We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
40 of its 50 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Tripoli accounted for 30 of Libya's 40 stories about harm, carried by 62 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
45 of its 54 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Kabuga accounted for 32 of Rwanda's 45 stories about harm, carried by 48 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
99 of its 196 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Seoul accounted for 61 of South Korea's 99 stories about harm, carried by 102 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
3 of Niksic's 3 stories were about protests or strikes.
Jenin accounted for 75 of Palestine's 100 stories about harm, carried by 6 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (61 stories). Illness was named in 60 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Jammu accounted for 65 of Kashmir's 109 stories about harm, carried by 30 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
44 of its 64 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (28 stories).
85 of its 140 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
52 of its 75 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
13 of its 19 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Palestine (60 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in Nepal (19 of its stories, about three times its usual); typhoon in Philippines (35 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heatwave in Israel (29 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Bangladesh (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 May. 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 19,484 stories about harm among 53,104 counted on 17 May.
Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Palestine and Nigeria. of the day's 53,104 news stories, 37 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 18 May 2019, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 37 today. Libya's news was 80% about people being harmed, against a usual 57%. This week the news turned most often to Afghanistan, on 4 of 7 days.
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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