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Zeteo’s Night Flower documentary examines AIPAC’s influence and foreign agent registration

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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

Night Flower documentary poster showing Capitol dome over red background with stylized flower and title text.
Image via Washington Free BeaconHow images are chosenReport this image

Democracy Now and Truthout report that Zeteo has released Night Flower: Inside AIPAC’s Fight for Influence, a documentary that examines AIPAC’s history and its role in shaping US policy toward Israel, and asks whether the group should register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Filmmaker Dion Nissenbaum says the film includes several examples of AIPAC acting at Israel’s request. The Washington Free Beacon reports that Zeteo editor-in-chief Mehdi Hasan presided over a screening of the film at Chicago’s Pickwick Theater, where speakers described AIPAC as operating on orders from the Israeli government. The outlet says these remarks mirrored antisemitic propaganda.

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. Zeteo produced the documentary Night Flower: Inside AIPAC’s Fight for Influence.

    Reported byFar Left2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Democracy Now!, Truthout
    Far Right
    Washington Free Beacon

  2. The documentary examines AIPAC’s history and its role in shaping US policy toward Israel.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Democracy Now!, Truthout

  3. The documentary questions whether AIPAC’s activities warrant scrutiny under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Democracy Now!, Truthout

  4. Filmmaker Dion Nissenbaum says the film shows several examples of AIPAC acting at Israel’s request.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Democracy Now!, Truthout

  5. According to one report, a screening of the film at Chicago’s Pickwick Theater was followed by a discussion led by Mehdi Hasan.

    One outletWashington Free Beacon· Far Right

  6. According to the same report, speakers at the screening described AIPAC as operating on orders from the Israeli government.

    One outletWashington Free Beacon· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • AIPAC acts at the request of the Israeli government.

    Filmmaker Dion Nissenbaum says the film shows several examples of this, and the left-side reports present it as the film’s evidence. The Washington Free Beacon reports that speakers at the screening made this claim and says it mirrored antisemitic propaganda.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report on Zeteo’s documentary Night Flower, which examines AIPAC’s influence on US policy. The left presents it as a question of whether AIPAC should register as a foreign agent, while the right describes its screening as conspiracy-filled and echoing antisemitic propaganda.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left headlines present the Zeteo film as a documentary that asks whether AIPAC should register as a foreign agent, treating the question as open and worth scrutiny.

    New Documentary Examines Whether AIPAC Should Register as a Foreign Agent
    TruthoutFar 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

    1 outlet

    The only right-side report is from the Far Right Washington Free Beacon, which frames the Chicago screening as a conspiracy-filled event that echoed antisemitic propaganda, centered on Mehdi Hasan.

    ‘It Blossoms in the Dark’: Mehdi Hasan Presides Over Anti-AIPAC Event Where Delegitimizing label“Conspiracy Theorists”Labels the speakers as conspiracy theorists in the outlet’s own voice, a characterization the supplied text does not establish beyond the outlet’s assessment.More neutral: speakersDisagree with this highlight? Spun Tales of a Hateful rhetoric“Jewish Cabal Plotting World Domination”Repeats a conspiracy claim that a Jewish group secretly controls others, attributed to speakers in the headline.Attacks or dehumanizes a person or a group because of who they are: their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.More neutral: a claim that AIPAC exerts outsized influenceThese are conspiracy theorists’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?
    Washington Free BeaconFar 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.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right3

    virulently anti-Israelmalign influenceconspiracy theorists

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    virulently anti-IsraelMore neutral: critical of Israel

    Intensifier that pre-judges the outlet’s stance before any evidence is cited.

    CHICAGO—Mehdi Hasan, the fired MSNBC host who now runs the virulently anti-Israel news startup Zeteo, presided Tuesday over a gathering focused on the malign…

    Used byWashington Free Beacon (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    malign influenceMore neutral: influence

    Adjective that assigns a harmful motive to AIPAC’s influence in the outlet’s own voice.

    …anti-Israel news startup Zeteo, presided Tuesday over a gathering focused on the malign influence of AIPAC—the pro-Israel American lobbying organization—which is being portrayed…

    Used byWashington Free Beacon (Far Right)

  • Delegitimizing label

    conspiracy theoristsMore neutral: speakers

    Labels the people portraying AIPAC in a certain way as conspiracy theorists in the outlet’s own voice, without evidence in the supplied text.

    …lobbying organization—which is being portrayed by a growing chorus of far-left conspiracy theorists as a shadowy Jewish Death Star hell-bent on world domination.

    Used byWashington Free Beacon (Far Right)

Words quoted from someone else (1)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.

  • Hateful rhetoric

    Quoted

    Jewish Cabal Plotting World DominationMore neutral: a claim that AIPAC exerts outsized influence

    Repeats a conspiracy claim that a Jewish group secretly controls others, attributed to speakers in the headline.

    Attacks or dehumanizes a person or a group because of who they are: their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.

    …Over Anti-AIPAC Event Where Conspiracy Theorists Spun Tales of a Jewish Cabal Plotting World Domination

    Quoted byWashington Free Beacon (Far Right)

    These are conspiracy theorists’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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • AIPAC’s influence on US policy toward Israel
  • whether AIPAC should register under FARA
  • filmmakers’ examples of AIPAC acting at Israel’s request

Leaves out

  • the Chicago screening and the discussion that followed
  • speakers’ descriptions of AIPAC as acting on Israeli government orders

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

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • TruthoutFar Left

    New Documentary Examines Whether AIPAC Should Register as a Foreign Agent

    Night Flower looks at AIPAC’s history and its role in shaping US policy toward Israel.

    Read at Truthout (opens in a new tab)
  • Democracy Now!Far Left

    Should AIPAC Register as a Foreign Agent? Zeteo Examines Pro-Israel Lobby's Influence on Elections

    The growing controversy over AIPAC’s impact on U.S. politics is the subject of a new Zeteo documentary titled Night Flower: Inside AIPAC’s Fight for Influence . The film examines AIPAC’s history and its role in shaping U.S. …

    Read at Democracy Now! (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

  • conspiracy claims about AIPAC
  • Mehdi Hasan’s role at the event
  • antisemitic propaganda comparison

Leaves out

  • whether AIPAC should register under FARA
  • the filmmaker’s examples of AIPAC acting at Israel’s request

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

See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • Washington Free BeaconFar Right

    ‘It Blossoms in the Dark’: Mehdi Hasan Presides Over Anti-AIPAC Event Where Delegitimizing label“Conspiracy Theorists”Labels the speakers as conspiracy theorists in the outlet’s own voice, a characterization the supplied text does not establish beyond the outlet’s assessment.More neutral: speakersDisagree with this highlight? Spun Tales of a Hateful rhetoric“Jewish Cabal Plotting World Domination”Repeats a conspiracy claim that a Jewish group secretly controls others, attributed to speakers in the headline.Attacks or dehumanizes a person or a group because of who they are: their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.More neutral: a claim that AIPAC exerts outsized influenceThese are conspiracy theorists’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?

    CHICAGO—Mehdi Hasan, the fired MSNBC host who now runs the Loaded modifier“virulently anti-Israel”Intensifier that pre-judges the outlet’s stance before any evidence is cited.More neutral: critical of IsraelDisagree with this highlight? news startup Zeteo, presided Tuesday over a gathering focused on the Loaded modifier“malign influence”Adjective that assigns a harmful motive to AIPAC’s influence in the outlet’s own voice.More neutral: influenceDisagree with this highlight? of AIPAC—the pro-Israel American lobbying organization—which is being portrayed by a growing chorus of far-left …

    Read at Washington Free Beacon (opens in a new tab)

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

    Democracy Now!, Oct 22, 8:25 AM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    20 hr 35 min later

    Its first report, Oct 23, 5:00 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Democracy Now!Far LeftOct 22, 8:25 AM EDT
  2. TruthoutFar LeftOct 22, 3:00 PM EDT
  3. Washington Free BeaconFar RightOct 23, 5:00 AM EDT

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

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