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Pentagon approves Homeland Security testing of heat ray weapon for border use

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

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

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a Pentagon memo authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to test the Active Denial System, a military heat ray, for possible use at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a memo obtained by CNN. The military describes the system as non-lethal: it projects an invisible beam up to just over half a mile that causes a burning sensation on the skin. The memo says “shall not be operated by [Department of War] personnel.” The Independent reports that other U.S. officials had previously declined to use the weapon at the border. A Department of Homeland Security official said the agency is continually evaluating new technology.

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. The Pentagon authorized the Department of Homeland Security to test the Active Denial System for possible use at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a memo obtained by CNN.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The Independent
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  2. The military describes the Active Denial System as non-lethal, with a beam that reaches just over half a mile and causes a burning sensation on skin.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The Independent
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  3. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed the memo approving the testing.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The Independent
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  4. The Independent reports that other U.S. officials had previously declined to use the system at the southern border.

    One outletThe Independent· Left

  5. A Department of Homeland Security official said the agency is continually evaluating new technology.

    One outletThe Daily Caller· Far Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Outlets report that the Pentagon approved Department of Homeland Security testing of the Active Denial System at the U.S.-Mexico border, per a CNN-obtained memo. The left stresses Hegseth’s sign-off and past rejection of the weapon, while the right stresses the sci-fi nature and the possibility of future use.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Headlines center Hegseth’s personal approval; the Daily Beast is the sharpest, calling the plan a secret plot and the weapon dystopian, while the Independent stresses that earlier officials declined it.

    Hegseth’s Secret Heat Ray Weapon Sensational language“Plot Exposed”The words Plot Exposed imply a hidden conspiracy, which the coverage does not establish; the memo's existence and content are the reported facts.More neutral: Heat ray weapon approved for border testingDisagree with this highlight?
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll 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

    1 outlet

    Headline presents the approval as a sci-fi weapon that could soon head to the border, stressing its futuristic nature and possible deployment rather than the Pentagon sign-off.

    Military’s Sensational language“Sci-Fi Heat Ray”The sci-fi label frames a described military system as fantastical rather than describing what it is.More neutral: Active Denial System heat rayDisagree with this highlight? Weapon Could Soon Be Headed To Southern Border
    The Daily CallerFar 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.

  • Left2

    dystopian weaponPlot Exposed

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right1

    Sci-Fi Heat Ray

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    dystopian weaponMore neutral: heat ray weapon

    Calling the weapon dystopian is the outlet's own judgement rather than a described feature of the system.

    He’s signed off on testing a dystopian weapon that many others before him thought better of using.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Plot ExposedMore neutral: Heat ray weapon approved for border testing

    The words Plot Exposed imply a hidden conspiracy, which the coverage does not establish; the memo's existence and content are the reported facts.

    Hegseth’s Secret Heat Ray Weapon Plot Exposed

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Sci-Fi Heat RayMore neutral: Active Denial System heat ray

    The sci-fi label frames a described military system as fantastical rather than describing what it is.

    Military’s Sci-Fi Heat Ray Weapon Could Soon Be Headed To Southern Border

    Used byThe Daily Caller (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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Hegseth’s personal sign-off
  • Earlier officials declined the weapon
  • Weapon as dystopian
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The IndependentLeft

    Pete Hegseth signs off testing for new military weapon other American officials passed on

    Heat rays cause a tingling sensation on skin that creates an ‘instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect,’ the military said in a memo

    Read at The Independent (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Hegseth’s Secret Heat Ray Weapon Sensational language“Plot Exposed”The words Plot Exposed imply a hidden conspiracy, which the coverage does not establish; the memo's existence and content are the reported facts.More neutral: Heat ray weapon approved for border testingDisagree with this highlight?

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given his stamp of approval for the testing of an unusual “heat ray” weapon at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Pentagon gave the Department of Homeland Security an official go-ahead to test and potentially deploy the military-grade Active Denial …

    Read at The Daily Beast (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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Sci-fi nature of the weapon
  • Possible border deployment
  • Non-lethal design

Leaves out

  • Earlier officials declined to use the weapon at the border

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

See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Daily CallerFar Right

    Military’s Sensational language“Sci-Fi Heat Ray”The sci-fi label frames a described military system as fantastical rather than describing what it is.More neutral: Active Denial System heat rayDisagree with this highlight? Weapon Could Soon Be Headed To Southern Border

    The Department of War has officially authorized the Department of Homeland Security to test a military-grade heat ray for use in future operations at the U.S.-Mexico border. …

    Read at The Daily Caller (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

    The Daily Beast, Oct 21, 1:28 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    3 hr 31 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 4:58 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 21, 1:28 PM EDT
  2. The IndependentLeftOct 21, 4:22 PM EDT
  3. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 21, 4:58 PM EDT

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

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