We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
235 of its 379 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Hurghada accounted for 135 of Egypt's 235 stories about harm, carried by 190 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (101 stories). Poisoning was named in 159 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.
735 of its 1,886 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 306 of Dublin's 533 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (356 stories). Whooping cough was named in 27 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.
247 of its 272 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Sofia accounted for 239 of Bulgaria's 247 stories about harm, carried by 311 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (223 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
689 of its 1,291 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (381 stories). Earthquake was named in 397 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
30 of its 39 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. la Paz accounted for 29 of Bolivia's 30 stories about harm, carried by 29 outlets. 25 of la Paz's 29 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories).
355 of its 826 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (50 stories). Wildfires were named in 37 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
91 of its 151 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (37 stories). Landslides were named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
101 of its 281 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 71 of Diamond Mountain's 99 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (73 stories). Hunger was named in 71 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Managua accounted for 70 of Nicaragua's 76 stories about harm, carried by 78 outlets. 64 of Managua's 70 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
545 of its 949 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (51 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: hunger in North Korea (71 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tuberculosis in Italy (111 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Taiwan (21 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); ebola in Uganda (20 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 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 24,351 stories about harm among 102,262 counted on 26 Aug.
It was the highest share of stories about people being harmed since 13 May 2018. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about 5 times the usual rate. A year earlier, on 26 August 2017, 29 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 24 today. 24 in every 100 of the day's 102,262 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. This week the news turned most often to Uganda, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 3 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 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.