We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
220 of its 430 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. 70 of Caracas' 131 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
456 of its 824 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Tehran accounted for 374 of Iran's 456 stories about harm, carried by 308 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (277 stories).
393 of its 648 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (156 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
202 of its 459 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (78 stories). Storms were named in 40 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Kabul accounted for 303 of Afghanistan's 544 stories about harm, carried by 306 outlets. 233 of Kabul's 303 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
100 of Dhaka's 185 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Tropical storm was named in 38 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
306 of its 690 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Athens accounted for 218 of Greece's 306 stories about harm, carried by 215 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
558 of its 1,012 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Ramallah accounted for 440 of Palestine's 558 stories about harm, carried by 22 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (159 stories).
99 of its 282 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (43 stories).
43 of its 118 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (32 stories).
Also named far more than usual: ebola in Puerto Rico (46 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Netherlands (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in Switzerland (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tropical storm in Bangladesh (38 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); drought in Germany (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 May. 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 48,522 stories about harm among 250,364 counted on 16 May.
Puerto Rico's news mentioned Ebola more than ten times as often as usual. 19 in every 100 of the day's 250,364 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Venezuela, 51% of the news was about people being harmed, where 40% is usual.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 19 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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 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.