We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
138 of its 300 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Cairo accounted for 99 of Egypt's 138 stories about harm, carried by 127 outlets. 59 of Cairo's 99 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (56 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
60 of its 77 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Algiers accounted for 47 of Algeria's 60 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Harare accounted for 102 of Zimbabwe's 135 stories about harm, carried by 203 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Cholera was named in 36 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks and drought.
Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (14 stories). Wildfires were named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
575 of its 1,214 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (141 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
142 of its 449 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Nairobi accounted for 87 of Kenya's 142 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (29 stories).
37 of its 84 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. 17 of Port-au-Prince's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories).
Kabul accounted for 58 of Afghanistan's 160 stories about harm, carried by 123 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (33 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.
Abaco accounted for 49 of the Bahamas' 119 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Natural hazards were named in 14 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
31 of its 97 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Cyclone was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tropical storm.
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in Oman (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in Puerto Rico (73 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Cuba (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Sri Lanka (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in UK (146 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 24 Sep. 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 22,032 stories about harm among 125,149 counted on 24 Sep.
No day had a lower share of stories about people being harmed since 10 January 2019. Oman's news mentioned the cyclone more than ten times as often as usual. 18 in every 100 of the day's 125,149 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 22. In Egypt, 46% of the news was about people being harmed, where 28% is usual.
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 much 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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