We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
127 of its 148 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. la Paz accounted for 93 of Bolivia's 127 stories about harm, carried by 111 outlets. 92 of la Paz's 93 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (76 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
865 of its 1,173 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Dhaka accounted for 770 of Bangladesh's 865 stories about harm, carried by 740 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (735 stories). Road crashes were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
1,559 of its 2,418 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Amatrice accounted for 1,272 of Italy's 1,559 stories about harm, carried by 1,047 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
171 of its 290 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (123 stories). Landslides were named in 27 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
123 of its 128 stories (96%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Asuncion accounted for 112 of Paraguay's 123 stories about harm, carried by 118 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (40 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
66 of its 96 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 65 of Chisinau's 66 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (62 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
376 of its 717 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. 256 of Harare's 320 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
1,216 of its 1,447 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 76%. 342 of Aleppo's 508 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (322 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
218 of its 232 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Tamatam Island accounted for 196 of Micronesia's 218 stories about harm, carried by 371 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (217 stories).
80 of its 137 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (79 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: bird flu in Togo (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Chad (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Philippines (98 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Cuba (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); chikungunya in Puerto Rico (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 27 Aug. 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 40,896 stories about harm among 170,420 counted on 27 Aug.
Mentions of bird flu ran more than ten times their usual in Togo's news. For the second day running, the news turned to Bolivia. Bolivia stood out: 86% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 53%. 24 in every 100 of the day's 170,420 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 22.
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 about as 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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