We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
492 of its 994 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Seoul accounted for 377 of South Korea's 492 stories about harm, carried by 485 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Poisoning was named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
417 of its 536 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Caracas accounted for 284 of Venezuela's 417 stories about harm, carried by 314 outlets. 273 of Caracas' 284 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
76 of its 85 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Bangui accounted for 68 of the Central African Republic's 76 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Hunger was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
133 of its 293 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (92 stories). Avalanche was named in 94 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
436 of its 897 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Pyongyang accounted for 369 of North Korea's 436 stories about harm, carried by 312 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (238 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
784 of its 854 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Mogadishu accounted for 680 of Somalia's 784 stories about harm, carried by 580 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 8 times the usual rate (189 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
288 of its 693 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 86 of Jakarta's 149 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (123 stories). Oil spill was named in 33 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
635 of its 1,885 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 140 of Rio Bravo's 140 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (120 stories). Poisoning was named in 100 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
51 of its 101 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Volcanic eruption was named in 36 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
78 of its 301 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. 59 of Prague's 67 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (59 stories).
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Iceland (36 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Haiti (38 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); wildfires in Spain (69 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Cambodia (26 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Mexico (100 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 May. 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 43,440 stories about harm among 209,878 counted on 5 May.
South Korea stood out: 49% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 13%. 21 in every 100 of the day's 209,878 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 22. A year earlier, on 5 May 2016, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 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 much softer 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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