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AllSides analyzed under-reported and omitted stories across the political spectrum this week. Here’s what you may have missed:
What Everyone Missed
Data Shows Steep Decline in LGB Youth
What’s The Story? The number of teens identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual steeply declined from 2023 to 2025, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The decline was largely among girls and amplified particularly among younger teens – 17- and 18-year-olds dropped from 18% to 16%, and 14- and 15-year-olds dropped from 17% to 11%
Image Credit: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, CDC
Why The Miss? Aside from the fact that no media outlet can objectively attribute the decline to one particular movement or cause, LGBTQ+ issues have not proved to be a critical issue for voters this election cycle. The economy, healthcare, and immigration are the top issues overall, according to US Polling Data.
A Gallup (Center bias) poll in May found a decline in US support for LGBTQ+ issues. A CNN (Lean Left) poll in September found concern for transgender issues as the lowest on voters’ lists when compared to issues such as the economy and artificial intelligence.
Image Credit: Anything Political
What The Right Missed
Black Woman Found Hanging Reignites Historical Trauma
What’s The Story? Mississippi police ruled the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old black woman, a homicide last month, after the mother of four was found hanging from a tree in early August. They also suspected the hanging may have been staged.
Police arrested Jarques Ratliff, 51, and Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, for potential involvement in Fortune’s death. Though both men are also black, the left highlighted the case as “a reminder of [the] nation’s lynching history.” Associated Press (Lean Left) noted, “More than 4,400 lynchings occurred in the US between Reconstruction and World War II, according to the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative.” The outlet emphasized, “Regardless of the circumstances of the case, for many Black people, the imagery of a rope and noose evokes the legacy of lynching and vigilante violence against Black people in the US and brings with it deep pain and trauma.”
RELATED: AllSides Analysis: How News Outlets Stylize “Black” and “White” in Coverage of Race | AllSides
Associated Press also criticized, “Over the past two years, about a half-dozen Black women and men have been found hanged across the South. Police in some of those cases quickly deemed them suicides – often eliciting historically grounded skepticism when investigators provide limited evidence ruling out foul play.”
An MS NOW (Left) opinion contended, “Nothing evokes racial terror in the South more than the body of a Black person hanging from a tree, and when officials call it suicide, widespread resistance from Black people is understandable, if not expected.”
Why The Miss? Fifty-nine congressmen – all Democrats – submitted a letter to the Justice Department (DOJ) on September 8, urging investigation of black hangings by enforcing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. They wrote, “We are extremely alarmed by reports of Black people found hanging from trees in numerous states throughout our country. The series of deaths raise significant suspicion of foul play given the role of lynching in our nation’s history. Therefore, we write to urgently demand a thorough, transparent, and comprehensive federal investigation into every hanging death of a Black individual across the United States.” The DOJ reportedly did not reply – a choice that may frame them negatively if highlighted by outlets on the right.
Pentagon Delays Report of Iranian Attack on Marines
What’s The Story? An Iranian cruise missile attack injured at least eight US Marines in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14, but the Pentagon did not announce the attack until about two weeks later. Mediaite (Lean Left) analyzed, “The report noted that the troops were not on a US Navy ship at the time of the strike, and it’s not known what kind of ship it was, nor the extent of the injuries for the service members, who eventually returned to duty… CENTCOM posted several videos and photos to social media on September 14-15, but no mention of an Iranian strike.”
Why The Miss? This story presented outlets on the left with an opportunity to criticize potential discrepancies and lack of transparency within the Trump administration.
What The Left Missed
DOJ Indicts Hamas Member Over Alleged Charity Fraud
What’s The Story? The DOJ indicted Saleem Alzaq, 45, in early October for fraudulently paying, soliciting, and collecting about $1.7 million for Hamas under the guise of obtaining humanitarian aid for his fellow Gazans. He faces a 65-year maximum prison sentence under four separate charges.
Why The Miss? The DOJ repeatedly framed Hamas as a terrorist organization and highlighted, “Alzaq is a [member of] Hamas’s armed wing responsible for planning and executing terrorist attacks.” It also reported that Alzaq “promot[ed] and celebrat[ed] Hamas’s October 7, 2023” attack on his social media.
RELATED: Three Years After Oct. 7, War Continues to Shape Global Debate | AllSides
Outlets from the left have often not dedicated coverage to the doings of the Trump DOJ, and support for the Palestinian cause is higher among those with left-wing views. CBS News (Lean Left) was a notable outlier.
RELATED: The Insight: Is CBS Becoming Right-wing? | AllSides
Christian Groups Sue Virginia State University, Allege Discrimination
What’s The Story? Two student groups filed a discrimination lawsuit against Virginia State University in late September, after a new policy removed student-led ministries of Christian groups as registered student organizations and national affiliations, specifically exempting the university’s Muslim Students Association and “Community Faith Alliance.” Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said, “VSU is brazenly singling out Christian clubs and treating them worse than student groups of other faiths.” She asserted, “The Constitution prohibits such blatant discrimination.”
Why The Miss? Despite the fact that the US Muslims are roughly split between the Democratic and Republican parties, they are more aligned with Democrats on issues most charging the 2026 Midterm Elections, such as federal spending and immigration, according to Pew Research Center (Center) data from 2025. This may incentivize the left to avoid covering stories that could paint Muslims unfavorably, especially because Muslims are a minority that voices on the left often equate with being more oppressed. The right, on the other hand, may be more incentivized to cover such stories amid the rise of more controversial Muslim lawmakers like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D).
Image Credit: Pew Research Center
Furthermore, ADF generally works cases through a more conservative lens and garners more affirmative coverage from the right, in contrast to the more liberal American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (Lean Left) that garners more affirmative coverage from the left.
Malayna J. Bizier is a News Analyst and Social Media Editor for AllSides. She has a Right bias.
This piece was reviewed and edited by Education Experience Manager and News Editor Emily Allen (Left) and Managing Editor Andy Gorel (Center).
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