We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
124 of its 165 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Ayia Napa accounted for 118 of Cyprus' 124 stories about harm, carried by 404 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (52 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
163 of its 173 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Mogadishu accounted for 145 of Somalia's 163 stories about harm, carried by 182 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
30 of its 118 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 12 of Warsaw's 21 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (18 stories). Outbreaks were named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
26 of its 61 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (16 stories). Illness was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
350 of its 485 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Kirkuk accounted for 171 of Iraq's 350 stories about harm, carried by 707 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (228 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
161 of its 258 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Kabul accounted for 88 of Afghanistan's 161 stories about harm, carried by 317 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Khartoum accounted for 44 of Sudan's 73 stories about harm, carried by 150 outlets. 30 of Khartoum's 44 stories were about protests or strikes. Poisoning was named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
67 of its 147 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Illness was named in 59 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
92 of its 328 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. 24 of Kyiv's 45 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (64 stories).
687 of its 1,951 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Tornadoes were named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Papua New Guinea (59 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cyclone in Tonga (14 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); cyclone in Mauritius (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in China (60 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Sudan (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 16,502 stories about harm among 80,254 counted on 30 Dec.
Cyprus stood out: 75% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 18%. 21 in every 100 of the day's 80,254 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 18. On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about twice the usual rate. Tonga's news mentioned the cyclone about 7 times as often as usual. On 30 December 2018, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 21 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 harsher 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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