We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
556 of its 830 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Harare accounted for 471 of Zimbabwe's 556 stories about harm, carried by 290 outlets. 435 of Harare's 471 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (312 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
1,245 of its 1,641 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Nairobi accounted for 1,150 of Kenya's 1,245 stories about harm, carried by 666 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
159 of its 320 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Warsaw accounted for 125 of Poland's 159 stories about harm, carried by 118 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (88 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
51 of its 176 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Flu was named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with bird flu and outbreaks. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
122 of its 604 stories (20%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. 56 of Seoul's 90 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (82 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
306 of its 447 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Kabul accounted for 262 of Afghanistan's 306 stories about harm, carried by 180 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (231 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
68 of its 83 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Juba accounted for 53 of South Sudan's 68 stories about harm, carried by 55 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 8 times the usual rate (59 stories).
283 of its 624 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Poisoning was named in 20 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
78 of its 418 stories (19%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
49 of its 200 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: heatwave in Australia (160 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); accidents in Zambia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); haemorrhagic fever in DR Congo (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); heavy rain in Palestine (75 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Switzerland (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 33,921 stories about harm among 184,056 counted on 15 Jan.
On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 184,056 stories, as usual. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Nigeria. In Hong Kong's news, mentions of the flu ran more than ten times their usual. Zimbabwe stood out: 67% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 30%.
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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