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Strand bookstore to pay $1.5 million over second Covid loan, Justice Department says

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum.

5 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Smiling woman in red blazer at set with Strand bookstore merchandise, tote bags and books
Image via CNBCHow images are chosenReport this image

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Tuesday that The Strand, a New York City bookstore, agreed to pay $1,482,560 to settle a False Claims Act case over a second Paycheck Protection Program loan. The office said the store was ineligible because its owner, Nancy Bass Wyden, is married to Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and that the loan certification was knowingly false. The store received a $932,350 loan in February 2021. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement that the program was created to save American jobs, not to benefit the wife of a U.S. senator.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The Strand agreed to pay about $1.5 million to settle a False Claims Act case over a second PPP loan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Center
    CNBC
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Townhall

  2. The office said the store received a $932,350 PPP loan in February 2021.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  3. The office said the loan required an assurance that no spouse of a member of Congress held a controlling interest, and that the owner, Nancy Bass Wyden, is married to Sen. Ron Wyden.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Center
    CNBC
    Right
    New York Post

  4. The office said the loan certification was knowingly and materially false.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that The Strand agreed to pay about $1.5 million to settle a federal case over a second PPP loan tied to Sen. Ron Wyden’s wife. The main difference is emphasis: the center states the facts plainly, the right stresses the senator tie and fraud, and the left highlights the Justice Department collecting money and the Trump-created program.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Raw Story’s headline frames the settlement as the Justice Department extracting money, and the senator’s wife as accused of exploiting a Trump-created program.

    DOJ Loaded verb“extracts”Suggests money was taken by force before any finding, while the settlement was agreed.More neutral: securesDisagree with this highlight? $1.5M from bookstore as Senator's wife accused of 'Loaded verb“exploiting”Adopts the government’s accusation as a charged verb in the headline rather than reporting the settlement.More neutral: usingThese are the Justice Department’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?' Trump program
    Raw StoryFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    CNBC’s headline states the settlement plainly, with the amount and the loan’s tie to Sen. Wyden’s wife, without adding judgement.

    Strand bookstore to pay nearly $1.5 million over Covid loan tied to Sen. Wyden's wife
    CNBCCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    NY Post leads with the store’s landmark status and an off-limits loan; Townhall and RedState stress the Democratic senator tie and fraud, with RedState’s opinion piece reading “Rules for Thee”.

    Iconic NYC landmark Strand Bookstore to pay $1.5M for taking off-limits COVID loan
    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.

  • Left1

    extracts

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    chicaneryRules for Thee

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    extractsMore neutral: secures

    Suggests money was taken by force before any finding, while the settlement was agreed.

    DOJ extracts $1.5M from bookstore as Senator's wife accused of 'exploiting' Trump program

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    chicaneryMore neutral: improper claims

    Describes the conduct with a loaded word that adds judgement beyond the reported facts.

    But the chicanery doesn’t always have to be big: A lot of smaller swindles can add up too, and in this…

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Partisan shorthand

    Rules for TheeMore neutral: Senator’s wife’s company settles PPP loan case

    A slogan that asserts a double standard as the frame of the story before the facts are weighed.

    Rules for Thee: Dem Senator's Wife Allegedly Received Almost $1M in 'Improper' COVID Relief…

    Used byRedState (Far 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.

  • Loaded verb

    Quoted

    exploitingMore neutral: using

    Adopts the government’s accusation as a charged verb in the headline rather than reporting the settlement.

    DOJ extracts $1.5M from bookstore as Senator's wife accused of 'exploiting' Trump program

    Quoted byRaw Story (Far Left)

    These are the Justice Department’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

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

  • Money extracted by DOJ
  • Senator’s wife accused
  • Program created by Trump
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    DOJ Loaded verb“extracts”Suggests money was taken by force before any finding, while the settlement was agreed.More neutral: securesDisagree with this highlight? $1.5M from bookstore as Senator's wife accused of 'Loaded verb“exploiting”Adopts the government’s accusation as a charged verb in the headline rather than reporting the settlement.More neutral: usingThese are the Justice Department’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?' Trump program

    The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it secured a nearly $1.5 million settlement from a bookstore owned by a Senator's wife after it accused the business of exploiting a program created by President Donald Trump. U.S. …

    Read at Raw Story (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Settlement amount
  • Loan tied to senator’s wife
  • Grandfather founded the store
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • CNBCCenter

    Strand bookstore to pay nearly $1.5 million over Covid loan tied to Sen. Wyden's wife

    Nancy Bass Wyden, whose grandfather founded the New York City bookstore, had signed off on the PPP, which was off-limits because she is a senator's wife.

    Read at CNBC (opens in a new tab)

From the right

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • Iconic NYC landmark
  • Democratic senator’s wife
  • Improper pandemic payouts
  • Fraud crackdown
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Iconic NYC landmark Strand Bookstore to pay $1.5M for taking off-limits COVID loan

    The Strand Bookstore – the iconic NYC landmark that’s been in business for almost a century – has agreed to pay nearly $1.5 million for accepting a COVID-era loan that was off-limits since the store’s owner is married to a US senator, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • TownhallFar Right

    The Justice Department Announces PPP Loan Settlement With Bookstore Tied to Democrat Senator

    Strand Book Store is owned by Nancy Bass Wyden, wife of Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden. That store has just reached a settlement in which it agreed to pay more than $1.4 million for violating the False Claims Act by "improperly applying for and receiving a second draw loan under the …

    Read at Townhall (opens in a new tab)
  • RedStateFar RightOpinion

    Partisan shorthand“Rules for Thee”A slogan that asserts a double standard as the frame of the story before the facts are weighed.More neutral: Senator’s wife’s company settles PPP loan caseDisagree with this highlight?: Dem Senator's Wife Allegedly Received Almost $1M in 'Improper' COVID Relief Payouts

    Fraud has been the word of the year, as seemingly every day the Department of Justice uncovers another graft operation targeting federal programs. Minnesota alone accounts for billions in scams that come at taxpayer expense.

    Read at RedState (opens in a new tab)

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

    First to report

    Raw Story, Nov 3, 5:37 PM EST

  • Center

    1 min later

    Its first report, Nov 3, 5:38 PM EST

  • Right

    18 hr 22 min later

    Its first report, Nov 4, 12:00 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 3, 5:37 PM EST
  2. CNBCCenterNov 3, 5:38 PM EST
  3. TownhallFar RightNov 4, 12:00 PM EST
  4. New York PostRightNov 4, 12:17 PM EST

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

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