We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
250 of its 839 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 74 of Sao Paulo's 83 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (29 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
171 of its 307 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (30 stories). Tropical storm was named in 73 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with cyclone. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
286 of its 665 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (157 stories). Hunger was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
152 of its 250 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Addis Ababa accounted for 97 of Ethiopia's 152 stories about harm, carried by 84 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (90 stories).
447 of its 940 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Ramallah accounted for 403 of Palestine's 447 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Road crashes were named in 118 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain.
Aleppo accounted for 3,947 of Syria's 4,412 stories about harm, carried by 1,693 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (531 stories). Extreme cold was named in 112 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms and train derailment. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
328 of its 428 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (71 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
472 of its 943 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
117 of its 169 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
727 of its 2,487 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (129 stories). Rabies was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Fiji (28 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Palestine (118 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Nigeria (181 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); plane crash in Pakistan (105 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); power cuts in Ukraine (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 14 Dec. 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 56,097 stories about harm among 274,911 counted on 14 Dec.
On the side of help, reports of peace efforts ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 274,911 stories, as usual. Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and Greece. In Brazil, 30% of the news was about people being harmed, where 16% 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 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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