We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
1,615 of its 2,653 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Islamabad accounted for 554 of Pakistan's 1,615 stories about harm, carried by 317 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (165 stories). Extreme cold was named in 47 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
213 of its 603 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 9%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Measles was named in 147 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with rubella and respiratory illness. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
605 of its 910 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Ramallah accounted for 280 of Palestine's 605 stories about harm, carried by 22 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (202 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
112 of its 143 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Khartoum accounted for 81 of Sudan's 112 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. 76 of Khartoum's 81 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
77 of its 95 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people killed ran at about 9 times the usual rate (57 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
70 of its 267 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (22 stories). Road crashes were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
140 of its 604 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (24 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
102 of its 399 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (36 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
24 of its 30 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
262 of its 559 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Caracas accounted for 222 of Venezuela's 262 stories about harm, carried by 193 outlets. 175 of Caracas' 222 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Greece (40 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); helicopter crash in Kenya (42 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); meningitis in Niger (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Czechia (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Italy (26 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Mar. 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 38,512 stories about harm among 198,334 counted on 5 Mar.
Reports of volunteers, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. 19 in every 100 of the day's 198,334 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Pakistan, 61% of the news was about people being harmed, where 50% is usual. A year earlier, on 5 March 2018, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as 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 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.