We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
102 of its 117 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (75 stories). Cholera was named in 75 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with malaria and hunger. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
94 of its 219 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 40 of Sao Paulo's 44 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (51 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
101 of its 311 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (79 stories). Avalanche was named in 83 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
455 of its 1,182 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Polio was named in 79 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
148 of its 313 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Warsaw accounted for 137 of Poland's 148 stories about harm, carried by 137 outlets. 118 of Warsaw's 137 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
616 of its 1,039 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (212 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
43 of its 48 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Tirana accounted for 40 of Albania's 43 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (37 stories).
166 of its 271 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Kandy accounted for 121 of Sri Lanka's 166 stories about harm, carried by 93 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (123 stories).
22 of its 25 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Cyclone was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with landslides.
63 of its 106 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Nkurunziza accounted for 56 of Rwanda's 63 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. 51 of Nkurunziza's 56 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in Madagascar (20 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); diphtheria in Yemen (27 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); dengue in Vanuatu (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Croatia (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); snowstorms in Ireland (43 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 Mar. 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 24,212 stories about harm among 104,339 counted on 18 Mar.
Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the Philippines and the US. Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 104,339 stories, above the usual 22. Congo's news was 87% about people being harmed, against a usual 54%. A year earlier, on 18 March 2017, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today. This week the news turned most often to Nepal, on 4 of 7 days.
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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