We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
1,146 of its 1,470 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Bali accounted for 837 of Indonesia's 1,146 stories about harm, carried by 1,107 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (15 stories). Tsunami was named in 998 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
392 of its 667 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Dhaka accounted for 318 of Bangladesh's 392 stories about harm, carried by 238 outlets. 301 of Dhaka's 318 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (159 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
1,196 of its 1,601 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Caracas accounted for 1,020 of Venezuela's 1,196 stories about harm, carried by 819 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (823 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
56 of its 74 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (35 stories). Ebola was named in 47 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
512 of its 664 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 138 of Flims' 266 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (495 stories). Plane crash was named in 121 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
201 of its 226 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Mogadishu accounted for 184 of Somalia's 201 stories about harm, carried by 147 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (171 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
120 of its 146 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 74%. Hodeida accounted for 87 of Yemen's 120 stories about harm, carried by 96 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (78 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
155 of its 568 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories). Wildfires were named in 50 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with drought. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
111 of its 202 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 4%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (109 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
239 of its 377 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (46 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Nepal (41 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); wildfires in Spain (50 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drought in Australia (132 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); plane crash in Switzerland (121 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tornadoes in Canada (79 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Aug. 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 22,696 stories about harm among 100,175 counted on 5 Aug.
Indonesia's news was 78% about people being harmed, against a usual 36%. In Indonesia's news, mentions of the tsunami ran about 4 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 100,175 stories, above the usual 20. A year earlier, on 5 August 2017, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today. This week the news turned most often to Portugal, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 2 of them.
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?
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.