We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
610 of its 647 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Freetown accounted for 543 of Sierra Leone's 610 stories about harm, carried by 467 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (589 stories). Cholera was named in 59 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
1,164 of its 1,229 stories (95%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Ouagadougou accounted for 1,127 of Burkina Faso's 1,164 stories about harm, carried by 876 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (882 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
115 of its 219 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Kalkfeld accounted for 92 of Namibia's 115 stories about harm, carried by 119 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
128 of its 317 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Buenos Aires accounted for 125 of Argentina's 128 stories about harm, carried by 121 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (86 stories). Avalanche was named in 84 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
594 of its 1,420 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Paris accounted for 504 of France's 594 stories about harm, carried by 549 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (439 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
106 of its 204 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 61 of Lisbon's 73 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (22 stories). Drought was named in 65 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heatwave.
18,879 of its 58,896 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 4,834 of Charlottesville's 6,518 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5,457 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 951 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
268 of its 789 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (83 stories). Hunger was named in 47 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
263 of its 286 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (93 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.
101 of its 167 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 41 of Lusaka's 59 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (40 stories).
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Greece (171 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); poisoning in Zimbabwe (86 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); volcanic eruption in Antarctica (46 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); drought in Portugal (65 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hurricane in Bermuda (34 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 14 Aug. 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 45,686 stories about harm among 177,080 counted on 14 Aug.
In Sierra Leone, 94% of the news was about people being harmed, where 22% is usual. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Burkina Faso. 26 in every 100 of the day's 177,080 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. A year earlier, on 14 August 2016, 24 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 26 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 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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