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Vance jokes about a “devastating loss” he says was Ohio State football

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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

Vice President JD Vance spoke Monday at an event for National Veterans’ Small Business Week and referred to a “devastating loss last week.” He said some people were unfairly criticizing “the leader of the team” and mentioned staff infighting and questions about reshuffling. He then said he was talking about the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. HuffPost reports the team lost 41-28 to Oregon on Saturday. The Washington Examiner and HuffPost say the remarks came after Republican losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and the Examiner reports that Democrats flipped Senate and House seats. The Hill reports the remarks were only about football.

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. Vance spoke Monday at an event for National Veterans’ Small Business Week.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner

  2. Vance referred to a “devastating loss last week” and said some people were unfairly criticizing “the leader of the team.”

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner

  3. Vance said he was talking about the Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner

  4. HuffPost reports Ohio State lost 41-28 to Oregon on Saturday.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

  5. The Washington Examiner and HuffPost report the remarks came after Republican losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Right
    Washington Examiner

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that Vance joked about a “devastating loss last week” at a veterans event and said he meant Ohio State football. HuffPost frames the joke as a poor performance, while The Hill and the Washington Examiner report the remark in a more neutral headline, with the Examiner adding a political reading in its description.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    HuffPost’s headline calls the remark a “Lame” joke and frames it as a poor stand-up performance, rather than reporting the football context in the headline.

    JD Vance Makes Loaded modifier“Lame”The word judges the joke’s quality in the outlet’s own voice rather than describing what was said.More neutral: RemarkDisagree with this highlight? Joke About 'The Devastating Loss Last Week'
    HuffPostFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The Hill’s headline reports that Vance joked about a “devastating loss” and quotes the phrase without adding judgement.

    Vance jokes about last week's 'devastating loss'
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The Washington Examiner’s headline reports the joke and names Ohio State in the headline, and its description adds a “not-so-subtle” political undertone in its own voice.

    Vance jokes about ‘devastating loss last week,’ referring to Ohio State
    Washington ExaminerRightAll 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.

  • Left3

    probably shouldn’t pursue a stand-up career after leaving officeproved to the worldLame

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    probably shouldn’t pursue a stand-up career after leaving officeMore neutral: Vance’s joke drew mixed reactions

    The phrase is a mocking verdict in the outlet’s own voice that asserts no checkable fact.

    The vice president probably shouldn’t pursue a stand-up career after leaving office.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    proved to the worldMore neutral: showed

    The phrase presents the outlet’s mocking verdict as an established public judgement.

    In the process, he proved to the world he probably shouldn’t pursue a stand-up career after leaving office.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    LameMore neutral: Remark

    The word judges the joke’s quality in the outlet’s own voice rather than describing what was said.

    JD Vance Makes Lame Joke About 'The Devastating Loss Last Week'

    Used byHuffPost (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

  • Vance’s joke as a poor performance
  • the remark as a midterm reference
  • the Ohio State loss in the body text

Leaves out

  • Republican blame for the midterm losses on messaging and the Iran war

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • HuffPostFar Left

    JD Vance Makes Loaded modifier“Lame”The word judges the joke’s quality in the outlet’s own voice rather than describing what was said.More neutral: RemarkDisagree with this highlight? Joke About 'The Devastating Loss Last Week'

    The vice president Sensational language“probably shouldn’t pursue a stand-up career after leaving office”The phrase is a mocking verdict in the outlet’s own voice that asserts no checkable fact.More neutral: Vance’s joke drew mixed reactionsDisagree with this highlight?.

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the quoted “devastating loss” phrase
  • the joke as the main event
  • the clarification that the remark was about football
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Vance jokes about last week's 'devastating loss'

    Vice President Vance joked about a “devastating loss” last week while addressing veterans at an event in Washington on Monday, but what appeared to be a discussion about the GOP losses in the midterm elections was actually just about football. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the Ohio State football clarification
  • Vance’s defence of the team leader
  • the midterm losses as background
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    Vance jokes about ‘devastating loss last week,’ referring to Ohio State

    Vice President JD Vance referenced the “devastating” loss he felt last week, with a not-so-subtle political undertone during his speech for the National Veterans’ Small Business Week. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (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

    HuffPost, Nov 9, 1:35 PM EST

  • Center

    14 min later

    Its first report, Nov 9, 1:49 PM EST

  • Right

    23 min later

    Its first report, Nov 9, 1:58 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. HuffPostFar LeftNov 9, 1:35 PM EST
  2. The HillCenterNov 9, 1:49 PM EST
  3. Washington ExaminerRightNov 9, 1:58 PM EST

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

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