We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
1,004 of its 1,292 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Donggala accounted for 609 of Indonesia's 1,004 stories about harm, carried by 560 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (654 stories). Tsunami was named in 921 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake, volcanic eruption and power cuts. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
654 of its 814 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Chuuk accounted for 594 of Micronesia's 654 stories about harm, carried by 880 outlets. 346 of Chuuk's 594 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (394 stories).
154 of its 176 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Bratislava accounted for 137 of Slovakia's 154 stories about harm, carried by 127 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (151 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
169 of its 214 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Oromo accounted for 137 of Ethiopia's 169 stories about harm, carried by 151 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (142 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
345 of its 664 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (273 stories). Hunger was named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. 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.
973 of its 2,469 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 283 of Moscow's 390 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (469 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
329 of its 583 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. 101 of Dhaka's 130 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (73 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
95 of its 145 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Phnom Penh accounted for 86 of Cambodia's 95 stories about harm, carried by 79 outlets. 82 of Phnom Penh's 86 stories were about protests or strikes. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
286 of its 462 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Bucharest accounted for 263 of Romania's 286 stories about harm, carried by 133 outlets. Drought was named in 135 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with bird flu and flu.
31 of its 38 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (25 stories). Storm surge was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with wildfires.
Also named far more than usual: hepatitis in Hong Kong (101 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Romania (135 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); storm surge in Marshall Islands (25 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Rwanda (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Uganda (23 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 28 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 37,635 stories about harm among 197,570 counted on 28 Sep.
Indonesia's news was 78% about people being harmed, against a usual 23%. of the day's 197,570 news stories, 19 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 21. Reports of peace efforts, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Mentions of the tsunami ran more than ten times their usual in Indonesia's news. On 28 September 2017, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 19 today.
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?
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.