We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
155 of its 200 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Mong Kok accounted for 116 of Hong Kong's 155 stories about harm, carried by 296 outlets. 112 of Mong Kok's 116 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (112 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
131 of its 197 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Jakarta accounted for 97 of Indonesia's 131 stories about harm, carried by 271 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories). Flooding was named in 82 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, landslides and hypothermia.
38 of its 44 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Ayia Napa accounted for 36 of Cyprus' 38 stories about harm, carried by 181 outlets. Illness was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
39 of its 53 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Reports of refugees ran at about 8 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
515 of its 727 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Baghdad accounted for 467 of Iraq's 515 stories about harm, carried by 1,231 outlets. 388 of Baghdad's 467 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
70 of its 136 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Hunger was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
688 of its 1,597 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (191 stories). Tornadoes were named in 42 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with power cuts and measles.
138 of its 411 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (104 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
57 of its 110 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Beirut accounted for 47 of Lebanon's 57 stories about harm, carried by 198 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (21 stories).
17 of Table Mountain's 25 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (37 stories). Wildfires were named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks, measles and storms.
Also named far more than usual: hunger in Zimbabwe (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Canada (22 of its stories, about three times its usual); wildfires in South Africa (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in UK (37 of its stories, about three times its usual); tornadoes in Australia (42 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 Jan. 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 11,940 stories about harm among 58,200 counted on 1 Jan.
On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about twice the usual rate. Indonesia's news mentioned flooding more than ten times as often as usual. Hong Kong's news was 78% about people being harmed, against a usual 37%. of the day's 58,200 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 18. Over December, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 in December 2018.
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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