We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
279 of its 534 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Bangkok accounted for 228 of Thailand's 279 stories about harm, carried by 175 outlets. 127 of Bangkok's 228 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (129 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
2,307 of its 3,224 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Egyptair accounted for 2,243 of Egypt's 2,307 stories about harm, carried by 1,445 outlets. Plane crash was named in 513 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with drownings. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
845 of its 1,247 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (67 stories). Landslides were named in 213 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storm surge, heavy rain and drownings. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
226 of its 422 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Bern accounted for 205 of Switzerland's 226 stories about harm, carried by 215 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (202 stories).
140 of its 214 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Almaty accounted for 127 of Kazakhstan's 140 stories about harm, carried by 125 outlets. 125 of Almaty's 127 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (126 stories).
247 of its 611 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 74 of Seoul's 127 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (53 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
630 of its 1,902 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (18 stories). Ebola was named in 66 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flu and hurricane. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
698 of its 936 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Baghdad accounted for 497 of Iraq's 698 stories about harm, carried by 384 outlets. 420 of Baghdad's 497 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
63 of its 92 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (57 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
35 of its 57 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: avalanche in Nepal (178 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in North Macedonia (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Philippines (92 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hepatitis in China (70 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Brazil (18 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 37,923 stories about harm among 173,834 counted on 21 May.
On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Nepal's news mentioned the avalanche about 4 times as often as usual. Thailand's news was 52% about people being harmed, against a usual 26%. of the day's 173,834 news stories, 22 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 20.
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 harsher 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?
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