We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
376 of its 437 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Bogota accounted for 283 of Colombia's 376 stories about harm, carried by 205 outlets. 272 of Bogota's 283 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (90 stories).
433 of its 612 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Cairo accounted for 340 of Egypt's 433 stories about harm, carried by 328 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (220 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
1,046 of its 1,630 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Kuala Lumpur accounted for 956 of Malaysia's 1,046 stories about harm, carried by 729 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (590 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
220 of its 334 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Banjul accounted for 194 of the Gambia's 220 stories about harm, carried by 184 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
72 of its 93 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Minsk accounted for 71 of Belarus' 72 stories about harm, carried by 90 outlets. 71 of Minsk's 71 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
509 of its 1,006 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (28 stories). Avalanche was named in 155 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
700 of its 753 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Mogadishu accounted for 597 of Somalia's 700 stories about harm, carried by 436 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (501 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
63 of its 75 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. 54 of Maputo's 54 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
60 of its 183 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (49 stories). Train derailment was named in 36 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
89 of Harare's 119 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Cyclone was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: train derailment in Belgium (36 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); avalanche in Sweden (155 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Sudan (25 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); drought in Eritrea (11 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); landslides in Philippines (56 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 32,845 stories about harm among 140,028 counted on 19 Feb.
Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Colombia. Colombia's news was 86% about people being harmed, against a usual 32%. of the day's 140,028 news stories, 23 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. A year earlier, on 20 February 2016, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today. This week the news turned most often to Malaysia, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 1 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?
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.