We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
269 of its 334 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Idlib accounted for 188 of Syria's 269 stories about harm, carried by 139 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (77 stories). Building collapse was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
140 of its 193 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Bulolo accounted for 95 of Papua New Guinea's 140 stories about harm, carried by 100 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (53 stories). Tsunami was named in 122 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with landslides.
613 of its 661 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Yangon accounted for 560 of Myanmar's 613 stories about harm, carried by 604 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (51 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
217 of its 290 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. 79 of Hawassa's 79 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Drought was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
55 of its 59 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Niamey accounted for 45 of Niger's 55 stories about harm, carried by 45 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (38 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
20 of its 34 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Plague was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
45 of its 75 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 37 of Fraijanes' 40 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (42 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
104 of its 389 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Ebola was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
154 of its 512 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 29 of Rio de Janeiro's 56 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Accidents were named in 34 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
925 of its 2,552 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (34 stories). Plane crash was named in 102 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with volcanic eruption.
Also named far more than usual: plague in Mongolia (17 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); road crashes in Argentina (23 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); wildfires in Puerto Rico (19 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drought in Namibia (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Indonesia (43 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 7 May. 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 36,947 stories about harm among 197,155 counted on 7 May.
Papua New Guinea's news mentioned the tsunami about three times as often as usual. 19 in every 100 of the day's 197,155 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. A year earlier, on 7 May 2018, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today. Syria stood out: 81% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 68%.
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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