We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
126 of its 158 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Kabul accounted for 79 of Afghanistan's 126 stories about harm, carried by 136 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
76 of its 115 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Kaesong accounted for 55 of North Korea's 76 stories about harm, carried by 167 outlets. Outbreaks were named in 47 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
12 of Beirut's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Illness was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
51 of its 110 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%.
116 of its 225 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Kaesong accounted for 54 of South Korea's 116 stories about harm, carried by 268 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (6 stories).
253 of its 634 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
1,453 of its 3,504 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Drownings were named in 23 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with cholera and hepatitis.
Darfur accounted for 20 of Sudan's 33 stories about harm, carried by 29 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Damascus accounted for 25 of Syria's 45 stories about harm, carried by 34 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
77 of its 169 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Mexico (13 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); hurricane in US (523 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (16 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); earthquake in Philippines (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drownings in India (23 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 Jul. 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 16,052 stories about harm among 49,159 counted on 26 Jul.
On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 33 in every 100 of the day's 49,159 stories, above the usual 31. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Malaysia. In North Korea's news, mentions of outbreaks ran about three times their usual. A year earlier, on 27 July 2019, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 33 today. This week the news turned most often to Afghanistan, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 4 of them.
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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