We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
642 of its 750 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Kabul accounted for 404 of Afghanistan's 642 stories about harm, carried by 313 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (196 stories). Drought was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
549 of its 753 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Istanbul accounted for 376 of Türkiye's 549 stories about harm, carried by 338 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (465 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 20 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
38 of its 179 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Flu was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with respiratory illness. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
212 of its 366 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 102 of Bali's 106 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (74 stories).
325 of its 548 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Ramallah accounted for 307 of Palestine's 325 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories).
368 of its 654 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (180 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
50 of its 82 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
40 of its 107 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 19 of Lima's 31 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories).
170 of its 386 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (145 stories). Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
964 of its 2,000 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (183 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: hiv in Romania (103 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); extreme cold in Poland (24 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Iceland (18 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); extreme cold in Ireland (52 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Israel (59 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Feb. 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 31,677 stories about harm among 139,779 counted on 5 Feb.
Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about twice the usual rate. of the day's 139,779 news stories, 23 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. Romania's news mentioned HIV more than ten times as often as usual. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Australia. On 6 February 2016, a year earlier, the share was 24 in every 100, against 23 today. This week the news turned most often to Romania, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 4 of them.
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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