Blindspot Report
Week of October 14-20
The weekly Blindspot Report from Ground News puts a spotlight on news that publications from one side of the political spectrum or the other had little to no reporting on.
If your politics lean right, you likely didn't hear that the Trump Administration refused California's request for disaster assistance for Creek Fire and other wildfires. And if your politics bend to the left, you probably didn’t hear that over 90% of political donations from Twitter and Facebook employees went to the Democrats this year.
This Week's Blindspots
Blindspot for the Left: Facebook, Twitter employees send over 90% of political donations to Democrats: report According to the Center for Responsive Politics' compilation of Federal Election Commission data, over 90% of political donations from Twitter and Facebook employees went to Democrats in 2020. Coverage Distribution: 0% Left Right 100%  
Blindspot for the Right: Justice Dept. Says Trump’s Denial of Rape Accusation Was an Official Act and he cannot be sued for it The writer E. Jean Carroll sued the president for defamation after he denied sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. Attorneys for the DOJ have said that addressing the claim was required for the President to show his fitness for office, meaning it was an official act. Coverage Distribution: 13% Right Left 60% 27% 13%  
Something we'd like to recommend this week again : Let's Unpack That At Ground News we encourage our readers to read the news from a different perspective. This week, we recommend you that listen to the news from a different perspective as well. Let’s Unpack That by Paul Warren features weekly shows where guests are interviewed to see how anxiety, depression, and mental health play a role in the way they process the world around them. 
Blindspot for the Left: US Judge Mulls Competency Of Mexican Man Who Shot American A federal judge in San Francisco is mulling the competency to stand trial of a Mexican man who shot and killed 32 year-old Kate Steinle, a shooting that figured prominently in President Donald Trump's run for the White House four years ago. Coverage Distribution: 0% Left Center 50% Right 50%  
Blindspot for the Right: Trump administration rejects California on disaster assistance for Creek Fire, before reversing decision The Trump administration has rejected a disaster declaration request over rampant wildfires that scorched California last month before reversing course and approving the aid. Coverage Distribution: 11% Right Left 55% Center 34% 11%  
Blindspot for the Right: China beats North American box office for the first time amid coronavirus shutdowns China has officially surpassed North America as the world’s largest box office earner due to the coronavirus pandemic keeping key U.S. markets out of the game. Coverage Distribution: 22% Right Left 56% 22%22%  
Blindspot for the Left: UAE delegation visits Israel to discuss agricultural, investment cooperation An Emirati delegation, led by Khadim Abdulla Aldarei, co-founder and the vice-chairman of Al Dahra Holding, has visited Israel upon an invitation from Netafim, one of Israel’s leading companies in the field of innovative irrigation solutions and advanced agriculture, under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel. Coverage Distribution: 7% Left 7%Center 29% Right 64%  
Split Reporting
Highlighting discrepancies between the reporting on stories across different news outlets. This week's story:
Trump abruptly ends '60 Minutes' interview
What do the different news outlets focus on when reporting on this story?
Business Insider:
President Trump
abruptly ended his '60 Minutes' interview
after 45 minutes and then tweeted about host
Lesley Stahl not wearing a mask
inside the White House
USA Today:
Donald Trump leaves contentious '60 Minute' interview with Lesley Stahl,
goes on Twitter attack
The Daily Caller:
Trump Cuts Off ’60 Minutes’ Interview With Lesley Stahl,
Threatens To Publish Footage Himself
BuzzFeed News:
Trump Revealed Why He Continues To Attack
The "Fake News" Media
NewsBusters:
60 Minutes:
‘Powerful,’ ‘Giant Slayer’ Pelosi
Is ‘Patron Saint of Shade’
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Methodology
Ground News processes over 30,000 news articles each day. Articles from different news outlets covering the same news event are merged into a single story so subscribers can get all the perspectives in one view. Each article is labeled one of seven bias ratings (Far Left, Left, Leans Left, Center, Leans Right, Right, Far Right) based on the average bias rating of the publishing news outlet. All news outlet bias ratings are originally sourced from three non-profit news monitoring agencies (AllSides, Media Bias Fact Check, Ad Fontes Media).
The Blindspot Report is generated by evaluating the mean and standard deviation of the aggregate bias ratings of the week's top 100 (most covered and most read) stories. News stories with the greatest mean score (many more Right outlets than Left or vice versa) or the highest standard deviation of bias ratings (more coverage on fringes than Center) are selected for the Report.
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