CenterHigh
WMUR Hearst WLKY32 (Louisville)News report · Jul 1, 9:39 PM
2 people arrested after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
← Today's headlines
27 sources checked · Left, Center, and Right included · 1h ago
Different Spin
2 people arrested after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
5 Left20 Center2 Right
DIFFERENT SPIN
HOW EACH SIDE WORDED IT
Left-leaningCenter-leftEmpire State Building climbers engaged and under arrest
CBS News - USMostly Factual
buildingclimbersengaged
Right-leaningNetflix Daredevil Couple Arrested After Empire State Climb
The Epoch TimesMixed
netflixdaredevilcouple
Center baseline · 
WMUR Hearst WLKY32 (Louisville)High2 people arrested after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
As of July 2, 2026 at 12:38 AM, this is how Optics News reads the wording differences in this story.
What happened Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
The headline split The left frames it as "Empire State Building climbers engaged and under arrest". The right frames it as "Netflix Daredevil Couple Arrested After Empire State Climb".
Match confidence High confidence. 27 sources checked, Left/Center/Right all represented. Best read as a clear framing signal — not a fact-check.
Same-event confidenceHigh
27 sources across Left, Center, and Right all describe the same event.
Framing confidenceStrong
82/99 — headlines create a clearly different first impression.
WHAT EACH SIDE EMPHASIZED
Left / center-leftEmpire State Building climbers engaged and under arrest
CBS News - US · Center-left · News report
Center2 people arrested after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
WMUR Hearst WLKY32 (Louisville) · Center · News report
Right / center-rightNetflix Daredevil Couple Arrested After Empire State Climb
The Epoch Times · Right · News report
SEE THE HEADLINES
Open source
CenterMostly Factual
The Post-Standard (Syracuse)News report · Jul 2, 12:38 AM
Videos: Couple scales Empire State Building antenna for apparent marriage proposal
The two people unfurled a banner with a quote about the "power of love"
CenterMostly Factual
ABC7 New YorkNews report · Jul 2, 12:28 AM
How daredevil climbers got onto Empire State Building spire
The NYPD believes the duo who climbed the Empire State Building Wednesday entered through a locked maintenance hatch on the 102nd floor observation deck.
CenterHigh
KCRA3 Sacramento (Hearst)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
WISN12 Milwaukee (Hearst)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
WLWT Cincinnati (Hearst)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
Show all 27 sources
CenterHigh
WXII12 (Hearst, Greensboro)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
WYFF4 (Hearst, Greenville)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
WMTW8 (Hearst, Portland ME)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
KMBC9 (Hearst, Kansas City)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
WGAL Susquehanna / KOAT7 (Hearst, Albuquerque)News report · Jul 2, 12:12 AM
2 people in police custody after flying banner at top of Empire State Building
Two people waving a banner were seen at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City Wednesday.
CenterHigh
The Times of IndiaNews report · Jul 2, 12:07 AM
Empire State Building climb: Couple arrested after proposal atop NYC's skyscraper - video
A daring stunt saw two individuals scale the Empire State Building without safety gear, unfurling a peace banner and reportedly getting engaged at the summit. Ivan Kuznetsov and Angelina Ni...
CenterHigh
Channel NewsAsiaNews report · Jul 2, 12:07 AM
Climber couple arrested after scaling Empire State Building antenna for apparent marriage proposal
The Russian climbers, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story” about their “rooftopping” exploits and budding r...
Center-leftMostly Factual
CBS News - USNews report · Jul 1, 11:26 PM
Empire State Building climbers engaged and under arrest
buildingclimbersengagedarrest
Two people in black masks scaled the Empire State Building, scrambling the New York City Police Department. They call themselves "roof-toppers," or stunt climbers, and they unfurled a banne...
Center-leftHigh
The Guardian USNews report · Jul 1, 11:05 PM
Two people arrested in apparent marriage proposal atop Empire State Building
Pair also unfurled a large black banner displaying a message of peace on top of New York landmark Two people were arrested following an apparent marriage proposal atop the Empire State Buil...
CenterMostly Factual
Al Jazeera EnglishNews report · Jul 1, 11:03 PM
Couple arrested after daring Empire State marriage proposal stunt
Russian daredevils Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau are seen as ambassadors for 'rooftopping', a climbing sport.
Center-leftHigh
WNYCNews report · Jul 1, 10:57 PM
Two people arrested after climbing Empire State Building with banner, NYPD says
A helicopter flies nearby as two people climb on the spire of the Empire State Building in New York on July 1, 2026. Two people climbed to the top of the Empire State Building on July 1 and...
RightMixed
The Epoch TimesNews report · Jul 1, 10:55 PM
Netflix Daredevil Couple Arrested After Empire State Climb
netflixdaredevilcouplearrestedafter
A couple who starred in a Netflix documentary about climbing skyscrapers were arrested after climbing the Empire State Building.
Center-leftHigh
Globe and MailNews report · Jul 1, 10:43 PM
Couple climb New York’s Empire State Building for apparent marriage proposal
Russian climbers arrested after unfurling banner about ‘the power of love’
CenterHigh
France24 AmericasNews report · Jul 1, 10:39 PM
Two arrested after climbing Empire State Building antenna for marriage proposal
Two people climbed the antenna of New York's Empire State Building on Wednesday, unfurled a banner promoting “the power of love” and appeared to stage a marriage proposal before being arres...
CenterHigh
BBC News - US & CanadaNews report · Jul 1, 10:34 PM
Daredevil climbers apparently got engaged after scaling needle of Empire State Building
But the Russian couple were swiftly taken into custody by NYPD for the hair-raising stunt.
CenterMostly Factual
News Channel 4 (KFOR.com)News report · Jul 1, 10:31 PM
'What's all the hoopla?': Air traffic controllers, NYPD react to climbers on Empire State Building
'What's all the hoopla?': Air traffic controllers, NYPD react to climbers on Empire State Building
CenterHigh
The Sydney Morning HeraldNews report · Jul 1, 10:30 PM
Two arrested after climbing to the top of Empire State Building
Two Russian daredevils have been arrested after climbing to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City.
Center-leftMostly Factual
The Age (Australia)News report · Jul 1, 10:30 PM
Two arrested after climbing to the top of Empire State Building
Two Russian daredevils have been arrested after climbing to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City.
RightMixed
The BlazeNews report · Jul 1, 10:05 PM
Masked daredevil couple climb to top of Empire State Building to unfurl banner with message
New York City residents were surprised to find two masked people climbing the Empire State Building just after noon on Wednesday. The New York Police Department confirmed via social media t...
CenterHigh
WPIX PIX11 (Nexstar, New York)News report · Jul 1, 9:41 PM
NYPD bodycam footage of Empire State Building stunt
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The NYPD is usually known as "New York's Finest," but two Emergency Service officers may snag the title of "New York's Bravest" from the FDNY after this high-rise exchang...
CenterHigh
Vanguard (Nigeria)News report · Jul 1, 9:38 PM
Lovers arrested after climbing to top of Empire State Building for proposal
Two people were arrested on Wednesday after climbing to the top of the antenna of the Empire State Building in New York, where they unfurled a banner carrying a message about love and peace...
Details82/99 Wording Gap · High confidence · 27 sources
82/99 Wording GapHigh confidence27 sources · 3 bias bucketsStable · 27 sources · all three buckets · comparable news formatFormats: News report
SOURCE MAP CHANGES
Jul 1, 9:38 PM: Vanguard (Nigeria) joined the source map.
Jul 1, 9:39 PM: WMUR Hearst WLKY32 (Louisville) joined the source map.
Jul 1, 9:41 PM: WPIX PIX11 (Nexstar, New York) joined the source map.
Jul 1, 10:05 PM: The Blaze joined the source map.
Now: Wording Gap is 82/99 and story health is stable · 27 sources · all three buckets · comparable news format.