Cocaine overtakes heroin as the leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales for the first time
Cocaine has overtaken heroin as the most common substance in drug deaths in England and Wales for the first time, ONS figures show.
FL Far leftL LeftC CentreR RightFR Far right Bias scale, not party colours
Our outlet list is not evenly split: about 50% left-rated, 15% centre and 35% right-rated, so raw splits lean left by construction. Blindspots are tested against each side's own share. About our sample.
Left 0 · Centre-left 1 · Centre 2 · Centre-right 0 · Right 1
ContextSources by leanVideoDeep diveFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Right-leaning outlets
'Cocaine death map of England: The regions with the most victims, as party drug overtakes heroin as biggest Class A killer since records b...' (Daily Mail).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Cocaine overtakes heroin as leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales” (BBC News); “Cocaine-related deaths overtake heroin for first time in England and Wales” (Sky News).
Left-leaning outlets
'Cocaine overtakes heroin as leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales' (The Guardian).
Context
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Sources by lean
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R Right 1
C Centre 1
L Left 1
Showing 1 from each side of 4 rated outlets (L 1 / C 2 / R 1). Capped at 1 because that is all we found on the thinnest side. More coverage
Video
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Deep dive
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Try it: open one right and one left article in Sources by lean and note what each takes for granted.
Follow the money
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Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (4 outlets)
| Outlet | Lean | Ownership & funding (MBFC) |
|---|---|---|
| The Guardian | Centre-left | The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source |
| BBC News | Centre | The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source |
| Sky News | Centre | Sky News is owned by Comcast as of November 2018 and is funded through advertising. Rupert Murdoch is no longer affiliated with Sky News UK; however, Newscorp still has a share of Sky News Australia, which reports with a right-leaning bias. source |
| Daily Mail | Right | The Daily Mail is published by Associated Newspapers Limited, part of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT). DMGT is controlled by the Rothermere family and is 100% owned by Rothermere Continuation Limited. Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere, serves as Chairman..push({}); DMGT became privately owned after delisting from the London Stock Exchange in 2022. source |