We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
449 of its 656 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Caracas accounted for 359 of Venezuela's 449 stories about harm, carried by 298 outlets. 348 of Caracas' 359 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (324 stories). Heavy rain was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
212 of its 335 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Copenhagen accounted for 174 of Denmark's 212 stories about harm, carried by 140 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
588 of its 1,281 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (461 stories). HIV was named in 46 of its stories about harm, about 10 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.
86 of its 252 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (21 stories). Flooding was named in 33 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with heavy rain.
90 of its 165 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. 34 of Manus Island's 66 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (53 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
170 of its 496 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 67 of Hanoi's 72 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (109 stories). Accidents were named in 73 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual.
156 of its 177 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 80%. Bangassou accounted for 108 of the Central African Republic's 156 stories about harm, carried by 109 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
197 of its 364 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Bouake accounted for 167 of Côte d’Ivoire's 197 stories about harm, carried by 159 outlets. 89 of Bouake's 167 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (66 stories).
Damascus accounted for 773 of Syria's 1,153 stories about harm, carried by 549 outlets. 455 of Damascus' 773 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (114 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
72 of its 289 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories). Rubella was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: accidents in Vietnam (73 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); west nile virus in Sierra Leone (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Italy (20 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); rubella in Romania (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in Philippines (31 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 46,402 stories about harm among 234,054 counted on 16 May.
In Jamaica's news, mentions of flooding ran about 5 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 234,054 stories, below the usual 21. Venezuela's news was 68% about people being harmed, against a usual 61%. A year earlier, on 16 May 2016, 19 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 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?
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