We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
73 of its 120 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Phnom Penh accounted for 57 of Cambodia's 73 stories about harm, carried by 129 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (31 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
34 of its 42 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Diffa accounted for 30 of Niger's 34 stories about harm, carried by 65 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
173 of its 351 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. 19 of Istanbul's 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (65 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
31 of its 36 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Sebba accounted for 26 of Burkina Faso's 31 stories about harm, carried by 30 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
108 of its 331 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (61 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
49 of its 83 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
26 of its 70 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
53 of its 189 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
387 of its 1,282 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (84 stories). HIV was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
355 of its 904 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 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.
Also named far more than usual: extreme cold in Syria (48 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); natural hazards in South Sudan (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in Israel (39 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); covid in Chile (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); respiratory illness in New Zealand (26 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 22,925 stories about harm among 113,117 counted on 18 Feb.
Of the day's 113,117 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 18 February 2019, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 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 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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