In A Nutshell
Pelosi <> Taiwan <> China
This topic was the source of the banner headlines across mainstream media. The coverage spiked on two days:
1: August 2nd, the day that Pelosi visited Taiwan
[WSJ] Pelosi visited Taiwan to support democracy in the face of increasing threats from mainland China. Pelosi is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years
[Fox News] Biden showed weakness on Pelosi’s Taiwan visit: McCarthy
[Washington Examiner] China severs ties with US on key issues as fury mounts over Pelosi Taiwan trip
2: August 5th, the second day China ran military drills to simulate an attack on Taiwan
[Fox News] China is the number one issue: Lieutenant colonel
[Washington Post] China expands military drills, escalates threats against Taiwan
[NBC News] China was furious at Pelosi's Taiwan visit, but its response leaves some wondering how far Xi is willing to go. China had warned for weeks against the visit by Pelosi, D-Calif., saying it violated the “one-China policy,” under which the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China and has unofficial relations with self-governing Taiwan.
[NBC News] During the last Taiwan crisis, China's military was outmatched by U.S. forces. Not now.
Stories you may have missed
By comparing each news source to the rest of mainstream media to find what’s outside their bubble, we found the following missed stories:
If you mostly read CNN, these stories were emphasized by other mainstream outlets that CNN did not rank high on their feeds:
If you mostly read Fox News, these stories were emphasized by other mainstream outlets that Fox News did not rank high on their feeds:
If you mostly read the New York Times, these stories were emphasized by other mainstream outlets that New York Times did not rank high on their feeds:
Head to Head
How do two news sources compare in terms of topic coverage?
CNN vs Fox News
From a 2020 Pew Report, 60% of Republicans turn to Fox News for political news and 53% of Democrats turn to CNN. By comparing what CNN and Fox is focused on, we can get a current top-down view of the partisan divide in the US over the past week.
CNN is more focused on the Trump Investigation, Alex Jones Trial, and Kansas Abortion Rights Vote
Alex Jones to Pay Sandy Hook: A jury finds Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim.
DOJ Probe Trump’s Lawyers: DOJ talks with Trump lawyers mark a grave moment for the ex-President
Kansas Abortion Rights: ‘Kansas will not be our last fight’: Abortion rights victory gives Democrats new hope for midterms
Fox News is more focused on Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit, A Democrat switch to the GOP, and The Brittney Griner Swap
Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit: Democrats confronted over Nancy's Taiwan trip after stoking war tensions
Democrats Switches to GOP: Dem switches to GOP after 34 years, says party 'abandoned' its voters. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, more than 39,000 Democrats have switched their party registration in 2022. In contrast, only around 12,000 voters have switched to the Democratic Party from the GOP.
Brittney Griner Swap: Biden's prisoner swap with Russia is 'best of two bad options': Former CIA station chief. The deal proposes swapping Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan.
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. As always, all the data and visualizations are available on Observable - dive deeper, and please call out the issues you’ll see so we can improve our algorithms to present you with the best data possible.