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Michigan grocery worker responds to filmed prank in viral video

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly right-leaning (80%).

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

CBS News reports that teens with cameras played a prank on a man stocking shelves at a Michigan grocery store, and that he confronted them in a video that drew a large online response. Just the News, the New York Post and the Daily Mail, which also report the video, say a GoFundMe campaign for the worker has raised money, putting the total at $130,000, $250,000 and $300,000 respectively. The Daily Mail identifies the worker as Walt Z, and the outlets' figures differ by outlet and date.

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. A worker stocking shelves at a Michigan grocery store was the target of a filmed prank.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  2. The worker responded in a video that drew a wide online response.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  3. A GoFundMe campaign for the worker, named as Walt Z in one report, has drawn donations; the reported totals range from $130,000 to $300,000 across outlets.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Just the News

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The total raised by the GoFundMe campaign for the worker.

    Just the News reports $130,000, the New York Post reports $250,000, and the Daily Mail reports $300,000; the figures are not reconciled in the supplied coverage.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that a worker stocking shelves at a Michigan grocery store was the target of a filmed prank and answered in a viral video. Right-side outlets lead with the worker's hard work and fundraiser totals, while CBS frames it as a stunt that backfired.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    CBS frames the episode as a social media stunt that backfired and a public that sided with the worker, using the praise hardworking father.

    Social media stunt backfires as public sides with Loaded modifier“hardworking father”The adjective praises the worker before the facts are weighed, which a reader may take as the outlet's verdict.More neutral: father stocking shelvesDisagree with this highlight? instead
    CBS NewsLeftAll 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

    4 outlets

    Right-side headlines cast the worker as a victim of trolls who backfired, with the fundraiser total up front; the far-right Just the News headline says harassed and leads with $130K.

    Trolls’ Loaded modifier“cruel Instagram prank”Calls the prank cruel in the headline, a moral judgement not established by the video.More neutral: Instagram prankDisagree with this highlight? on hardworking grocery vendor backfires, sparks massive $250K fundraiser
    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.

  • Left2

    fed-up people everywherehardworking father

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right7

    cruel prankharassed Red Baron workergloriously backfireddim-witted Instagram trolls

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    cruel prankMore neutral: prank

    Calls the prank cruel in the outlet's own voice, a moral judgement not established by the video.

    A cruel prank on a hardworking Michigan dad stocking shelves at a grocery store gloriously…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)Daily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    harassed Red Baron workerMore neutral: worker in viral prank video

    Describes the streamer's prank as harassment in the headline, which is a judgement the video itself does not settle.

    Internet raises $130K for harassed Red Baron worker in viral video

    Used byJust the News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    gloriously backfiredMore neutral: went viral and drew donations

    Describes the outcome with an enthusiastic judgement in the outlet's own voice.

    A cruel prank on a hardworking Michigan dad stocking shelves at a grocery store gloriously backfired — when the father-of-four turned the tables on the dim-witted Instagram trolls.…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    dim-witted Instagram trollsMore neutral: the pranksters

    Insults the pranksters as stupid in the outlet's own voice rather than describing what they did.

    …gloriously backfired — when the father-of-four turned the tables on the dim-witted Instagram trolls.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 5 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Dehumanizing label

    social media foolsMore neutral: one of the pranksters

    Labels the pranksters with a contemptuous term in the outlet's own voice.

    …publicly identified as Walt Z, kindly took out his phone to check, one of the social media fools pretended to skim money off him.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    cruel Instagram prankMore neutral: Instagram prank

    Calls the prank cruel in the headline, a moral judgement not established by the video.

    Trolls’ cruel Instagram prank on hardworking grocery vendor backfires, sparks massive $250K fundraiser

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    shames trollMore neutral: responds to prankster

    Frames the worker's response as shaming in the outlet's own voice, a judgement the video does not settle.

    Moment hardworking Red Baron employee shames troll who pulled cruel prank while he stocked shelves...

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Vague attribution

    fed-up people everywhereMore neutral: many people online

    The phrase attributes a sentiment to an unspecified, unquantified group of people.

    But the dad told them off in a video that's inspired a huge response from fed-up people everywhere.

    Used byCBS News (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    hardworking fatherMore neutral: father stocking shelves

    The adjective praises the worker before the facts are weighed, which a reader may take as the outlet's verdict.

    Social media stunt backfires as public sides with hardworking father instead

    Used byCBS News (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

Leads with

  • teens' cruel prank
  • public support for the worker
  • father stocking shelves

Leaves out

  • GoFundMe totals of $130,000 to $300,000
  • worker identified as Walt Z

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • CBS NewsLeft

    Social media stunt backfires as public sides with Loaded modifier“hardworking father”The adjective praises the worker before the facts are weighed, which a reader may take as the outlet's verdict.More neutral: father stocking shelvesDisagree with this highlight? instead

    Teens with cameras played a cruel prank on a father stocking shelves at a Michigan grocery store. But the dad told them off in a video that's inspired a huge response from Vague attribution“fed-up people everywhere”The phrase attributes a sentiment to an unspecified, unquantified group of people.More neutral: many people onlineDisagree with this highlight?. Tom Hanson has the story.

    Read at CBS News (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

4 outlets

Leads with

  • hardworking worker as victim
  • trolls' cruel prank backfiring
  • fundraiser totals
  • viral online support

Leaves out

  • that the pranksters were teens with cameras

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

See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • RedStateFar Right

    Red Baron Worker Fired Up Over Vicious Social Media 'Prank' Gets Ultimate Payback

    A Red Baron worker may wind up getting a lot more cheese than he bargained for.

    Read at RedState (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Moment hardworking Red Baron employee Loaded verb“shames troll”Frames the worker's response as shaming in the outlet's own voice, a judgement the video does not settle.More neutral: responds to pranksterDisagree with this highlight? who pulled Loaded modifier“cruel prank”Calls the prank cruel in the outlet's own voice, a moral judgement not established by the video.More neutral: prankDisagree with this highlight? while he stocked shelves... as he gets last laugh with $300,000 fundraiser

    The video shows a Red Baron employee, later identified in an online fundraiser as Walt Z, stocking shelves at a Michigan grocery store.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Trolls’ Loaded modifier“cruel Instagram prank”Calls the prank cruel in the headline, a moral judgement not established by the video.More neutral: Instagram prankDisagree with this highlight? on hardworking grocery vendor backfires, sparks massive $250K fundraiser

    "My life is hard enough as it is, okay? I don't need this crap," the employee says in the video.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Just the NewsFar Right

    Internet raises $130K for Loaded verb“harassed Red Baron worker”Describes the streamer's prank as harassment in the headline, which is a judgement the video itself does not settle.More neutral: worker in viral prank videoDisagree with this highlight? in viral video

    Public reactions were overwhelmingly sympathetic to Walt and the GoFundMe quickly circulated on social media, with a number of right-wing political influencers working to amplify it.

    Read at Just the News (opens in a new tab)
    1 more from Just the News

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

    5 hr 6 min later

    Its first report, Oct 29, 7:55 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 29, 2:49 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 29, 2:49 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 29, 7:26 PM EDT
  3. CBS NewsLeftOct 29, 7:55 PM EDT
  4. RedStateFar RightOct 29, 8:00 PM EDT

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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