We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
46 of its 56 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Kivu accounted for 16 of the DR Congo's 46 stories about harm, carried by 37 outlets. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (17 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
32 of its 74 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (14 stories). Hunger was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
1,874 of its 5,922 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 445 of Delhi's 596 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (284 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
209 of its 606 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (40 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
704 of its 2,335 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (109 stories). Heatwave was named in 117 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with road crashes.
257 of its 795 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. HIV was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
15 of its 19 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 stories).
9 of its 9 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories).
28 of its 51 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
19 of its 49 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).
Also named far more than usual: illness in Congo (22 of its stories, about three times its usual); storms in Mexico (31 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Australia (117 of its stories, about three times its usual); hiv in Zimbabwe (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); snowstorms in Canada (27 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 19,441 stories about harm among 111,596 counted on 20 Dec.
On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 17 in every 100 of the day's 111,596 stories, as usual. Mentions of haemorrhagic fever ran more than ten times their usual in the DR Congo's news. In the DR Congo, 82% of the news was about people being harmed, where 60% is usual. On 20 December 2018, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 17 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 17 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 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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