We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
365 of its 715 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Harare accounted for 333 of Zimbabwe's 365 stories about harm, carried by 265 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (30 stories). Cholera was named in 297 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with food poisoning. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
134 of its 236 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Lima accounted for 117 of Peru's 134 stories about harm, carried by 276 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (96 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
545 of its 1,228 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (76 stories). Landslides were named in 196 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cyclone.
26 of its 44 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. 4 of Kaga Bandoro's 4 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
173 of its 198 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Khartoum accounted for 130 of Sudan's 173 stories about harm, carried by 130 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (109 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.
336 of its 640 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (223 stories). Cholera was named in 93 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
739 of its 930 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Idlib accounted for 598 of Syria's 739 stories about harm, carried by 426 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
190 of its 266 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (73 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
35 of its 81 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 4%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (33 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
180 of its 411 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: poisoning in Russia (349 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cholera in Saudi Arabia (93 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); power cuts in Hong Kong (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in South Korea (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); volcanic eruption in Japan (39 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 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 48,432 stories about harm among 214,628 counted on 12 Sep.
Reports of aid and relief, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. 23 in every 100 of the day's 214,628 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. Evacuations were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and Egypt. A year earlier, on 12 September 2017, 25 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today. Zimbabwe's news was 51% about people being harmed, against a usual 31%.
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 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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