We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
116 of its 164 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Addis Ababa accounted for 78 of Ethiopia's 116 stories about harm, carried by 78 outlets. 55 of Addis Ababa's 78 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (77 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
76 of its 81 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Assab accounted for 75 of Eritrea's 76 stories about harm, carried by 91 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (75 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
1,276 of its 1,582 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (60 stories). Cyclone was named in 204 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with earthquake and volcanic eruption.
226 of its 454 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Harare accounted for 190 of Zimbabwe's 226 stories about harm, carried by 271 outlets. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories).
136 of its 302 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. 53 of Istanbul's 57 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
107 of its 172 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (38 stories). Storm surge was named in 23 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
868 of its 2,266 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (467 stories). Storm surge was named in 468 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cyclone.
351 of its 764 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Mexico City accounted for 279 of Mexico's 351 stories about harm, carried by 367 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (296 stories).
33 of its 35 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (21 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
219 of its 242 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 78%. Hodeida accounted for 145 of Yemen's 219 stories about harm, carried by 160 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as angry 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: storm surge in China (468 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); malaria in Indonesia (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storm surge in Hong Kong (23 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); snowstorms in New Zealand (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Spain (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 25,303 stories about harm among 98,537 counted on 16 Sep.
Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about three times the usual rate. of the day's 98,537 news stories, 26 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. People affected were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and the Philippines. Ethiopia's news was 71% about people being harmed, against a usual 44%. This week the news turned most often to Austria, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 6 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?
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