We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
735 of its 1,033 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Beirut accounted for 705 of Lebanon's 735 stories about harm, carried by 927 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (437 stories). Earthquake was named in 140 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
155 of its 372 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Seoul accounted for 95 of South Korea's 155 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (47 stories). Landslides were named in 55 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
13 of its 28 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 9 of Reykjavik's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Illness was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
56 of its 114 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (27 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
48 of its 49 stories (98%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Pikelot Island accounted for 38 of Micronesia's 48 stories about harm, carried by 187 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (46 stories).
122 of its 257 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Bangkok accounted for 72 of Thailand's 122 stories about harm, carried by 134 outlets. 42 of Bangkok's 72 stories were about protests or strikes.
171 of its 304 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. 25 of Harare's 42 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
25 of its 49 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
148 of its 195 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
45 of its 55 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in US (1072 of its stories, about three times its usual); wildfires in Canada (27 of its stories, about three times its usual); typhoon in China (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); house fires in UK (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Aug. 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 30,244 stories about harm among 103,978 counted on 4 Aug.
Of the day's 103,978 news stories, 29 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 30. A year earlier, on 5 August 2019, 24 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 29 today.
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 about as 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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