We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
5,476 of its 6,465 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 76%. Khan Sheikhoun accounted for 1,935 of Syria's 5,476 stories about harm, carried by 981 outlets. 1,174 of Khan Sheikhoun's 1,935 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (1,108 stories). Poisoning was named in 127 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
190 of its 288 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Paynesville accounted for 155 of Liberia's 190 stories about harm, carried by 155 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (136 stories). Bird flu was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with chikungunya, covid and flu. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
186 of its 244 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Darfur accounted for 147 of Sudan's 186 stories about harm, carried by 156 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (132 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
317 of its 815 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (140 stories). Tsunami was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
175 of its 286 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Caracas accounted for 154 of Venezuela's 175 stories about harm, carried by 133 outlets. 80 of Caracas' 154 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (117 stories).
155 of its 288 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Banjul accounted for 143 of the Gambia's 155 stories about harm, carried by 156 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
1,816 of its 3,949 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (781 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
98 of its 128 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (46 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
438 of its 1,519 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (72 stories). Heavy rain was named in 127 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with power cuts and tornadoes.
22 of its 34 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. 13 of Asuncion's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories).
Also named far more than usual: hunger in South Korea (80 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in New Zealand (127 of its stories, about three times its usual); meningitis in Nigeria (243 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); road crashes in Angola (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tuberculosis in Denmark (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Apr. 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 57,776 stories about harm among 265,602 counted on 5 Apr.
Reports of volunteers, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. 22 in every 100 of the day's 265,602 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In South Korea's news, mentions of the hunger ran more than ten times their usual. the news turned to Syria for the second day running. A year earlier, on 5 April 2016, 18 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 about as 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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