We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
462 of its 793 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Brussels accounted for 426 of Belgium's 462 stories about harm, carried by 447 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
239 of its 357 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (19 stories). Storm surge was named in 68 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with landslides. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
870 of its 1,341 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Bangkok accounted for 780 of Thailand's 870 stories about harm, carried by 490 outlets. 744 of Bangkok's 780 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 stories).
129 of its 186 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Tbilisi accounted for 127 of Georgia's 129 stories about harm, carried by 108 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (29 stories).
400 of its 558 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Addis Ababa accounted for 236 of Ethiopia's 400 stories about harm, carried by 193 outlets. 219 of Addis Ababa's 236 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
1,588 of its 1,858 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. les Cayes accounted for 804 of Haiti's 1,588 stories about harm, carried by 729 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (61 stories).
535 of its 1,707 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (393 stories). Outbreaks were named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with overdoses.
232 of its 749 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 87 of Warsaw's 98 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (77 stories).
81 of its 110 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (61 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (42 stories). Poisoning was named in 87 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with drownings. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: typhoon in South Korea (130 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Japan (87 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Sri Lanka (20 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); cyclone in New Zealand (43 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Indonesia (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Oct. 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 60,897 stories about harm among 291,202 counted on 5 Oct.
Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate, most often about the US and Haiti. of the day's 291,202 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Belgium stood out: 58% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 17%. Mentions of the typhoon ran more than ten times their usual in South Korea's news.
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?
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