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Pastor Objects After Satanic Invocation Opens Ottumwa, Iowa City Council Meeting

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 7 outlets, all right-leaning.

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

A former Ottumwa, Iowa city council member, Matt Dalbey, delivered the opening invocation at an October 6 city council meeting, addressing a “dark father” and ending the prayer with “Hail Satan.” After the council recited the Pledge of Allegiance, pastor Rick Bick of New Life Center interrupted the meeting, calling the prayer a “curse” on the city and demanding it be reversed immediately. A council member, according to Fox News, told Bick to save his comments for the public comment period. Ottumwa had adopted a policy in January allowing invocations from a range of faiths at the start of meetings. Dalbey later told a local outlet, according to the Washington Times, that he is a member of the Satanic Temple and that members do not worship Satan.

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. Matt Dalbey, a former Ottumwa City Council member, delivered the meeting’s opening invocation addressing a “dark father” and ending with “Hail Satan.”

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right6See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, The Washington Times
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire, The Western Journal, One America News, Fox News, TheBlaze, Breitbart News

  2. Pastor Rick Bick interrupted the proceedings afterward, calling the prayer a “curse” placed on the city and demanding it be reversed.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right5See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, The Washington Times
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire, The Western Journal, Fox News, TheBlaze, Breitbart News

  3. A council member told Bick to save his comments for the public comment portion of the meeting, but he insisted action be taken immediately.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

  4. Ottumwa adopted a policy on January 20 allowing invocations from a diverse pool of citizens at the start of council meetings.

    One outletTheBlaze· Far Right

  5. Dalbey said he is a member of the Satanic Temple and that he did not give the invocation to curse the city, adding that members do not worship Satan.

    One outletThe Washington Times· Right

  6. Some audience members appeared visibly uncomfortable during the invocation, with at least one person sitting down partway through.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • Whether the invocation reflected literal Satan worship or the Satanic Temple’s secular philosophy

    Several outlets (Daily Wire, Western Journal, OAN, New York Post, Fox News, Breitbart) present the prayer primarily as a “satanic” act culminating in “Hail Satan,” while the Washington Times reports Dalbey’s own statement that he is a Satanic Temple member who does not worship Satan and did not intend to curse the city.

How each side tells it

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  • the left

    No coverage yet

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

  • 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

    7 outlets · 1 opinion

    Right-leaning outlets largely frame the event as a council meeting that “erupted” into “controversy” after the invocation, quoting the prayer’s “Hail Satan” line directly in headlines, while some outlets such as TheBlaze and the Washington Times frame it more around the city’s invocation policy and Dalbey’s own explanation of his beliefs.

    WATCH — Iowa Pastor Fights 'Hail Satan' Prayer at City Council Meeting: 'Let's Just Reverse That Curse'
    Breitbart NewsFar RightAll 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.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right8

    Fights Backintense uproarControversy eruptserupted into an awkward tizzy

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    Fights BackMore neutral: Objects

    Frames the pastor’s response as a combative struggle rather than neutrally describing his objection.

    Watch: Pastor Fights Back as City Council Begins Meeting with Prayer to Satan

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    intense uproarMore neutral: strong reaction

    Exaggerates the scale of reaction with dramatic language rather than describing what occurred.

    A routine local government gathering turned into a scene of intense uproar in Ottumwa, Iowa, after a scheduled invocation opened the City Council session…

    Used byOne America News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    Controversy eruptsMore neutral: Controversy follows

    Adds dramatic framing to a factual event rather than neutrally stating what happened.

    Controversy erupts at Iowa city council meeting following Luciferian opening invocation: ‘HAIL…

    Used byOne America News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    erupted into an awkward tizzyMore neutral: was disrupted

    Uses dramatic, informal language to characterize the meeting’s reaction rather than describing it factually.

    An Iowa city council meeting erupted into an awkward tizzy Tuesday when an attendee took the podium to read a satanic prayer —…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 4 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    erupts after startingMore neutral: follows start with

    Frames the meeting’s reaction with dramatic intensity rather than neutral description.

    Iowa city council erupts after starting with satanic prayer: ‘A curse put on the city’

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    erupts after former memberMore neutral: responds after former member

    Uses dramatic language to characterize the council’s reaction rather than neutral description.

    Iowa city council meeting erupts after former member opens meeting with satanic prayer and 'Hail Satan'

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    apparent fetishization of religious "diversity"More neutral: the city’s religious inclusion policy

    Mocks the city’s diversity policy by framing it as an obsession rather than describing it neutrally.

    An apparent fetishization of religious "diversity" had officials in an Iowa city permit a satanic invocation prior…

    Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    infernal appealMore neutral: invocation

    Dramatizes the invocation with loaded religious language rather than describing it factually.

    While many at the meeting appeared willing to put up with the infernal appeal, one Christian man stood up and spoke out.

    Used byTheBlaze (Far 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

0 outlets

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

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

7 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • direct quotation of the prayer’s language
  • the pastor’s dramatic objection
  • the city’s invocation policy
  • audience reaction
See the 8 headlines 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

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    The Daily Wire, Oct 7, 1:22 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily WireFar RightOct 7, 1:22 PM EDT
  2. The Western JournalFar RightOct 7, 4:54 PM EDT
  3. One America NewsFar RightOct 7, 5:56 PM EDT
  4. New York PostRightOct 7, 7:10 PM EDT
  5. Fox NewsFar RightOct 7, 8:06 PM EDT
  6. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 8, 12:58 PM EDT
  7. The Washington TimesRightOct 8, 3:10 PM EDT

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

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