We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
526 of its 701 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Kutupalong accounted for 323 of Bangladesh's 526 stories about harm, carried by 374 outlets. 192 of Kutupalong's 323 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (203 stories). Diphtheria was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with hunger, measles and avalanche. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
232 of its 281 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Sofia accounted for 227 of Bulgaria's 232 stories about harm, carried by 345 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (220 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
142 of its 158 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Sirte accounted for 92 of Libya's 142 stories about harm, carried by 97 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (126 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
875 of its 2,358 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (19 stories). Hunger was named in 166 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with avalanche. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
105 of its 117 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. la Paz accounted for 104 of Bolivia's 105 stories about harm, carried by 91 outlets. 103 of la Paz's 104 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (101 stories). Road crashes were named in 101 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
244 of its 437 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Poisoning was named in 81 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with food poisoning. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
174 of its 355 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. 90 of Istanbul's 107 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
102 of its 207 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 49 of Kathmandu's 62 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (56 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
137 of its 180 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Phnom Penh accounted for 96 of Cambodia's 137 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (91 stories).
651 of its 1,097 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (246 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 130 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with drownings, meningitis and volcanic eruption.
Also named far more than usual: road crashes in Bolivia (101 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea (51 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Taiwan (50 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Egypt (81 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in US (2254 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 25 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 26,057 stories about harm among 112,847 counted on 25 Aug.
Reports of aid and relief, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. 23 in every 100 of the day's 112,847 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. In Bolivia's news, mentions of road crashes ran more than ten times their usual. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Italy and Bangladesh. It was the second day running that the news turned to Bangladesh.
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 about as 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.