We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
223 of its 292 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Havana accounted for 174 of Cuba's 223 stories about harm, carried by 214 outlets. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (28 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
404 of its 1,003 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (60 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 31 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
249 of its 588 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Cairo accounted for 183 of Egypt's 249 stories about harm, carried by 185 outlets. 142 of Cairo's 183 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (96 stories).
115 of its 239 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (9 stories). Tropical storm was named in 29 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with typhoon.
410 of its 512 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Damascus accounted for 280 of Syria's 410 stories about harm, carried by 178 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (96 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
205 of its 548 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 38 of Riyadh's 55 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (109 stories). Accidents were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
60 of its 80 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. 6 of Guatemala City's 11 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
106 of its 335 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Reports of people killed ran at about 10 times the usual rate (83 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
436 of its 1,187 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
282 of its 545 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: poisoning in Russia (246 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); heavy rain in Somalia (46 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); ebola in Switzerland (41 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plague in Hong Kong (12 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); wildfires in Mexico (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 23 May. 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 45,149 stories about harm among 233,181 counted on 23 May.
No day had a lower share of stories about people being harmed since 28 March 2018. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 233,181 stories, below the usual 21. It was the second day running that the news turned to Cuba. In Russia's news, mentions of poisoning ran about 5 times their usual. On 23 May 2017, a year earlier, the share was 26 in every 100, against 19 today.
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 19 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 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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