Last Week In The News
Dec 15-22; Top topics across the left, center, & right: 1. Argentina beats France, 2. Fed slows interest rate hikes, 3. US sending patriot missiles to Ukraine, 4. Migrant surges, policies, and rights
Media splits our perceptions of the universe
The chart below measures front-page coverage on various topics from two popular outlets on the left and right, MSNBC and Fox News. Catch up on the discussion on Reddit here.
The following report is a quick way to read all of the mainstream news (left, center, & right, domestic & international) efficiently with a bias map - here’s the legend. The rankings and categorizations are entirely algorithmic - here’s how it works. We scrape all front-page stories and use AI to triangulate every side’s perspective. The format has been simplified for readability, based on all your feedback.
Top 5 Topics of the Past Week
Top news stories/topics over the last week with the most attention across the Left, Center, and Right
1. Argentina Won World Cup In Thrilling Penalty Shootout Against France
Topic Rank: Left #1 Right #35 International #1
Topic Maturity: 🐣 (Trending over the last 4 weeks)
2. Federal Reserve Has Announced Slower Pace Of Interest Rate Hikes, As Inflation Has Cooled
Topic Rank: Left #18 Right #45 International #2
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 3 months)
🟦 Left Headlines
The New York Times: Federal Reserve Slows Rate Increase, but Signals More to Come
NBC News: Federal Reserve announces slower pace of interest rate hikes as inflation cools
🟨 Center Headlines
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Consumer Data
🟥 Right Headlines
Fox News: Larry Kudlow: This took the market by surprise
3. United States Is Sending Patriot Missiles To Ukraine In Response To Russia's Aggression In Region
Topic Rank: Left #2 Right #6 International #3
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 3 months)
🟦 Left Headlines
Washington Post: Ukraine’s combat amputees face a hard road home
The New York Times: Ukrainians Focus on Resilience a Day After Major Russian Strikes
🟨 Center Headlines
🌍 Reuters: Exploding grenade launcher a gift from Ukraine, Polish police chief says
🌍 BBC: Putin meets generals as missiles pound Ukraine
🟥 Right Headlines
Washington Times: Russia says U.S. risks ‘consequences’ if Ukraine given Patriot defense system
Fox News: American teacher remains in Russian prison on medical marijuana charge
4. California's Response To Surge In Migrants, Warnings From Immigrant Rights Activists, And Supreme Court's Decision On Border Policy
Topic Rank: Left #11 Right #1 International #25
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 2 months)
🟦 Left Headlines
Washington Post: U.S. appeals court ruling means border expulsions on track to end Dec. 2
🟥 Right Headlines
Washington Times: Immigrant rights activists warn Biden not to act like Trump as a new border surge approaches
5. FTX Crypto Exchange Collapse Is Being Investigated For Possible Criminal Fraud, With Prosecutors Looking Into Whether FTX Executives And Influencers Engaged In Pump-and-dump Scheme
Topic Rank: Left #23 Right #3 International #4
Topic Maturity: 🐣 (Trending over the last 5 weeks)
🟨 Center Headlines
The Wall Street Journal: Ex-CEO of Alameda Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges
🌍 Reuters: FTX's Bankman-Fried consents to extradition, to head to Bahamas airport Wednesday evening
🟥 Right Headlines
Washington Times: House members on the hot seat: Pro-crypto congressmen face fresh scrutiny amid FTX collapse
Washington Examiner: Prosecutors in touch with Dem, GOP campaigns over FTX-tied donations
Left Ignore 🟦🙈
The right and center is putting serious attention on this topic and the left isn’t which suggests the left is attempting to minimize this topic
1. FTX Crypto Exchange Collapse Is Being Investigated For Possible Criminal Fraud, With Prosecutors Looking Into Whether FTX Executives And Influencers Engaged In Pump-and-dump Scheme
Topic Rank: Left #23 Right #3 International #4
Topic Maturity: 🐣 (Trending over the last 5 weeks)
2. Various Efforts To Ban TikTok, Chinese-owned Social Media App, Due To Concerns About Its National Security Implications
Topic Rank: Left #57 Right #28 International #21
Topic Maturity: 🥚 (Trending over the last 2 weeks)
Relevant Articles: (1) (2) (3) (4)
🟨 Center Headlines
The Wall Street Journal: TikTok’s Efforts to Cut Ties With Chinese Parent Stumble Over Talent
🌍 Reuters: TikTok bans hit more U.S. states; security firm says most access blocked globally
🟥 Right Headlines
Washington Times: Jordan temporarily bans TikTok, after police officer killed in violent protests
Fox News: Lawmakers sound alarm on TikTok's national security threat
Left Obsess 🟦👁
The left is putting serious attention on this topic compared to the right and center, indicating that the left is magnifying this topic
1. Tornadoes And Storms Across Southern United States
Topic Rank: Left #8 Right #53 International #36
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 3 months)
Relevant Articles: (1) (2) (3)
🟦 Left Headlines
CNN: Severe weather system leaves trail of destruction in the South
Washington Post: ‘Space hurricanes’ swirling over the Earth surprise scientists
2. January 6 Commission Will Be Releasing Its Final Report Soon, Which Will Include New Details About Events Of Day And Recommendations For Preventing Future Attacks
Topic Rank: Left #7 Right #55 International #N/A
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 2 months)
Relevant Articles: (1) (2) (3) (4)
🟦 Left Headlines
CNN: What to watch for during the January 6 committee's final session
MSNBC: Everything we know about the Jan. 6 committee's final public meeting, report
Right Ignore 🟥🙈
The left and center is putting serious attention on this topic and the right isn’t which suggests the right is attempting to minimize this topic
1. Argentina Won World Cup In Thrilling Penalty Shootout Against France
Topic Rank: Left #1 Right #35 International #1
2. China's Response To Covid Pandemic Has Been Inadequate, And This Could Have Global Consequences
Topic Rank: Left #20 Right #57 International #6
Topic Maturity: 🐣 (Trending over the last 4 weeks)
🟦 Left Headlines
The New York Times: From Zero Covid to No Plan: Behind China’s Pandemic U-Turn
NBC News: U.S. should've spied on Chinese health officials who were hiding what they knew about Covid, Congress says
🟨 Center Headlines
🌍 BBC: Shanghai schools to shut as Covid cases spread
🌍 Reuters: China Covid ills go from bad to chronically worse
3. Ongoing Protests In Peru, Which Have Stranded Tourists In Machu Picchu, And Arrest Of Former President Alan García
Topic Rank: Left #19 Right #63 International #10
Topic Maturity: 🐣 (Trending over the last 4 weeks)
🟦 Left Headlines
CNN: Tourists from around the world are stranded in Machu Picchu
Washington Post: Protesters in Peru refuse to back down as political crisis deepens
🟨 Center Headlines
🌍 Reuters: Peru's 'forgotten people' rage against political elite after Castillo arrest
Right Obsess 🟥👁
The right is putting serious attention on this topic compared to the left and center, indicating that the right is magnifying this topic
1. California's Response To Surge In Migrants, Warnings From Immigrant Rights Activists, And Supreme Court's Decision On Border Policy
Topic Rank: Left #11 Right #1 International #25
2. Students Are Demanding Better Treatment, Colleges Are Restricting Free Speech, And Teacher Is Accused Of Sexual Misconduct
Topic Rank: Left #22 Right #2 International #22
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 2 months)
3. Americans' Opinions Of Biden, His First Month As President, And Whether Or Not He Should Run For Reelection In
Topic Rank: Left #29 Right #5 International #N/A
Topic Maturity: 🐔 (Trending over the last 3 months)
🟥 Right Headlines
Fox News: Biden taps descendant of America's political royalty for special envoy role
The Blaze: Biden was annoyed with Kamala Harris, called her a 'work in progress' in his first month, according to new book
4. Twitter Files Show FBI Was Working With Democratic Party And Media To Influence Outcome Of Election
Topic Rank: Left #N/A Right #4 International #N/A
Topic Maturity: 🥚 (Trending over the last 7 days)
🟥 Right Headlines
Washington Examiner: 'Twitter Files' show FBI needs housecleaning
Washington Times: ‘Twitter Files’ show FBI offered executives top secret info to guide 2020 election censorship
In Top Down News, we unify and compare a multitude of mainstream perspectives that capture the majority of America’s political readership to approximate the truth. This entire newsletter is composed using a transparent and ever-improving methodology. Read how this works here. Dive deeper into the analysis for this post here, powered by AI-based Natural Language Understanding and D3-based Dynamic visualizations.