We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
378 of its 551 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Colombo accounted for 272 of Sri Lanka's 378 stories about harm, carried by 159 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (198 stories). Building collapse was named in 165 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
126 of its 192 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Monrovia accounted for 93 of Liberia's 126 stories about harm, carried by 90 outlets. Haemorrhagic fever was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
461 of its 605 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Baghdad accounted for 227 of Iraq's 461 stories about harm, carried by 172 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (41 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
318 of its 1,065 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 173 of Gwangju's 218 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (224 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
32 of its 39 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Bujumbura accounted for 29 of Burundi's 32 stories about harm, carried by 19 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
139 of its 183 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Aguelhoc accounted for 97 of Mali's 139 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
791 of its 1,038 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. 131 of Caracas' 173 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
105 of its 288 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. HIV was named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
264 of its 867 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 190 of Athens' 220 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (79 stories).
Damascus accounted for 506 of Syria's 1,032 stories about harm, carried by 267 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (545 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: hunger in Cambodia (19 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heatwave in United Arab Emirates (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); volcanic eruption in New Zealand (39 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); hiv in Denmark (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Bangladesh (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 52,386 stories about harm among 255,946 counted on 18 May.
Mentions of building collapse ran more than ten times their usual in Sri Lanka's news. of the day's 255,946 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Sri Lanka stood out: 69% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 24%. A year earlier, on 18 May 2016, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as 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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