We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
Baghdad accounted for 181 of Iraq's 308 stories about harm, carried by 158 outlets. 157 of Baghdad's 181 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Outbreaks were named in 37 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
99 of its 130 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Zagreb accounted for 95 of Croatia's 99 stories about harm, carried by 128 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (93 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
180 of its 191 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Tirana accounted for 178 of Albania's 180 stories about harm, carried by 205 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (178 stories).
75 of its 100 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Skopje accounted for 54 of North Macedonia's 75 stories about harm, carried by 57 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (74 stories).
116 of its 128 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (98 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 93 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cholera. Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.
242 of its 348 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 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.
205 of its 386 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
99 of its 259 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (82 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
293 of its 787 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 42 of Mexico City's 65 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (5 stories).
122 of its 512 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). HIV was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Congo (93 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Italy (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Australia (297 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flooding in Peru (14 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flu in China (34 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 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 32,236 stories about harm among 144,009 counted on 12 Feb.
Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about Greece and Germany. Stories about people being harmed made up 22 in every 100 of the day's 144,009 stories, as usual. Mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual in Congo's news. For the second day running, the news turned to Iraq. A year earlier, on 13 February 2016, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 22 today.
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 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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