We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
152 of its 186 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Idlib accounted for 119 of Syria's 152 stories about harm, carried by 182 outlets. 65 of Idlib's 119 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
126 of its 184 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Odessa accounted for 101 of Ukraine's 126 stories about harm, carried by 93 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (93 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
189 of its 311 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Dhaka accounted for 98 of Bangladesh's 189 stories about harm, carried by 40 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (75 stories).
142 of its 458 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (68 stories). Hunger was named in 48 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
155 of its 362 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Harare accounted for 104 of Zimbabwe's 155 stories about harm, carried by 125 outlets. 86 of Harare's 104 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (48 stories).
180 of its 355 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 77 of Kafr Qaddum's 87 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (98 stories).
127 of its 492 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (56 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
137 of its 472 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (36 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
69 of its 176 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (29 stories). Drownings were named in 24 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
429 of its 546 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Kabul accounted for 363 of Afghanistan's 429 stories about harm, carried by 485 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: natural hazards in Puerto Rico (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in Indonesia (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Panama (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); plane crash in Spain (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Israel (63 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 Aug. 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 21,778 stories about harm among 91,255 counted on 17 Aug.
Stories about people being harmed made up 24 in every 100 of the day's 91,255 stories, above the usual 22. On 17 August 2018, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 24 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.