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Ramaswamy campaign removes man with sex offense record from Ohio governor ad

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets across the spectrum.

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

The New Republic, Daily Mail and Newsweek report that a man who appeared in an Ohio governor campaign ad by Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy is a registered sex offender. The New Republic attributes the reporting to The Bulwark and says Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty in 2006 to gross sexual imposition, which Ohio law ties to sexual contact with a minor. Newsweek says it confirmed Edwards's criminal history through an Ohio appeals court decision. The Ramaswamy campaign says it did not know of Edwards's background, and spokesperson Evan Machan said the man has been removed from the ad. The campaign says the ad was based on a real interaction with a woman concerned about property taxes.

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. Vernon Edwards appeared in a Ramaswamy campaign ad about property taxes, in background footage with his wife Patty Edwards.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail

  2. Court records show Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty in 2006 to gross sexual imposition, which Ohio law ties to sexual contact with a minor.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail

  3. The Ramaswamy campaign said it had no knowledge of Edwards's criminal history and that the man has been removed from the ad.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail

  4. Spokesperson Evan Machan said the ad was based on a real interaction with an Ohio woman distraught over property taxes.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Center
    Newsweek

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that Vernon Edwards, a registered sex offender, appeared in a Ramaswamy ad and that the campaign removed him. The center headline is the most neutral about the campaign's action, while the left headline stresses the sex offense and the right headline calls the episode a blunder.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Headline centers Ramaswamy and the sex offender in the ad, presenting the appearance as a feature of the campaign rather than a removed mistake.

    Vivek Ramaswamy Features Sex Offender in Campaign Ad
    The New RepublicFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Headline reports the campaign removing the man from the ad after backlash, with the campaign as the actor.

    Ramaswamy Campaign Removes Sex Offender From Ad After Backlash
    NewsweekCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    Headline frames the event as a scramble and blunder by Ramaswamy, using words of embarrassment for the campaign.

    Vivek Ramaswamy Loaded verb“scrambles”Scrambles implies panic and disorder in the campaign's response, which the reported facts do not establish.More neutral: removesDisagree with this highlight? to pull ad after Sensational language“mortifying blunder”Calling the episode a mortifying blunder adds judgement and drama beyond the reported facts.More neutral: campaign ad removed after a man in it was found to have a sex offense recordDisagree with this highlight? featured registered sex offender
    Daily MailRightAll 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.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    scramblesmortifying blunder

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    scramblesMore neutral: removes

    Scrambles implies panic and disorder in the campaign's response, which the reported facts do not establish.

    Vivek Ramaswamy scrambles to pull ad after mortifying blunder featured registered sex offender

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    mortifying blunderMore neutral: campaign ad removed after a man in it was found to have a sex offense record

    Calling the episode a mortifying blunder adds judgement and drama beyond the reported facts.

    Vivek Ramaswamy scrambles to pull ad after mortifying blunder featured registered sex offender

    Used byDaily Mail (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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Ramaswamy's own posted video
  • Edwards's guilty plea and victim age
  • Campaign's earlier featuring of the man

Leaves out

  • Campaign's statement that it had no prior knowledge

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Campaign removal of the man
  • Independent confirmation of the criminal record
  • Campaign's no-knowledge statement
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • NewsweekCenter

    Ramaswamy Campaign Removes Sex Offender From Ad After Backlash

    Ramaswamy’s campaign removed a man from an Ohio governor’s race ad after details of his criminal background emerged.

    Read at Newsweek (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Ramaswamy pulling the ad
  • Mortifying blunder
  • Wife's on-camera property tax complaint
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • Daily MailRight

    Vivek Ramaswamy Loaded verb“scrambles”Scrambles implies panic and disorder in the campaign's response, which the reported facts do not establish.More neutral: removesDisagree with this highlight? to pull ad after Sensational language“mortifying blunder”Calling the episode a mortifying blunder adds judgement and drama beyond the reported facts.More neutral: campaign ad removed after a man in it was found to have a sex offense recordDisagree with this highlight? featured registered sex offender

    Vivek Ramaswamy has pulled a campaign ad after discovering that the husband of an Ohio woman featured in the commercial is a registered sex offender.

    Read at Daily Mail (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 New Republic, Oct 14, 3:22 PM EDT

  • Center

    4 hr 11 min later

    Its first report, Oct 14, 7:33 PM EDT

  • Right

    1 hr 55 min later

    Its first report, Oct 14, 5:17 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The New RepublicFar LeftOct 14, 3:22 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 14, 5:17 PM EDT
  3. NewsweekCenterOct 14, 7:33 PM EDT

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

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