We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
76 of its 81 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Managua accounted for 69 of Nicaragua's 76 stories about harm, carried by 73 outlets. 66 of Managua's 69 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (64 stories). Wildfires were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
2,420 of its 2,735 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. the Sunda Strait accounted for 1,469 of Indonesia's 2,420 stories about harm, carried by 1,424 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (1,460 stories). Tsunami was named in 2,380 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with volcanic eruption and landslides.
123 of its 183 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Warsaw accounted for 110 of Poland's 123 stories about harm, carried by 113 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (80 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
505 of its 2,104 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (35 stories). Storms were named in 51 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with power cuts and drought. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
137 of its 172 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Khartoum accounted for 103 of Sudan's 137 stories about harm, carried by 90 outlets. 102 of Khartoum's 103 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (37 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
90 of its 102 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Mogadishu accounted for 84 of Somalia's 90 stories about harm, carried by 66 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
298 of its 1,006 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (241 stories). Heatwave was named in 39 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
427 of its 1,002 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. 165 of Paris' 309 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
115 of its 163 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (105 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
345 of its 940 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (186 stories). Accidents were named in 120 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: snowstorms in Norway (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); accidents in Russia (120 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in Türkiye (50 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); heavy rain in Sri Lanka (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Nepal (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 23 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 18,075 stories about harm among 86,012 counted on 23 Dec.
The news turned to Nicaragua for the second day running. A year earlier, on 23 December 2017, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 today. of the day's 86,012 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. Nicaragua stood out: 94% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 73%. This week the news turned most often to Morocco, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 1 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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