We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
320 of its 391 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Baghdad accounted for 219 of Iraq's 320 stories about harm, carried by 328 outlets. 207 of Baghdad's 219 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (273 stories). Power cuts were named in 124 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
346 of its 362 stories (96%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Yirol accounted for 266 of South Sudan's 346 stories about harm, carried by 263 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (293 stories). Plane crash was named in 32 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
131 of its 173 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Akum accounted for 128 of Cameroon's 131 stories about harm, carried by 157 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (125 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
418 of its 1,093 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (100 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
159 of its 320 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 73 of Izmir's 106 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 7 times the usual rate (96 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
245 of its 471 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. 178 of Cairo's 195 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (81 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
328 of its 396 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Kabul accounted for 256 of Afghanistan's 328 stories about harm, carried by 183 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (271 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
709 of its 1,593 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 491 of Moscow's 595 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (261 stories).
293 of its 611 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (132 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
243 of its 591 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (96 stories). Drownings were named in 20 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with flooding.
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in France (53 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in Guam (25 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hurricane in US (2002 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cholera in Zimbabwe (34 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in South Korea (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 9 Sep. 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 24,617 stories about harm among 109,863 counted on 9 Sep.
Iraq's news mentioned power cuts more than ten times as often as usual. 22 in every 100 of the day's 109,863 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. On 9 September 2017, a year earlier, the share was 30 in every 100, against 22 today. Iraq's news was 82% about people being harmed, against a usual 60%. This week the news turned most often to South Sudan, 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 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.