Hochul touts tort reforms in auto fraud busts

    Used byThe Center Square (Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    car insurance scammersMore neutral: people charged with car insurance fraud

    The label calls the people accused of fraud scammers before the charges are tested in court.

    Kathy Hochul and State Police announced Tuesday the arrest of 16 car insurance scammers who deliberately caused crashes then filed $500,000 in bogus claims.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    bogus claimsMore neutral: claims alleged to be fraudulent

    The word presents the claims as false before the cases are resolved.

    …16 car insurance scammers who deliberately caused crashes then filed $500,000 in bogus claims.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    trumpetedMore neutral: announced

    The verb implies boasting, while the article reports that the governor announced the arrests at a news conference.

    Hochul, a Democrat up for reelection next month, trumpeted the arrests at a news conference in Washington Heights as she said insurance fraud…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    We are onto youMore neutral: Hochul says more arrests are coming

    The headline puts a threatening quote forward for dramatic effect, although the arrests are the news.

    …NY police announce 16 busts in statewide crackdown on car insurance fraud: ‘We are onto you’

    Quoted byNew York Post (Right)

    These are Kathy Hochul’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

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

  • arrest count and dollar amount
  • link to Hochul’s cost-cutting push

Leaves out

  • Hochul’s claim that fraud cases tripled over five years

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • BloombergLeft

    New York Arrests 16 in Crackdown on Staged Insurance Crashes

    New York state investigators arrested 16 people accused of staging car crashes and faking injuries to collect nearly $500,000 from insurers, one of the first major enforcement actions since Governor Kathy Hochul made auto insurance fraud a focus of her effort to lower costs for …

    Read at Bloomberg (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

Leads with

  • Hochul’s personal announcement
  • tort reform and rising costs
  • her warning to fraudsters
  • her reelection race
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Hochul, NY police announce 16 busts in statewide crackdown on car insurance fraud: ‘Sensational language“We are onto you”The headline puts a threatening quote forward for dramatic effect, although the arrests are the news.More neutral: Hochul says more arrests are comingThese are Kathy Hochul’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?’

    Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Police announced Tuesday the arrest of 16 Dehumanizing label“car insurance scammers”The label calls the people accused of fraud scammers before the charges are tested in court.More neutral: people charged with car insurance fraudDisagree with this highlight? who deliberately caused crashes then filed $500,000 in Loaded modifier“bogus claims”The word presents the claims as false before the cases are resolved.More neutral: claims alleged to be fraudulentDisagree with this highlight?. …

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

    Hochul Loaded verb“touts”The verb suggests promotion for political gain, while the article only reports that the governor announced the arrests and described her efforts.More neutral: describesDisagree with this highlight? tort reforms in auto fraud busts

    (The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is touting her administration's efforts to crack down on auto insurance fraud rings and staged accidents that Vague attribution“industry experts say”The claim that fraud is driving up costs is attributed to unnamed experts without saying who they are.More neutral: insurers sayDisagree with this highlight? are driving up costs for consumers.

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

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

    Bloomberg, Oct 20, 8:00 AM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    7 hr 11 min later

    Its first report, Oct 20, 3:11 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BloombergLeftOct 20, 8:00 AM EDT
  2. The Center SquareRightOct 20, 3:11 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 20, 5:31 PM EDT

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

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page