We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
274 of its 387 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (82 stories). Cyclone was named in 196 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storm surge, storms and typhoon. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
184 of its 323 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Malaria was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
17 of its 20 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
5 of Algiers' 8 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
Kabul accounted for 93 of Afghanistan's 148 stories about harm, carried by 153 outlets. Plague was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's.
54 of its 65 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
41 of its 52 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
29 of its 36 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
61 of its 161 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories).
213 of its 434 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Seoul accounted for 118 of South Korea's 213 stories about harm, carried by 328 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in India (537 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plague in Afghanistan (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Israel (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); natural hazards in Ireland (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); accidents in US (41 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 37,869 stories about harm among 115,552 counted on 20 May.
It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 12 March 2020. of the day's 115,552 news stories, 33 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 36. Evacuations were reported at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about India and the US. It was the second day running that the news turned to Bangladesh. On 21 May 2019, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 33 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 33 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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?
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