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Record diesel prices squeeze farmers during harvest season

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly right-leaning (60%).

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

Diesel fuel prices have hit record highs, with the average price reaching about $6.61 a gallon this week, according to AAA figures cited by Just the News and The Center Square. That price is roughly 60% higher than a year earlier. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Tommy Nagle said the cost of running large farm equipment has risen from about $70-$80 an hour last year to about $180-$200 an hour now, and said farmers face 'a lot of uncertainty' about their businesses' viability. HuffPost reported one farmer said their monthly fuel bill rose by $75,000 and linked the price increase to Trump administration trade policy. Fox Business reported a biotech CEO warning that rising diesel costs could lead to higher food prices.

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. Diesel prices reached a record high of about $6.61 a gallon this week

    Reported byLeftRight

  2. The price is about 60% higher than roughly $3.98 a gallon a year earlier

    Reported byRight

  3. The cost to run large farm equipment rose from about $70-$80 an hour to $180-$200 an hour, according to a Pennsylvania Farm Bureau official

    Reported byRight

  4. A farmer reported a $75,000 increase in their monthly fuel bill

    Reported byLeft

  5. A Pivot Bio CEO warned rising diesel costs could trigger higher food prices

    Reported byRight

  6. Farmers say they face difficult decisions about the viability of their operations

    Reported byRight

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • What is causing the record diesel prices

    HuffPost attributes the price surge to what it describes as Trump's trade war; Fox Business, Just the News and The Center Square report the price increase and its effects without attributing a specific political cause.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Centers on an individual farmer's personal financial alarm and explicitly frames the price surge as connected to Trump administration trade policy.

    Soaring U.S. diesel prices slam local communities as fuel costs surge
    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

    3 outlets

    Uses direct, sourced quotes from farm officials and executives to describe operational uncertainty without attributing a political cause.

    Farmers face 'a lot of uncertainty' as record diesel prices squeeze operations
    The Center SquareRightAll 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

    unpopular war of choiceTrump's War

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right1

    nasty price shock

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    unpopular war of choiceMore neutral: the ongoing conflict

    Characterizes the conflict's popularity and legitimacy as settled fact rather than attributing it to a source.

    …effect that record-high diesel prices — fueled by President Donald Trump’s unpopular war of choice in Iran — are having on the agricultural industry.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Partisan shorthand

    Trump's WarMore neutral: the conflict in Iran

    Frames a broader geopolitical conflict as solely attributable to one individual, implying blame beyond established fact.

    'It's Just Crazy': Farmer Sounds The Alarm On Record Diesel Prices Amid Trump's War

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    nasty price shockMore neutral: sharp price increase

    The word 'nasty' adds a subjective emotional judgment to what is otherwise a factual description of a price increase.

    …but as farmers head out in combines to do the work they're experiencing a nasty price shock.

    Used byThe Center Square (Right)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    CrazyMore neutral: (omit) and quote the statement

    Diagnoses the speaker instead of quoting them.

    'It's Just Crazy': Farmer Sounds The Alarm On Record Diesel Prices Amid Trump's War

    Quoted byHuffPost (Far Left)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

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

  • individual farmer's financial hardship
  • specific dollar cost increase
  • political attribution to Trump-era trade policy

Leaves out

  • record price figure of $6.61 a gallon
  • comparison to prior year's price
  • farm equipment operating cost breakdown

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

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • CBS NewsLeft

    Soaring U.S. diesel prices slam local communities as fuel costs surge

    The surge in diesel prices this year is putting a financial squeeze on schools, farms and small businesses around the U.S.

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)
  • HuffPostFar Left

    'It's Just Sensational language“Crazy”Diagnoses the speaker instead of quoting them.More neutral: (omit) and quote the statementThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?': Farmer Sounds The Alarm On Record Diesel Prices Amid Partisan shorthand“Trump's War”Frames a broader geopolitical conflict as solely attributable to one individual, implying blame beyond established fact.More neutral: the conflict in IranDisagree with this highlight?

    Farmers are speaking out on the “national farm crisis,” with one claiming their monthly fuel bill jumped by $75,000 as a result of the record prices.

    Read at HuffPost (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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • record price figures and historical comparison
  • operational cost impact on equipment
  • farmer uncertainty about business viability
  • potential downstream effect on food prices

Leaves out

  • specific dollar amount of one farmer's fuel bill increase
  • attribution of price rise to any administration's policies

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

See the 3 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

    First to report

    HuffPost, Sep 24, 12:38 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    1 hr 57 min later

    Its first report, Sep 24, 2:35 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. HuffPostFar LeftSep 24, 12:38 PM EDT
  2. Fox BusinessRightSep 24, 2:35 PM EDT
  3. The Center SquareRightSep 25, 3:59 PM EDT
  4. CBS NewsLeftSep 25, 5:22 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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