We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
391 of its 677 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Jerusalem accounted for 237 of Israel's 391 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (41 stories). Plague was named in 39 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with ebola.
34 of its 39 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Heatwave was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with flooding.
Kabul accounted for 60 of Afghanistan's 106 stories about harm, carried by 79 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
4 of Bogota's 8 stories were about protests or strikes.
125 of its 215 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
87 of its 158 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
2,978 of its 5,996 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (98 stories). Hunger was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
1,121 of its 1,712 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).
50 of its 81 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
19 of its 20 stories (95%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: respiratory illness in Belarus (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); natural hazards in Malaysia (18 of its stories, about three times its usual); hunger in Thailand (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Italy (17 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); malaria in Pakistan (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 31 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 52,359 stories about harm among 129,331 counted on 31 Mar.
Of the day's 129,331 news stories, 40 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 35. Antarctica's news mentioned the heatwave about 9 times as often as usual. On 1 April 2019, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 40 today. In Israel, 58% of the news was about people being harmed, where 46% is usual.
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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.