We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
64 of its 163 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Stutthof accounted for 46 of Poland's 64 stories about harm, carried by 234 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (14 stories). Hunger was named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
18 of its 32 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Conakry accounted for 15 of Guinea's 18 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. 15 of Conakry's 15 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories).
156 of its 386 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (99 stories). Road crashes were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
296 of its 867 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (14 stories). Earthquake was named in 131 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with landslides and tsunami. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Baghdad accounted for 71 of Iraq's 112 stories about harm, carried by 131 outlets. 37 of Baghdad's 71 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
173 of its 685 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 80 of Barcelona's 92 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (65 stories).
26 of its 84 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (15 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Kabul accounted for 47 of Afghanistan's 111 stories about harm, carried by 53 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
54 of its 121 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
43 of its 106 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories).
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Nigeria (27 of its stories, about three times its usual); drownings in Bangladesh (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tuberculosis in Malaysia (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in New Zealand (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in US (263 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 22,212 stories about harm among 128,630 counted on 17 Oct.
Mentions of the earthquake ran more than ten times their usual in the Philippines' news. of the day's 128,630 news stories, 17 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 18. Poland stood out: 39% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 16%. A year earlier, on 17 October 2018, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 17 today.
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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