We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
50 of its 63 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Niamey accounted for 41 of Niger's 50 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (46 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
429 of its 682 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (65 stories). Accidents were named in 47 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
36 of its 44 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Boca de Sabalos accounted for 32 of Nicaragua's 36 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (35 stories).
25 of its 28 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
272 of its 621 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Mecca accounted for 196 of Saudi Arabia's 272 stories about harm, carried by 148 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (190 stories). Covid was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.
684 of its 891 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Kabul accounted for 544 of Afghanistan's 684 stories about harm, carried by 447 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (130 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
206 of its 231 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 80%. Sanaa accounted for 143 of Yemen's 206 stories about harm, carried by 112 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's.
31 of its 73 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (21 stories). Plane crash was named in 22 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
625 of its 1,746 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (259 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
27,512 of its 75,315 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (2,772 stories). Hypothermia was named in 543 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cyclone, cholera and hantavirus.
Also named far more than usual: plane crash in Guyana (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Albania (17 of its stories, about three times its usual); malaria in Tanzania (14 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); drought in Senegal (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Syria (54 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 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 52,916 stories about harm among 204,429 counted on 29 Aug.
On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about 4 times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 26 in every 100 of the day's 204,429 stories, above the usual 24. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about the US and Canada. In Niger, 79% of the news was about people being harmed, where 41% is usual. A year earlier, on 29 August 2016, 23 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 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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