We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
650 of its 741 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Taipei accounted for 482 of Taiwan's 650 stories about harm, carried by 688 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (627 stories). Train derailment was named in 605 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
105 of its 159 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Naranjito accounted for 97 of Costa Rica's 105 stories about harm, carried by 113 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (100 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
88 of its 221 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (57 stories). Train derailment was named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
384 of its 395 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 76%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (223 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
344 of its 761 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (139 stories). Dengue was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with ebola. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
375 of its 1,866 stories (20%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (7 stories). Earthquake was named in 63 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with drought. Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
113 of its 198 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Kiev accounted for 101 of Ukraine's 113 stories about harm, carried by 143 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (98 stories).
787 of its 918 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Kabul accounted for 565 of Afghanistan's 787 stories about harm, carried by 570 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
1,336 of its 2,529 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (870 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
297 of its 409 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (94 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Malaysia (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in China (63 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); cyclone in Yemen (11 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); outbreaks in Nigeria (40 of its stories, about three times its usual); storms in Germany (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 Oct. 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 21,772 stories about harm among 103,208 counted on 21 Oct.
Taiwan stood out: 88% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 18%. 21 in every 100 of the day's 103,208 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Taiwan's news, mentions of train derailment ran more than ten times their usual. People injured were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Taiwan. A year earlier, on 21 October 2017, 27 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 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 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.