We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
235 of its 593 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (46 stories). Polio was named in 30 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
34 of its 76 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 11 of Kathmandu's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Covid was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with outbreaks.
257 of its 608 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Tokyo accounted for 202 of Japan's 257 stories about harm, carried by 291 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (42 stories).
1,056 of its 3,967 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (21 stories). Flooding was named in 379 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with heavy rain, storms and landslides.
97 of its 114 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
41 of its 77 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Hepatitis was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
83 of its 390 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
177 of its 479 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Covid was named in 33 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
Kabul accounted for 47 of Afghanistan's 80 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
Wuhan accounted for 473 of China's 1,410 stories about harm, carried by 743 outlets. Hepatitis was named in 33 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.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Ireland (29 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); respiratory illness in New Zealand (34 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in Israel (33 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hepatitis in Taiwan (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Iran (10 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 12,319 stories about harm among 53,964 counted on 16 Feb.
Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 53,964 stories, above the usual 20. A year earlier, on 16 February 2019, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today. This week the news turned most often to Sudan, on 3 of 7 days.
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 about as 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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