We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
387 of its 437 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Bamako accounted for 192 of Mali's 387 stories about harm, carried by 154 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (79 stories). Plane crash was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
448 of its 599 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Kathmandu accounted for 264 of Nepal's 448 stories about harm, carried by 161 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (69 stories).
55 of its 111 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
35 of its 91 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. 12 of Riga's 21 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (28 stories).
148 of its 210 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Guatemala City accounted for 120 of Guatemala's 148 stories about harm, carried by 79 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (96 stories).
717 of its 1,488 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (450 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
36 of its 91 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (25 stories). Drought was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
40 of its 52 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (14 stories). Meningitis was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
490 of its 656 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (241 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
266 of its 898 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (66 stories). Train derailment was named in 63 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: drought in Madagascar (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Samoa (19 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); avalanche in Mozambique (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in South Korea (63 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in Singapore (37 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 22 Apr. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 55,637 stories about harm among 283,482 counted on 22 Apr.
Madagascar's news mentioned the drought more than ten times as often as usual. 20 in every 100 of the day's 283,482 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 21. In Mali, 89% of the news was about people being harmed, where 56% is usual.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.
Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
The words in the day's stories were much softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.