We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
119 of its 141 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Luang Prabang accounted for 98 of Laos' 119 stories about harm, carried by 127 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (87 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
456 of its 792 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Rio de Janeiro accounted for 363 of Brazil's 456 stories about harm, carried by 572 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (365 stories). Wildfires were named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
43 of its 152 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (20 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
105 of its 119 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (60 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
126 of its 157 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Yaounde accounted for 67 of Cameroon's 126 stories about harm, carried by 58 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (48 stories).
162 of its 361 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (138 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
26 of its 39 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 15 of Algiers' 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
251 of its 846 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (40 stories). Outbreaks were named in 51 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with food poisoning and tsunami.
141 of its 380 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
21 of its 21 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (15 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Greenland (123 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); haemorrhagic fever in DR Congo (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Spain (51 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Mexico (29 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); earthquake in South Korea (15 of its stories, about 10 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 33,631 stories about harm among 167,030 counted on 20 Aug.
Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. 20 in every 100 of the day's 167,030 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 22. Abductions were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Brazil and the US. Laos stood out: 84% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 31%. Mentions of flooding ran more than ten times their usual in Greenland's news.
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 about as 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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