We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
1,139 of its 3,047 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (926 stories). West Nile virus was named in 68 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
265 of its 426 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Bouake accounted for 206 of Côte d’Ivoire's 265 stories about harm, carried by 232 outlets. 160 of Bouake's 206 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
227 of its 250 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 78%. Bangui accounted for 116 of the Central African Republic's 227 stories about harm, carried by 86 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (120 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
225 of its 406 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Kampala accounted for 147 of Uganda's 225 stories about harm, carried by 129 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
387 of its 417 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Sanaa accounted for 322 of Yemen's 387 stories about harm, carried by 288 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (202 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
331 of its 918 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (240 stories). HIV was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with malaria. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
147 of its 448 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (122 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
74 of its 100 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
446 of its 584 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
126 of its 275 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Ein el-Hilweh accounted for 106 of Lebanon's 126 stories about harm, carried by 91 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (91 stories).
Also named far more than usual: food poisoning in Albania (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Antarctica (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); measles in Somalia (16 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hiv in Mexico (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in Philippines (46 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 42,116 stories about harm among 209,556 counted on 15 May.
Mentions of food poisoning ran more than ten times their usual in Albania's news. of the day's 209,556 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 21. Japan stood out: 37% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 13%. Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. A year earlier, on 15 May 2016, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 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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