We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
939 of its 1,114 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Baghdad accounted for 659 of Iraq's 939 stories about harm, carried by 538 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (507 stories). Plague was named in 95 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 twice its own usual.
166 of its 189 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (30 stories). Tropical storm was named in 102 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
1,114 of its 2,298 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Kuala Lumpur accounted for 973 of Malaysia's 1,114 stories about harm, carried by 935 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (790 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
380 of its 804 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 103 of Dhaka's 183 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (127 stories). Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
729 of its 2,030 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (271 stories). Wildfires were named in 218 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with helicopter crash. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
466 of its 526 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 78%. Sanaa accounted for 302 of Yemen's 466 stories about harm, carried by 246 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 7 times the usual rate (181 stories). Its coverage was about 5 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
210 of its 257 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (114 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
719 of its 1,281 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (115 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
51 of its 55 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (51 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
31 of its 39 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 29 of Ouagadougou's 29 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories).
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in New Zealand (218 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Zimbabwe (43 of its stories, about three times its usual); bird flu in China (213 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); chikungunya in Tanzania (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in South Africa (69 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 61,335 stories about harm among 293,590 counted on 16 Feb.
Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about North Korea and the US. 21 in every 100 of the day's 293,590 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On the side of help, reports of vaccination ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Mozambique's news mentioned tropical storm about three times as often as usual. Iraq's news was 84% about people being harmed, against a usual 66%.
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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.