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Chili’s customers hurt after margaritas mixed with industrial product in North Carolina

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

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

Chili's restaurant exterior with large illuminated Chili's sign in a parking lot, daytime.
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

The Foothills Health District said three customers were sickened at a Chili’s in Forest City, North Carolina, after drinking margaritas contaminated with a chemical degreasing agent, and that they had chemical burns around their mouths. It said two restaurant workers who tested the drinks also showed symptoms. Reports say an employee mistook the granulated degreaser for sugar or salt. The restaurant’s food service license was suspended and then reinstated after it passed safety checks. The company said it is actively investigating the incident.

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. Three customers suffered chemical burns after drinking margaritas made with a degreasing or cleaning product.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Fox News, Breitbart News

  2. A Chili’s in Forest City, North Carolina, is the restaurant where the drinks were served.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  3. Two restaurant workers also showed symptoms.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Far Right
    Fox News

  4. Reports say an employee mistook a granulated degreaser for sugar or salt.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    New York Post

  5. The restaurant’s food service license was suspended and later reinstated after passing safety checks, and the company said it is investigating.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report three customers with chemical burns after margaritas were mixed with a degreaser or cleaner at a North Carolina Chili’s. Right-side headlines stress the injuries and the mix-up, while the left’s single outlet leads with a ‘horrifying’ blunder and attributes details to the health district.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The Daily Beast headline leads with ‘Horrifying’ and ‘Blunder’, putting the drama of the mishap first, and its text rests on the health district and restaurant statements.

    Chili’s Customers Burned After Sensational language“Horrifying”The adjective adds drama beyond the reported facts of a mishap that sickened five people.More neutral: seriousDisagree with this highlight? Drinks Blunder
    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

    3 outlets

    Right-side headlines lead with the burns and the mix-up, using ‘dangerous’ or ‘nightmare’ at Fox News and the New York Post and a video tag at Breitbart.

    Chili's customers suffer chemical burns after dangerous margarita mix-up
    Fox NewsFar 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.

  • Left1

    Horrifying

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    HorrifyingMore neutral: serious

    The adjective adds drama beyond the reported facts of a mishap that sickened five people.

    Chili’s Customers Burned After Horrifying Drinks Blunder

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

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

  • the horror of the mishap
  • the health district’s account
  • the restaurant’s license and investigation

Leaves out

  • the day of the incident (Wednesday)

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Chili’s Customers Burned After Sensational language“Horrifying”The adjective adds drama beyond the reported facts of a mishap that sickened five people.More neutral: seriousDisagree with this highlight? Drinks Blunder

    Customers at a Chili’s Bar and Grill in North Carolina suffered chemical burns after drinking margaritas accidentally mixed with industrial cleaner. …

    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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the burns and injuries
  • the mix-up as the cause
  • danger to diners

Leaves out

  • the Foothills Health District’s statement
  • the restaurant’s license suspension

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

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    VIDEO — North Carolina: Three Customers Suffer Chemical Burns from Contaminated Chili's Margaritas

    Three Chili's customers suffered chemical burns after consuming margaritas that mistakenly had a cleaning product in them on Wednesday at the restaurant in Forest City, North Carolina.

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    North Carolina Chili’s customers suffer chemical burns after drinking margaritas in nightmare mix-up

    An employee preparing the bar for lunch service mistook a granulated degreaser for sugar.

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

    Chili's customers suffer chemical burns after dangerous margarita mix-up

    Three customers and two employees suffered symptoms after an industrial degreaser was mistakenly used to prepare margaritas at a North Carolina Chili's.

    Read at Fox News (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

    15 hr 35 min later

    Its first report, Oct 30, 1:50 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Fox News, Oct 29, 10:15 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Fox NewsFar RightOct 29, 10:15 PM EDT
  2. New York PostRightOct 30, 4:40 AM EDT
  3. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 30, 10:53 AM EDT
  4. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 30, 1:50 PM EDT

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

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