We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
344 of its 445 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Baghdad accounted for 235 of Iraq's 344 stories about harm, carried by 385 outlets. 125 of Baghdad's 235 stories were about protests or strikes. 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.
96 of its 320 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Buenos Aires accounted for 72 of Argentina's 96 stories about harm, carried by 257 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories).
84 of its 290 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (29 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
658 of its 960 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Idlib accounted for 297 of Syria's 658 stories about harm, carried by 619 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
89 of its 179 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Santiago accounted for 76 of Chile's 89 stories about harm, carried by 146 outlets. 70 of Santiago's 76 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
11 of its 35 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 8 of Riga's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Power cuts were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
92 of its 219 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Tehran accounted for 54 of Iran's 92 stories about harm, carried by 115 outlets. 32 of Tehran's 54 stories were about protests or strikes.
85 of its 172 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (52 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
7 of Dar es Salaam's 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
24 of Tsim Sha Tsui's 28 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: power cuts in Latvia (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in El Salvador (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in Cambodia (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Malaysia (13 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 28 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 19,871 stories about harm among 109,990 counted on 28 Oct.
Latvia's news mentioned power cuts more than ten times as often as usual. 18 in every 100 of the day's 109,990 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and New Zealand. the news turned to Iraq for the second day running. A year earlier, on 28 October 2018, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 18 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.