Deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing Liberia landing
Six individuals deported by the US were rerouted to a third country after resisting disembarkation in Liberia.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
A plane carrying the deportees from the United States arrives at the Roberts International Airport outside of Monrovia, Liberia, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Wiaplah)
Photograph: Associated Press News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Six individuals deported by the United States resisted disembarking in Liberia and were instead sent to Equatorial Guinea.
- The group comprised four Cuban men, a Brazilian man, and a Cameroonian woman.
- A deportee stated the group refused to land in Liberia because it was not their country and they feared danger.
- Lawyers reported some deportees arrived in chains and extreme distress, including one with a colostomy bag.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 41 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
20/100
41 sources · methodology
Six people deported by the United States to Liberia last week resisted getting off the plane. Instead, they were sent to Equatorial Guinea, another African nation that has a deportation agreement with the US. The group included four Cuban men, a Brazilian man, and a Cameroonian woman. A Honduran deportee on the flight stated that the group refused to disembark because Liberia was not their country and they feared danger there. They were then separated from the other passengers.
Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, said the deportees were told they would be returned to the United States but were flown to Malabo city in Equatorial Guinea. Yoon described the arrival as a "heartbreaking and chaotic scene." She reported that some individuals arrived in chains and in extreme distress, including the Cameroonian woman who has a large abdominal growth and uses a colostomy bag. There is no medical staff at the hotel in Equatorial Guinea where these six are being held with approximately 40 other deported migrants. Yoon stated that conditions at the hotel have worsened, with food sometimes withheld and guards accused of mistreatment.
Disagreement on deportee numbers
The Associated Press and Washington Top News reported the group consisted of six people. However, Newser reported the group consisted of five men, identifying them as four Cubans, a Brazilian, and a Cameroonian.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated, centre-rated, or right-rated reports below mention the specific cost estimate of $7.5 million that Equatorial Guinea has a deal with the Trump administration for to house deported asylum seekers.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 25 Aug 2026, 01:16, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
9 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports highlighted the circumstances of the deportees' arrival in Equatorial Guinea, including descriptions of distress and the use of chains. They noted the existence of "often secret agreements" under which the Trump administration has deported thousands to countries that are not their own, with lawyers suggesting this practice is a loophole to return asylum seekers to countries they fled. The reports also mentioned the $7.5 million deal between the Trump administration and Equatorial Guinea to house deported asylum seekers, with the hotel described as a "prison for asylum seekers."
Centre
31 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the fact that the deportees were sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing to land in Liberia. Many of these reports noted that the deportees face poor conditions in Equatorial Guinea. They also mentioned the third-country deportation agreement with the Trump administration. The composition of the group, including four Cuban men, a Brazilian man, and a Cameroonian woman, was also frequently stated.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The single right-rated report mentioned that six people deported by the U.S. to Liberia last week resisted getting off the plane and were instead sent to Equatorial Guinea. It noted that this was according to a person on the plane and a lawyer. The report also stated that under "often secret agreements, the Trump administration has..."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing Liberia landing?
- Of the 41 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 22% are rated left, 76% are rated centre, 2% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing Liberia landing left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 76% of the 41 rated outlets on it are rated centre — so far this is a story carried mostly by the centre. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.
- Is the coverage of Deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing Liberia landing biased?
- Deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing Liberia landing is one event reported by 41 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea after refusing Liberia landing?
- 41 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why did the deportees refuse to get off the plane in Liberia?
- A deportee stated that the group refused to disembark in Liberia because it was not their country and they feared they would face danger there. They were subsequently separated from other passengers on the flight.
- What were the conditions like for the deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea?
- Meredyth Yoon described the arrival as chaotic and heartbreaking. She reported that some deportees arrived in chains and extreme distress, with one individual using a colostomy bag. Conditions at the hotel where they are held have reportedly worsened, with withheld food and accusations of mistreatment by guards.
- What is the agreement between the US and Equatorial Guinea regarding deportations?
- Equatorial Guinea has a deal with the Trump administration, reportedly worth $7.5 million, to house deported asylum seekers. The country's president has allegedly turned a family-owned hotel into a facility for these individuals.
Read it at the source
41 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
9- Deportees who refused to exit a U.S. flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Los Angeles Times in a new tab)
Los Angeles Times — is Los Angeles Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Goshen News in a new tab)
Goshen News — is Goshen News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens The Seattle Times in a new tab)
The Seattle Times — is The Seattle Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Associated Press News in a new tab)
Associated Press News — is Associated Press News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WellandTribune.ca in a new tab)
WellandTribune.ca — is WellandTribune.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
31- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Jamaica Gleaner in a new tab)
Jamaica Gleaner — is Jamaica Gleaner biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens My Mother Lode in a new tab)
My Mother Lode — is My Mother Lode biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens MOR-TV in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KHBS in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WJCL in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KSBW in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WXII in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WGAL in a new tab)
Show 23 more
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WPBF in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WAPT in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KOAT in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WVTM in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WMTW in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WBAL-TV in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WPTZ in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KMBC in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KETV in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WISN in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KCCI in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WTAE in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WDSU in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WYFF in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WESH in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Koco News5 in a new tab)
Koco News5 — is Koco News5 biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WLKY in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WMUR in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WLWT in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens WCVB in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens KCRA 3 in a new tab)
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Washington Top News in a new tab)
Washington Top News — is Washington Top News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Deportees who refused to exit a US flight in Liberia are sent to Equatorial Guinea (opens Ottumwa Courier in a new tab)
Ottumwa Courier — is Ottumwa Courier biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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