We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
87 of its 127 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Darfur accounted for 69 of Sudan's 87 stories about harm, carried by 96 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
106 of its 270 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (27 stories). Drownings were named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
22 of its 51 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (17 stories). Drownings were named in 17 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.
142 of its 305 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Flu was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
33 of its 121 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
3,075 of its 4,650 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Wuhan accounted for 1,197 of China's 3,075 stories about harm, carried by 1,268 outlets. Drought was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Kabul accounted for 76 of Afghanistan's 131 stories about harm, carried by 213 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Baghdad accounted for 55 of Iraq's 86 stories about harm, carried by 90 outlets. 29 of Baghdad's 55 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
175 of its 425 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (32 stories).
97 of its 249 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories).
Also named far more than usual: natural hazards in Uganda (17 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); illness in Saudi Arabia (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); building collapse in Kashmir (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Australia (63 of its stories, about three times its usual); road crashes in Kenya (13 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 Feb. 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 25,133 stories about harm among 125,650 counted on 12 Feb.
In Papua New Guinea's news, mentions of drownings ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 125,650 stories, as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to Sudan. A year earlier, on 12 February 2019, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. Sudan stood out: 69% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 47%.
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 much 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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