We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
429 of its 851 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Tsunami was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. 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.
419 of its 1,155 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Tokyo accounted for 279 of Japan's 419 stories about harm, carried by 534 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (75 stories). Typhoon was named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
13 of its 27 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Earthquake was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Baghdad accounted for 37 of Iraq's 64 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. 20 of Baghdad's 37 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
55 of its 61 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Pansi accounted for 48 of Burkina Faso's 55 stories about harm, carried by 129 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (26 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
49 of its 71 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
74 of its 133 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Phnom Penh accounted for 63 of Cambodia's 74 stories about harm, carried by 168 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (41 stories).
61 of its 108 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Taipei accounted for 39 of Taiwan's 61 stories about harm, carried by 15 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
56 of its 69 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
1,778 of its 7,389 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (44 stories). Flooding was named in 497 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with landslides.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in UK (497 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); covid in Israel (29 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); extreme cold in Syria (19 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); polio in Philippines (14 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); power cuts in South Africa (15 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 19,384 stories about harm among 91,174 counted on 17 Feb.
It was the second day running that the news turned to Pakistan. of the day's 91,174 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Pakistan stood out: 50% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 30%. On 17 February 2019, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, the same as 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 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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