We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
1,277 of its 1,384 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Kabul accounted for 1,216 of Afghanistan's 1,277 stories about harm, carried by 1,140 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (1,123 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
655 of its 2,045 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 443 of Beijing's 497 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 7 times the usual rate (10 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
184 of its 624 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 9%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (74 stories). Wildfires were named in 68 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with storms and heatwave.
299 of its 446 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Dhaka accounted for 184 of Bangladesh's 299 stories about harm, carried by 209 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (120 stories).
364 of its 582 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Hong Kong Island accounted for 214 of Hong Kong's 364 stories about harm, carried by 228 outlets. 211 of Hong Kong Island's 214 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
191 of its 764 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 105 of Paris' 132 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (121 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
29 of its 46 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 8 of Ouaddai's 15 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (25 stories).
280 of its 575 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Tehran accounted for 227 of Iran's 280 stories about harm, carried by 249 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (17 stories).
27 of its 34 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. 25 of Guatemala City's 25 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (25 stories).
117 of its 280 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Iceland (110 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); hurricane in Panama (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); heatwave in Japan (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); landslides in Pakistan (23 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); poisoning in Australia (17 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 20,085 stories about harm among 80,680 counted on 18 Aug.
Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. In Iceland's news, mentions of volcanic eruption ran about 7 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 25 in every 100 of the day's 80,680 stories, above the usual 22. A year earlier, on 18 August 2018, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 25 today. This week the news turned most often to Greece, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 1 of them.
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 25 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 harsher 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.