We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
38 of its 51 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories). Avalanche was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
10 of Mogadishu's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
58 of its 88 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Taipei accounted for 34 of Taiwan's 58 stories about harm, carried by 15 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories).
169 of its 283 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Respiratory illness was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
26 of its 33 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Guayaquil accounted for 22 of Ecuador's 26 stories about harm, carried by 28 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
27 of its 41 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories).
14 of its 25 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories).
165 of its 345 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (28 stories). Meningitis was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: flu in Italy (26 of its stories, about three times its usual); storms in Israel (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); meningitis in Nigeria (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in US (88 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in India (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 Apr. 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 21,716 stories about harm among 56,132 counted on 26 Apr.
Mentions of the avalanche ran more than ten times their usual in Nepal's news. of the day's 56,132 news stories, 39 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 40. the news turned to Nepal for the second day running. A year earlier, on 27 April 2019, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 39 today. In Nepal, 75% of the news was about people being harmed, where 59% 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 much harsher 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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