We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
133 of its 212 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Baracoa accounted for 86 of Cuba's 133 stories about harm, carried by 138 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (44 stories). Road crashes were named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
51 of Damascus' 85 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 8 times the usual rate (19 stories). Heavy rain was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
366 of its 603 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Warsaw accounted for 243 of Poland's 366 stories about harm, carried by 263 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (241 stories).
45 of its 51 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Mosquitia accounted for 37 of Honduras' 45 stories about harm, carried by 40 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (41 stories).
218 of its 253 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Yangon accounted for 187 of Myanmar's 218 stories about harm, carried by 210 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (159 stories).
97 of its 208 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
129 of its 322 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (27 stories). Norovirus was named in 93 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
445 of its 912 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (69 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (20 stories). Avalanche was named in 143 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with snowstorms and power cuts. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (23 stories). Hantavirus was named in 24 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: norovirus in Jamaica (93 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); avalanche in Germany (143 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hantavirus in Argentina (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in North Korea (26 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); cholera in Uganda (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 11 Jan. 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 33,930 stories about harm among 180,912 counted on 11 Jan.
Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about twice the usual rate. of the day's 180,912 news stories, 19 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Syria. Cuba's news was 63% about people being harmed, against a usual 24%. A year earlier, on 11 January 2018, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 19 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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?
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.