We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
40 of its 68 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Brussels accounted for 38 of Belgium's 40 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. 27 of Brussels' 38 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories).
579 of its 957 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Ramallah accounted for 433 of Palestine's 579 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. Heatwave was named in 109 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
204 of its 681 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (137 stories). Plane crash was named in 43 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
33 of its 42 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 8%. Strumica accounted for 31 of North Macedonia's 33 stories about harm, carried by 32 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (26 stories).
191 of its 380 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Beirut accounted for 185 of Lebanon's 191 stories about harm, carried by 130 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (68 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
799 of its 2,782 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 321 of Biarritz's 627 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (186 stories). Natural hazards were named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
Tsuen Wan accounted for 246 of Hong Kong's 330 stories about harm, carried by 357 outlets. 244 of Tsuen Wan's 246 stories were about protests or strikes. Typhoon was named in 69 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
653 of its 1,044 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Jerusalem accounted for 393 of Israel's 653 stories about harm, carried by 269 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
54 of its 137 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (33 stories). Heavy rain was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with power cuts and landslides.
296 of its 469 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (163 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Barbados (39 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Taiwan (35 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); storm surge in Puerto Rico (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in Costa Rica (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in Hong Kong (69 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 25 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 18,016 stories about harm among 83,927 counted on 25 Aug.
In Belgium, 59% of the news was about people being harmed, where 14% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 21 in every 100 of the day's 83,927 stories, as usual. Mentions of the hurricane ran more than ten times their usual in Barbados' news. On 25 August 2018, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 21 today. This week the news turned most often to Spain, 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.
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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