Full coverage
WashPost Loon Kennicott: Smithsonian Is Nonpartisan, & Osama bin Laden Won Post-9/11
By Extra Extra Editorial
Cross-spectrum analysis, synthesized with AI from 6 sources · Updated
A Washington Post opinion piece by Philip Kennicott arguing that the Smithsonian maintains nonpartisan standards has sparked divergent media reactions centered on claims about post-9/11 geopolitical outcomes. Left-leaning outlets frame the commentary as a serious analysis of how U.S. foreign policy objectives may have inadvertently benefited adversaries, while right-leaning sources characterize the same argument as inflammatory rhetoric that inappropriately credits terrorist organizations with strategic victories. The disagreement reflects broader tensions over how to discuss American military interventions and their long-term consequences.
Left-leaning outlets treat the commentary as a substantive examination of unintended consequences from post-9/11 military actions, presenting it as a serious geopolitical assessment rather than inflammatory language. These sources appear to engage with the underlying argument about strategic outcomes without dismissing the premise as inherently offensive.
Right-leaning outlets frame the same commentary as reckless rhetoric that grants undeserved credibility to terrorist narratives and undermines American resolve. This perspective emphasizes the inflammatory nature of the language and questions the judgment of major institutions like the Washington Post for platforming such arguments.
Key Differences
- Left sources engage substantively with geopolitical analysis; right sources focus on rhetorical irresponsibility and institutional judgment
- Right-leaning coverage emphasizes the inflammatory framing as the primary problem; left-leaning coverage treats the underlying policy question as legitimate
- Right outlets invoke concerns about terrorist propaganda and American credibility; left outlets frame the discussion as accountability for foreign policy outcomes
How this story is being covered
Extra Extra has grouped 6 reports on this story from 6 news outlets across the political spectrum. By political lean, that breaks down as 2 left-leaning and 4 right-leaning sources.
Its coverage-diversity score of 58 out of 100 means the story is being reported across multiple parts of the spectrum, though the volume leans toward one side. Interestingly, the story is being covered on the left and the right but not by the centrist outlets we track — a sign it may be more polarizing than consensus-driven.
On reliability, 2 of the 6 rated outlets carry a high or mostly-factual reliability rating (A or B) and 4 outlets fall into our mixed or lower-reliability tier (C or D). Ratings are drawn from independent assessments and are meant to help you weigh each report, not to tell you which to trust.
This story has been covered over the span of about 6 days, making it a longer-running thread rather than a single news flash.
Below, the same story is laid out side by side as left, center, and right outlets reported it. Read across the columns and watch what changes: the headline emphasis, which facts lead, the adjectives, and what each side leaves out. The story itself rarely changes — the framing almost always does.
Outlets covering this story: The Intercept, Common Dreams, NewsBusters, Commentary, Daily Wire, Daily Mail.
Left(2)
The InterceptBSep 11, 10:00 AM
Osama Bin Laden Won
The architect of the September 11 attacks dreamed of the destruction of America. In the last 25 years, his wish has come true. The post Osama Bin Laden Won appeared first on The Intercept.
Common DreamsCSep 15, 6:11 AM
A Certain Weeping: Beyond Bin Laden’s Wildest Dreams
Along with grief and loss, the anniversary of 9/11 brought home for many the "incalculable cost" of the quarter century of carnage it unleashed - the militarizing "beyond all sanity," the othering of
Center(0)
Right(4)
NewsBustersDSep 16, 8:32 PM
WashPost Loon Kennicott: Smithsonian Is Nonpartisan, & Osama bin Laden Won Post-9/11
WashPost Loon Kennicott: Smithsonian Is Nonpartisan, & Osama bin Laden Won Post-9/11 Screenshot via CBS/Snapstream In two columns last week, longtime Washing
CommentaryBSep 11, 7:22 PM
Bin Laden’s Heirs
Legitimizing terrorists is a betrayal of the victims of 9/11. View Post
Daily WireCSep 17, 4:00 AM
Mehdi Hasan’s Terrorist Apologetics Echo Osama Bin Laden
A decade and a half after his death, Osama bin Laden can still count on moronic, morally deranged progressives to parrot his propaganda. After 9/11, al-Qaeda worked tirelessly to co-opt self-hating le
Daily MailDSep 17, 8:42 AM
Osama bin Laden's eldest son 'FAKED his death in 2019 with the help of mafia clan dubbed the Sopranos of Afghanistan - and is plotting to attack the West'
Osama bin Laden's eldest son faked his death in 2019 with the help of al-Qaeda and a ruthless mafia clan dubbed 'the Sopranos of Afghanistan', according to a new intelligence assessment.
Get this analysis in your inbox
The Daily Spectrum: one email, three perspectives on the day's biggest stories.
Free forever. Unsubscribe anytime. No spam.
New to comparing coverage? Start with our guides to reading the news critically.
Back to Compare