We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
145 of its 229 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Kampala accounted for 110 of Uganda's 145 stories about harm, carried by 90 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (113 stories). Hunger was named in 96 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.
154 of its 220 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (143 stories). Earthquake was named in 152 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with tsunami. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about 4 times its own usual.
197 of its 408 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Tegucigalpa accounted for 152 of Honduras' 197 stories about harm, carried by 248 outlets. 148 of Tegucigalpa's 152 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (152 stories).
410 of its 874 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (67 stories). Snowstorms were named in 60 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
389 of its 1,023 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (327 stories). Hypothermia was named in 33 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
136 of its 151 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Tirana accounted for 101 of Albania's 136 stories about harm, carried by 101 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (122 stories).
36 of its 57 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. 22 of Skopje's 28 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
20 of its 37 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
439 of its 886 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
1,184 of its 4,750 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 stories). Tsunami was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: hiv in Ethiopia (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); dengue in Philippines (109 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Australia (106 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hunger in Syria (41 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); overdoses in Italy (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Dec. 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 19,580 stories about harm among 98,095 counted on 3 Dec.
On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 98,095 stories, as usual. Mentions of the earthquake ran about 10 times their usual in Ecuador's news. In Uganda, 63% of the news was about people being harmed, where 29% is usual. A year earlier, on 3 December 2016, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. This week the news turned most often to Indonesia, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 3 of them.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 20 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.