We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
127 of its 168 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Khartoum accounted for 102 of Sudan's 127 stories about harm, carried by 92 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (74 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Valletta accounted for 29 of Malta's 48 stories about harm, carried by 73 outlets. 15 of Valletta's 29 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Kabul accounted for 72 of Afghanistan's 170 stories about harm, carried by 156 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
91 of its 103 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 91 of Iran's 165 stories about harm, carried by 198 outlets. 62 of Tehran's 91 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
40 of its 107 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Storms were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
66 of its 168 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (15 stories). Storms were named in 23 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heatwave and cyclone.
Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: typhoon in Philippines (93 of its stories, about three times its usual); avalanche in Kashmir (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Spain (23 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heavy rain in Sri Lanka (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Venezuela (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Dec. 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 19,896 stories about harm among 122,546 counted on 4 Dec.
It was the second day running that the news turned to Sudan. of the day's 122,546 news stories, 16 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 17. Sudan stood out: 76% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 51%. A year earlier, on 4 December 2018, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 16 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 16 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.