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Tennessee Republican Brent Taylor responds to report of unsolicited nude photos

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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

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Image via The New York TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

Tennessee state senator Brent Taylor, a Republican running for a U.S. House seat, has acknowledged sending nude photos in the past after the Nashville Scene reported that multiple sources said they had received or seen unsolicited images from him. According to that report, one source received a photo in 2021, when Taylor was 53. Taylor has described the conduct as youthful indiscretions and said that his wife knows of it and that they worked through it long ago. Taylor’s description of the conduct as past is set against the report’s account of the 2021 photo.

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. Tennessee state senator Brent Taylor, a Republican running for a U.S. House seat, responded to a Nashville Scene report that he sent unsolicited nude photos.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The New York Times
    Right
    Daily Mail

  2. Taylor acknowledged sending nude photos in the past and described them as youthful indiscretions.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The New York Times
    Right
    Daily Mail

  3. The Nashville Scene reported that multiple sources said they had received or seen the images, including one photo sent in 2021 when Taylor was 53.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    Daily Mail

  4. Taylor said his wife knows of the conduct, that they worked through it long ago, and that he has been forgiven.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    Daily Mail

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The nude photos were sent in the past as youthful indiscretions.

    Taylor says the conduct was youthful and that his wife forgave him long ago. The Nashville Scene’s sources, as reported by the Daily Mail and the Daily Beast, describe a photo sent in 2021 when Taylor was 53.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports that Brent Taylor responded to a Nashville Scene report that he sent unsolicited nude photos, and that he called the conduct youthful indiscretions. The left coverage stresses his defense as flimsy or bizarre, while the right coverage focuses on his age, his wife and the Trump link in its headline.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    The Daily Beast’s headline mocks the defense as bonkers, while The New York Times uses a restrained headline built on the phrase ‘past indiscretion’ and the race’s reaction.

    Tennessee Race Is Rattled by a Republican’s Acknowledgment of a ‘Past Indiscretion’
    The New York TimesLeftAll 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

    The Daily Mail headline labels Taylor a Trump pick and says he scrambles to explain, centering his age, his wife and his excuse.

    Married Loaded modifier“Trump pick”Ties the candidate to a president through a label the text does not explain.More neutral: Republican candidateDisagree with this highlight? admits sending nude photos as 58-year-old Loaded verb“scrambles to explain”Describes a response as frantic, which implies a judgement about his motives and state of mind.More neutral: responds toDisagree with this highlight? 'youthful indiscretions' and a forgiving wife
    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.

  • Left4

    laughably flimsy defensebombshell reportMAGA CandidateBonkers Defense

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right2

    Trump pickscrambles to explain

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    laughably flimsy defenseMore neutral: response

    Mocks the response as weak instead of describing what he said.

    A MAGA candidate accused of sending unsolicited nude photos has offered a laughably flimsy defense.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    bombshell reportMore neutral: report

    Calls the report dramatic before its content is weighed.

    …photos as recently as 2021, multiple sources alleged to the Nashville Scene in a bombshell report.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    MAGA CandidateMore neutral: Republican candidate

    Labels the candidate by a political movement in a way that signals a judgement about his views.

    MAGA Candidate, 58, Offers Bonkers Defense of Sexting Scandal

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Bonkers DefenseMore neutral: response

    Calls the response crazy before the reader has seen what was said.

    MAGA Candidate, 58, Offers Bonkers Defense of Sexting Scandal

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    Trump pickMore neutral: Republican candidate

    Ties the candidate to a president through a label the text does not explain.

    Married Trump pick admits sending nude photos as 58-year-old scrambles to explain 'youthful…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    scrambles to explainMore neutral: responds to

    Describes a response as frantic, which implies a judgement about his motives and state of mind.

    Married Trump pick admits sending nude photos as 58-year-old scrambles to explain 'youthful indiscretions' and a forgiving wife

    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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Taylor’s bizarre defense
  • bombshell report
  • married Republican
  • past indiscretion
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Tennessee Race Is Rattled by a Republican’s Acknowledgment of a ‘Past Indiscretion’

    State Senator Brent Taylor, the Republican nominee for a U.S. House seat, responded to a Nashville outlet’s report that he had sent “an unsolicited nude picture.”

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Loaded modifier“MAGA Candidate”Labels the candidate by a political movement in a way that signals a judgement about his views.More neutral: Republican candidateDisagree with this highlight?, 58, Offers Sensational language“Bonkers Defense”Calls the response crazy before the reader has seen what was said.More neutral: responseDisagree with this highlight? of Sexting Scandal

    A MAGA candidate accused of sending unsolicited nude photos has offered a Sensational language“laughably flimsy defense”Mocks the response as weak instead of describing what he said.More neutral: responseDisagree with this highlight?. Brent Taylor, a Tennessee state senator now running for U.S. …

    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

  • Trump pick
  • scrambles to explain
  • 58-year-old
  • forgiving wife
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • Daily MailRight

    Married Loaded modifier“Trump pick”Ties the candidate to a president through a label the text does not explain.More neutral: Republican candidateDisagree with this highlight? admits sending nude photos as 58-year-old Loaded verb“scrambles to explain”Describes a response as frantic, which implies a judgement about his motives and state of mind.More neutral: responds toDisagree with this highlight? 'youthful indiscretions' and a forgiving wife

    A 58-year-old Tennessee Republican running for a House seat is blaming his 'youthful indiscretions' for sending unsolicited nude photos, with one as recently as five years ago.

    Read at Daily Mail (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

    The Daily Beast, Oct 27, 4:06 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    37 min later

    Its first report, Oct 27, 4:43 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 27, 4:06 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 27, 4:43 PM EDT
  3. The New York TimesLeftOct 27, 8:22 PM EDT

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

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