UK shoppers buy more water and tinned food after government “Be Ready” campaign
By Mantle News
Coverage spectrum
Covered by 3 outlets across the spectrum.
3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias
Sales of bottled water, tinned food and hand sanitiser rose in the 10 days after the UK government launched its “Be Ready” emergency preparedness campaign in October. The campaign urges households to keep three days of food and water at home in case of disruption from cyber attacks, extreme weather or other incidents. Retail data from Worldpanel by Numerator, cited by the BBC and the Guardian, show hand sanitiser sales up 83%, bottled water up 67% and tinned and jarred goods up 37% compared with the same period last year. The number of people buying tinned meat each day rose 43%, which Worldpanel put at about 400,000 extra shoppers. Worldpanel said the rise was not panic buying, as less than a third of households bought bottled water in October.
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.
Sales of bottled water, tinned food and hand sanitiser rose in the 10 days after the government launched its Be Ready campaign.
Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
- Far Right
- Breitbart News
Bottled water sales rose 67% and tinned and jarred goods 37%, according to Worldpanel by Numerator data.
Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
- Far Right
- Breitbart News
Hand sanitiser sales rose 83%, according to Worldpanel by Numerator data.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
Worldpanel said the buying was stockpiling rather than panic buying, with less than a third of households buying bottled water in October.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
The government campaign advises keeping three days of food and water at home for disruption from cyber attacks or extreme weather.
Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
- Far Right
- Breitbart News
The number of people buying tinned meat each day rose 43 per cent after the campaign launch, an extra 400,000 shoppers a day, while the typical amount bought stayed about 500g.
Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
- Far Right
- Breitbart News
How each side tells it
Compare views
All three outlets report that shoppers bought more bottled water, tinned food and hand sanitiser in the 10 days after the Be Ready launch. The left headline stresses that buying was not panic buying, the centre reports the sales jump, and the right ties the rise to the government’s call to be crisis ready.
the left
1 outlet
The Guardian’s headline frames the rise as stockpiling and stresses that shoppers did not panic buy, citing shopping data.
Britons stockpiling water and food tins but not panic buying, figures show
The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines the center
1 outlet
The BBC headline reports the sales jump and ties it to the launch of the “Be Ready” campaign, without characterising the buying.
Sales of tinned food and bottled water jump after 'Be Ready' campaign launch
BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines the right
1 outlet
Breitbart’s headline, from a far right outlet, presents soaring sales as a direct result of the government telling the public to be crisis ready.
Sales of Bottled Water, Tinned Food Soars After UK Government Tells Public to be Crisis Ready
Breitbart 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.
Left0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Center0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Right1
coming crisis
In the outlets’ own words
Sensational language
coming crisisMore neutral: possible emergencies
The government’s own campaign did not name a specific crisis, so the phrase suggests an imminent disaster the sources do not describe.
…soared in Britain since the government told the public they have to be ready for coming crisis.
Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)
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 outletLeads with
- not panic buying
- stockpiling essentials
- shopping data
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
- The GuardianLeft
Britons stockpiling water and food tins but not panic buying, figures show
Shoppers appear to have taken government’s Be Ready campaign seriously, retail analysts say Business live – latest updates British shoppers have been stocking up on essentials such as bottled water, tinned goods and hand sanitiser, but did not panic buy after the government …
From the center
1 outletLeads with
- sales jump
- campaign launch
- emergency preparedness
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
- BBC NewsCenter
Sales of tinned food and bottled water jump after 'Be Ready' campaign launch
Sales of essential goods such as hand sanitiser soar after the government called on households to be prepared for emergencies.
From the right
1 outletLeads with
- soaring sales
- government advice as trigger
- crisis readiness
Leaves out
- Worldpanel’s finding that the buying was not panic buying
Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
- Breitbart NewsFar Right
Sales of Bottled Water, Tinned Food Soars After UK Government Tells Public to be Crisis Ready
Sales of prepping staples has soared in Britain since the government told the public they have to be ready for Sensational language“coming crisis”The government’s own campaign did not name a specific crisis, so the phrase suggests an imminent disaster the sources do not describe.More neutral: possible emergenciesDisagree with this highlight?.
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 Guardian, Nov 10, 3:53 AM EST
Center
2 hr 50 min later
Its first report, Nov 10, 6:43 AM EST
Right
1 day later
Its first report, Nov 11, 4:44 AM EST
See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
- The GuardianLeftNov 10, 3:53 AM EST
- BBC NewsCenterNov 10, 6:43 AM EST
- Breitbart NewsFar RightNov 11, 4:44 AM EST
Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.
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