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Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, shuts down and leaves its Moscow office

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly center (75%).

6 articles in total, 2 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Novaya Gazeta office sign with red roses and purple ribbon on a white wall
Image via Deutsche WelleHow images are chosenReport this image

Novaya Gazeta, the Russian investigative newspaper, held its final editorial meeting on Monday, November 9, and is leaving its central Moscow office. The paper said a campaign of state pressure had made it impossible to keep reporting. Russian authorities had labeled it a “foreign agent” and ordered it to vacate its Moscow premises, Deutsche Welle reports. The BBC reports that the paper says it has been blocked from receiving donations. The paper, which criticised Moscow’s war on Ukraine, had announced last month that it was being forced to shut down.

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. Novaya Gazeta held its final editorial meeting on Monday, November 9, and is leaving its central Moscow office.

    Reported byLeft1Center3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News, Deutsche Welle, France 24

  2. The paper said a campaign of state pressure had made it impossible to keep reporting.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    France 24

  3. Russian authorities labeled the paper a “foreign agent” and ordered it to vacate its Moscow premises.

    Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News, Deutsche Welle

  4. The paper says it has been blocked from receiving donations.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  5. In October, authorities searched the home of editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov and questioned him; another editor, Oleg Roldugin, was arrested in April.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Novaya Gazeta is closing its Moscow newsroom after state pressure and a foreign agent label. The left frames the closure as a government clampdown and an end to press freedom, while the center leads with the eviction and the paper’s own account.

  • the left

    1 outlet · 2 opinion

    Left-side news headlines present the closure as the result of a government clampdown, while opinion pieces at the far end call it the death of press freedom under Putin.

    Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta closes citing gov’t clampdown
    Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    3 outlets

    Center headlines lead with the eviction from the newsroom or the foreign agent label, describing the paper as independent and critical of Putin before reporting the closure.

    Russia's leading independent newspaper closes after eviction
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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

    climate of tyrannyJust Killedto stifle dissent

  • Center3

    bowing tobrandedresuscitated

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Delegitimizing label

    climate of tyrannyMore neutral: climate of state pressure

    “Tyranny” characterizes the government as illegitimate rather than describing the specific pressure on the paper.

    …Gazeta’s closure offers a valuable lesson for any publication working in a climate of tyranny.

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Just KilledMore neutral: Forces Closure of

    “Killed” attributes the closure to a deliberate act by Putin, a judgement the reported facts do not establish.

    Putin Just Killed Russia’s Last Independent Newspaper

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    bowing toMore neutral: closing after

    “Bowing to” implies submission to pressure, where the paper’s own account says only that it was closing after state pressure.

    …to quit its central Moscow office after holding its final editorial meeting, bowing to what it said was a campaign of state pressure that had made it impossible to carry…

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    brandedMore neutral: labeled

    The verb “branded” adds a sense of stigma beyond the fact that an official label was applied.

    It was branded a "foreign agent," a Soviet-era term resuscitated by President Vladimir Putin's…

    Used byDeutsche Welle (Center)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    resuscitatedMore neutral: used

    “Resuscitated” implies a dead term was revived for a purpose, a judgement the reported facts do not state.

    It was branded a "foreign agent," a Soviet-era term resuscitated by President Vladimir Putin's administration, with officials ordering it to vacate…

    Used byDeutsche Welle (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    to stifle dissentMore neutral: a label used against critics

    The outlet states as fact the purpose of the label, which is a judgement about motive rather than a reported fact.

    …to shut down after being classed as a “foreign agent” by Moscow, a label used to stifle dissent.

    Used byAl Jazeera English (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

1 outlet · 2 opinion

Leads with

  • state pressure and clampdown
  • “foreign agent” label used to stifle dissent
  • end of the last independent press
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

3 outlets

Leads with

  • eviction from the Moscow offices
  • “foreign agent” designation
  • the paper’s own account of pressure

Leaves out

  • search of the editor-in-chief’s home in October
  • arrest of another editor in April

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

See the 3 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • BBC NewsCenter

    Russia's leading independent newspaper closes after eviction

    The outlet has been evicted from its offices of three decades and says it's been blocked from receiving donations.

    Read at BBC News (opens in a new tab)
  • Deutsche WelleCenter

    Russia: Independent Novaya Gazeta shuts its Moscow newsroom

    The investigative newspaper is closing its doors after Russian authorities labeled it a "foreign agent" and ordered it vacate its Moscow premises.

    Read at Deutsche Welle (opens in a new tab)
  • France 24Center

    'Novaya Gazeta', an independent Russian newspaper critical of Putin, closes

    Russian investigative newspaper Novaya ⁠Gazeta was winding up its operations on Monday, November 9, and preparing to quit its central Moscow office after holding its final editorial meeting, Loaded verb“bowing to”“Bowing to” implies submission to pressure, where the paper’s own account says only that it was closing after state pressure.More neutral: closing afterDisagree with this highlight? what it said was a campaign of state pressure that had made it impossible to …

    Read at France 24 (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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

    7 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 9, 1:21 PM EST

  • Center

    First to report

    France 24, Nov 9, 6:20 AM EST

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. France 24CenterNov 9, 6:20 AM EST
  2. Deutsche WelleCenterNov 9, 11:22 AM EST
  3. BBC NewsCenterNov 9, 1:08 PM EST
  4. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 9, 1:21 PM EST

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

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