We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
137 of its 178 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Bogota accounted for 124 of Colombia's 137 stories about harm, carried by 102 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (75 stories). Illness was named in 108 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
108 of its 179 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Taipei accounted for 88 of Taiwan's 108 stories about harm, carried by 217 outlets. 81 of Taipei's 88 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (58 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
295 of its 391 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Baghdad accounted for 247 of Iraq's 295 stories about harm, carried by 270 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (122 stories).
55 of its 110 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
70 of its 74 stories (95%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Managua accounted for 43 of Nicaragua's 70 stories about harm, carried by 39 outlets. 37 of Managua's 43 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
669 of its 1,469 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Tehran accounted for 568 of Iran's 669 stories about harm, carried by 617 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (125 stories). Illness was named in 50 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
80 of its 169 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 27 of Jakarta's 52 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (50 stories). Tsunami was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
209 of its 282 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
91 of its 179 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. 62 of Yerevan's 65 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (51 stories).
11 of its 27 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. 9 of Cabinda's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (11 stories).
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Portugal (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Vanuatu (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Australia (51 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Malaysia (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Bangladesh (20 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 19,186 stories about harm among 107,774 counted on 18 May.
No day had a lower share of stories about people being harmed since 18 April 2019. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 107,774 stories, below the usual 20. Mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual in Portugal's news. In Colombia, 77% of the news was about people being harmed, where 29% is usual. On 18 May 2018, a year earlier, the share was 22 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 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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