We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
113 of its 169 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Oraefajokull accounted for 98 of Iceland's 113 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (64 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 110 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with hunger and flooding. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
220 of its 305 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Tegucigalpa accounted for 207 of Honduras' 220 stories about harm, carried by 160 outlets. 204 of Tegucigalpa's 207 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (194 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
225 of its 280 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 74%. Sanaa accounted for 161 of Yemen's 225 stories about harm, carried by 154 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
100 of its 250 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (82 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
172 of its 336 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Kathmandu accounted for 140 of Nepal's 172 stories about harm, carried by 112 outlets. 102 of Kathmandu's 140 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (64 stories).
238 of its 459 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Buenos Aires accounted for 209 of Argentina's 238 stories about harm, carried by 176 outlets. 147 of Buenos Aires' 209 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (107 stories).
51 of its 107 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. 16 of Bamenda's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (17 stories). Malaria was named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
42 of its 58 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
77 of its 208 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories). Natural hazards were named in 36 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
17 of its 18 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. 6 of Nouakchott's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
Also named far more than usual: cholera in Saudi Arabia (57 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); natural hazards in Armenia (36 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Italy (52 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); diphtheria in Indonesia (32 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); malaria in Cameroon (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 7 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 43,544 stories about harm among 225,183 counted on 7 Dec.
Iceland stood out: 67% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 19%. 19 in every 100 of the day's 225,183 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and Syria. Reports of peace efforts, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Mentions of volcanic eruption ran about three times their usual in Iceland's news.
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 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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