We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
35 of its 53 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Dakar accounted for 33 of Senegal's 35 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (33 stories). Ebola was named in 33 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
320 of its 401 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Idlib accounted for 208 of Syria's 320 stories about harm, carried by 148 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (60 stories). Cyclone was named in 20 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with wildfires. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
140 of its 195 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Tunis accounted for 101 of Tunisia's 140 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (106 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
178 of its 490 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 67 of Bangkok's 85 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (58 stories).
246 of its 289 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Tripoli accounted for 194 of Libya's 246 stories about harm, carried by 214 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (162 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
135 of its 210 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Baghdad accounted for 82 of Iraq's 135 stories about harm, carried by 79 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
56 of its 111 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
121 of its 493 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (23 stories). Outbreaks were named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
14 of its 45 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. 4 of Uralsk's 4 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
642 of its 2,246 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (245 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Japan (126 of its stories, about three times its usual); plane crash in Poland (39 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Myanmar (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Norway (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in South Africa (44 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 10 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 35,656 stories about harm among 193,442 counted on 10 May.
Senegal stood out: 66% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 17%. 18 in every 100 of the day's 193,442 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. On the side of help, reports of peace efforts ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Japan's news mentioned the earthquake about three times as often as usual. On 10 May 2018, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 18 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 18 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 much 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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