We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
365 of its 471 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Baghdad accounted for 292 of Iraq's 365 stories about harm, carried by 651 outlets. 275 of Baghdad's 292 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (329 stories). Train derailment was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
20 of its 30 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Tongo Tongo accounted for 13 of Niger's 20 stories about harm, carried by 17 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
136 of its 415 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
8 of its 20 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Causeway Bay accounted for 90 of Hong Kong's 210 stories about harm, carried by 181 outlets. 86 of Causeway Bay's 90 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (31 stories). Outbreaks were named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
59 of its 117 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Quito accounted for 46 of Ecuador's 59 stories about harm, carried by 164 outlets. 43 of Quito's 46 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (16 stories).
25 of its 44 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Mandalay accounted for 20 of Myanmar's 25 stories about harm, carried by 73 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories).
132 of Beijing's 184 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Poisoning was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
8 of Port-au-Prince's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Kabul accounted for 40 of Afghanistan's 75 stories about harm, carried by 98 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Ireland (61 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in Latvia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Kenya (12 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); outbreaks in Hong Kong (20 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); poisoning in China (10 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Oct. 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 20,564 stories about harm among 121,833 counted on 4 Oct.
The news turned to Iraq for the third day running. 17 in every 100 of the day's 121,833 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. A year earlier, on 4 October 2018, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 17 today. Iraq stood out: 77% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 53%.
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?
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