We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
28 of its 46 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Bratislava accounted for 27 of Slovakia's 28 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (21 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
308 of its 1,351 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (99 stories). Flooding was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
1,807 of its 6,087 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 520 of Delhi's 638 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
41 of its 110 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Havana accounted for 35 of Cuba's 41 stories about harm, carried by 58 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
32 of its 105 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Lima accounted for 26 of Peru's 32 stories about harm, carried by 61 outlets. 13 of Lima's 26 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories).
351 of its 801 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (84 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
19 of its 51 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
80 of its 223 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Colombo accounted for 62 of Sri Lanka's 80 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories).
698 of its 2,543 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (50 stories). Heatwave was named in 159 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with storms.
26 of its 73 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Hunger was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: heatwave in Australia (159 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hunger in Venezuela (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Indonesia (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); illness in Iran (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tsunami in Spain (10 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 20,041 stories about harm among 117,867 counted on 19 Dec.
Slovakia's news was 61% about people being harmed, against a usual 22%. of the day's 117,867 news stories, 17 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 19 December 2018, 17 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as 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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