We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
141 of its 372 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Kyiv accounted for 107 of Ukraine's 141 stories about harm, carried by 227 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (100 stories). Accidents were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
89 of its 109 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Mogadishu accounted for 74 of Somalia's 89 stories about harm, carried by 139 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
41 of its 76 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Ayia Napa accounted for 31 of Cyprus' 41 stories about harm, carried by 108 outlets. 17 of Ayia Napa's 31 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
25 of its 29 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Measles was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Baghdad accounted for 412 of Iraq's 672 stories about harm, carried by 795 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (61 stories). Outbreaks were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
253 of its 284 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Tehran accounted for 2,434 of Iran's 3,946 stories about harm, carried by 2,462 outlets. Drownings were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with heavy rain. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
12 of its 14 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
1,683 of its 3,589 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories).
329 of its 1,271 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (25 stories).
Also named far more than usual: respiratory illness in China (59 of its stories, about three times its usual); flu in Malaysia (11 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); flooding in Israel (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); avalanche in US (118 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Iraq (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 8 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 24,770 stories about harm among 116,924 counted on 8 Jan.
Ukraine stood out: 38% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 13%. 21 in every 100 of the day's 116,924 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Congo's news mentioned measles more than ten times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 8 January 2019, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, 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?
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.