We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
72 of its 155 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Lima accounted for 51 of Peru's 72 stories about harm, carried by 229 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
331 of its 492 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Tehran accounted for 161 of Iran's 331 stories about harm, carried by 176 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
51 of its 84 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Masaya accounted for 41 of Nicaragua's 51 stories about harm, carried by 65 outlets. Volcanic eruption was named in 40 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
15 of Baghdad's 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
115 of its 366 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Dubai accounted for 104 of the United Arab Emirates' 115 stories about harm, carried by 208 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (20 stories).
193 of its 266 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Hung Hom accounted for 75 of Hong Kong's 193 stories about harm, carried by 212 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
379 of its 1,155 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Illness was named in 92 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
10,495 of its 38,242 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate (119 stories). Food poisoning was named in 56 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
1,740 of its 5,812 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (34 stories). Flu was named in 59 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
96 of its 181 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (45 stories).
Also named far more than usual: illness in South Africa (92 of its stories, about three times its usual); illness in Azerbaijan (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); train derailment in France (36 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in Switzerland (10 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); building collapse in Pakistan (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Mar. 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 31,672 stories about harm among 124,784 counted on 5 Mar.
Peru stood out: 46% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 18%. 25 in every 100 of the day's 124,784 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. In Nicaragua's news, mentions of volcanic eruption ran about 5 times their usual. A year earlier, on 6 March 2019, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 25 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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