We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
492 of its 747 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Manila accounted for 239 of the Philippines' 492 stories about harm, carried by 80 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (192 stories). Flu was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with bird flu.
Idlib accounted for 51 of Syria's 89 stories about harm, carried by 135 outlets. 29 of Idlib's 51 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
91 of its 133 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Baghdad accounted for 53 of Iraq's 91 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's.
9 of its 14 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%.
396 of its 1,000 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (44 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 59 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
496 of its 1,352 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Gas explosion was named in 38 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 162 of Iran's 316 stories about harm, carried by 238 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
14,739 of its 32,978 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people falling ill ran at about 4 times the usual rate (323 stories). Accidents were named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
817 of its 1,431 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Tsunami was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with ebola and hiv. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
92 of its 242 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Cyclone was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Also named far more than usual: respiratory illness in Japan (59 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); illness in Türkiye (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cyclone in Zimbabwe (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); respiratory illness in Iran (31 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in Afghanistan (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 40,891 stories about harm among 109,647 counted on 16 Mar.
Of the day's 109,647 news stories, 37 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 25. the share of stories about people being harmed was the highest in all 1537 days held. Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. People falling ill were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and China.
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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