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Trump appoints Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary, replacing Karoline Leavitt

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all left-leaning.

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

The Daily Beast, MeidasTouch and The Independent report that Donald Trump appointed Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary on Friday, replacing Karoline Leavitt, who left the role in August. The outlets say a Popular Information investigation published Sunday found Truth Social posts by Zacharia, 41, that promoted the Pizzagate claim and engaged with QAnon-related claims. According to the reports, the posts include her urging Fox News to cover Pizzagate and claims that Democrats and Hollywood elites are pedophiles and cannibals. The outlets say the posts date from before her appointment.

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. Trump appointed Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary on Friday, replacing Karoline Leavitt.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast, MeidasTouch
    Left
    The Independent

  2. Popular Information published an investigation on Sunday into Truth Social posts by Zacharia.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast, MeidasTouch
    Left
    The Independent

  3. The posts promote the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which the outlets describe as debunked.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left1Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    MeidasTouch
    Left
    The Independent

  4. Posts attributed to Zacharia accuse Democrats and Hollywood elites of being pedophiles and cannibals.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left1Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The Independent

  5. The outlets say the posts date from before Zacharia’s appointment.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left1Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    MeidasTouch
    Left
    The Independent

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every outlet present reports that Trump appointed Katie Zacharia as press secretary and that Popular Information found her past posts promoting Pizzagate and other conspiracy theories, and these left outlets present the posts as an exposure of her record.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Headlines present the appointee as exposed for past conspiracy posts; Far Left outlets use words like exposed and peddler, while The Independent uses a mocking banana label.

    Trump's New Press Secretary Loaded verb“Exposed”Exposed presents the posts as a revelation of wrongdoing before the reader has weighed them.More neutral: Linked toDisagree with this highlight? as Pizzagate and QAnon Conspiracy Loaded modifier“Peddler”Peddler labels Zacharia as a seller of falsehoods, a judgement beyond the posts described.More neutral: who sharedDisagree with this highlight?
    MeidasTouchFar 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

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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.

  • Left11

    conspiracy theoryconspiracy theoriesso-called Pizzagateso-called

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Delegitimizing label

    conspiracy theoryMore neutral: describe the claim and the evidence against it

    Ends the discussion by labeling; state the claim.

    …Zacharia, 41, seemingly showed herself to deeply believe in the Pizzagate conspiracy theory as she called upon Fox News to highlight it.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)MeidasTouch (Far Left)The Independent (Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    conspiracy theoriesMore neutral: describe the claim and the evidence against it

    Ends the discussion by labeling; state the claim.

    …secretary has a history of promoting some of the internet’s most notorious conspiracy theories, including claims that Democrats and Hollywood elites operate child…

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)The Independent (Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    so-called PizzagateMore neutral: the Pizzagate conspiracy theory

    So-called adds a dismissive tone to the name of the theory in the outlet’s own voice.

    …several posts online calling Democrats pedophiles and giving weight to the so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    so-calledMore neutral: (omit)

    Sneer quotes in word form.

    …shared several posts online calling Democrats pedophiles and giving weight to the so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 7 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    MouthpieceMore neutral: press secretary

    Mouthpiece casts the press secretary as a propagandist rather than naming her role.

    Trump’s New Mouthpiece Caught Pushing Jaw-Dropping Claims

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    CaughtMore neutral: Posts show

    Caught implies Zacharia was found doing wrong, a judgement the posts themselves do not establish.

    Trump’s New Mouthpiece Caught Pushing Jaw-Dropping Claims

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Jaw-DroppingMore neutral: Claims

    The adjective signals shock before the reader has seen the posts.

    Trump’s New Mouthpiece Caught Pushing Jaw-Dropping Claims

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    notoriousMore neutral: known for (describe)

    Judgement of reputation as fact.

    …White House press secretary has a history of promoting some of the internet’s most notorious conspiracy theories, including claims that Democrats and Hollywood elites operate…

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    ExposedMore neutral: Linked to

    Exposed presents the posts as a revelation of wrongdoing before the reader has weighed them.

    Trump's New Press Secretary Exposed as Pizzagate and QAnon Conspiracy Peddler

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    PeddlerMore neutral: who shared

    Peddler labels Zacharia as a seller of falsehoods, a judgement beyond the posts described.

    Trump's New Press Secretary Exposed as Pizzagate and QAnon Conspiracy Peddler

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    banana conspiracy theoriesMore neutral: Pizzagate conspiracy theories

    The mocking label dismisses the theories as absurd instead of naming the one at issue.

    Trump’s new press secretary has a history of pushing banana conspiracy theories

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

Words quoted from someone else (2)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.

  • Delegitimizing label

    Quoted

    conspiracy theoryMore neutral: describe the claim and the evidence against it

    Ends the discussion by labeling; state the claim.

    …calling Democrats pedophiles and giving weight to the so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

    Quoted byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

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

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    child-eating DemocratsMore neutral: claims about Democrats and cannibalism

    The phrase is a vivid label for the claim, and it is sensational rather than a neutral description of what was posted.

    Katie Zacharia pushed claims about child-eating Democrats, secret Trump signals and stolen elections before landing the White House…

    Quoted byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

    These are Katie Zacharia’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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Zacharia’s past Pizzagate and QAnon posts
  • claims that Democrats are pedophiles and cannibals
  • her record as a new press secretary
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

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

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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 Daily Beast, Oct 11, 3:34 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 11, 3:34 PM EDT
  2. MeidasTouchFar LeftOct 11, 4:20 PM EDT
  3. The IndependentLeftOct 11, 6:02 PM EDT

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

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