We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
65 of its 111 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Dakar accounted for 62 of Senegal's 65 stories about harm, carried by 73 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (60 stories). Ebola was named in 60 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with haemorrhagic fever. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
138 of its 330 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Yerevan accounted for 110 of Armenia's 138 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. 93 of Yerevan's 110 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Earthquake was named in 29 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
121 of its 388 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (20 stories). Plague was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
28 of its 39 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (21 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
179 of its 430 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Athens accounted for 145 of Greece's 179 stories about harm, carried by 142 outlets. 106 of Athens' 145 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (107 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
75 of its 123 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Kigali accounted for 42 of Rwanda's 75 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. 22 of Kigali's 42 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (14 stories). Ebola was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with malaria.
238 of its 638 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (107 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
127 of its 153 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (21 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
274 of its 903 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 75 of Mexico City's 89 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (143 stories).
160 of its 398 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Venezuela (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); haemorrhagic fever in Congo (31 of its stories, about three times its usual); drownings in Italy (38 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Rwanda (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hunger in North Korea (11 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 7 Dec. 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 34,777 stories about harm among 188,122 counted on 7 Dec.
In Senegal, 59% of the news was about people being harmed, where 17% is usual. Senegal's news mentioned Ebola about 5 times as often as usual. On 7 December 2017, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 18 today. of the day's 188,122 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 20.
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 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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