We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
162 of its 272 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (31 stories). Hypothermia was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with storms. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
112 of its 122 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Niamey accounted for 56 of Niger's 112 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
197 of its 310 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Khartoum accounted for 175 of Sudan's 197 stories about harm, carried by 130 outlets. 165 of Khartoum's 175 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (136 stories).
36 of its 45 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Enewetak accounted for 34 of the Marshall Islands' 36 stories about harm, carried by 28 outlets. Poisoning was named in 34 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
211 of its 254 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Sanaa accounted for 138 of Yemen's 211 stories about harm, carried by 107 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
210 of its 323 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (50 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
159 of its 495 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (112 stories). Plane crash was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
487 of its 785 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Caracas accounted for 318 of Venezuela's 487 stories about harm, carried by 211 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (233 stories).
44 of its 97 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (35 stories). Drownings were named in 34 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with measles.
50 of its 123 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (37 stories). Accidents were named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: drownings in Panama (34 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Senegal (24 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in El Salvador (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Pakistan (83 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); accidents in Cuba (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 37,900 stories about harm among 201,756 counted on 16 May.
The Marshall Islands' news mentioned poisoning more than ten times as often as usual. 19 in every 100 of the day's 201,756 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Nepal, 60% of the news was about people being harmed, where 31% is usual. A year earlier, on 16 May 2018, 20 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.
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.