We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
700 of its 1,499 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Milan accounted for 558 of Italy's 700 stories about harm, carried by 564 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (516 stories). Train derailment was named in 534 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with measles. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
92 of its 123 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Bamako accounted for 49 of Mali's 92 stories about harm, carried by 32 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (76 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
142 of its 178 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Yangon accounted for 97 of Myanmar's 142 stories about harm, carried by 188 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (61 stories).
1,056 of its 4,825 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 143 of Shanghai's 275 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (99 stories).
35 of its 62 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (32 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
15 of its 23 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories). Heavy rain was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.
34 of its 82 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (29 stories). Road crashes were named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
169 of its 266 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Cholera was named in 132 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with hurricane. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
138 of its 197 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
123 of its 624 stories (20%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (73 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: cholera in Haiti (132 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Guyana (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Gambia (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Paraguay (13 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); drought in South Africa (86 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 25 Jan. 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 41,179 stories about harm among 211,090 counted on 25 Jan.
It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 15 December 2017. In Italy's news, mentions of train derailment ran more than ten times their usual. Italy stood out: 47% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 16%. 20 in every 100 of the day's 211,090 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 23.
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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