We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
81 of its 99 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Mogadishu accounted for 75 of Somalia's 81 stories about harm, carried by 109 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 8 times the usual rate (7 stories). Power cuts were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
109 of its 194 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Bangkok accounted for 83 of Thailand's 109 stories about harm, carried by 212 outlets. 75 of Bangkok's 83 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (67 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
28 of its 44 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Landslides were named in 15 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (20 stories). Hypothermia was named in 12 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.
197 of its 309 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Minsk accounted for 174 of Belarus' 197 stories about harm, carried by 384 outlets. 162 of Minsk's 174 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (94 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
45 of its 96 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories).
55 of its 107 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
18 of its 24 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. 6 of Mocimboa da Praia's 9 stories were about protests or strikes.
100 of its 171 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
99 of its 217 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Seoul accounted for 82 of South Korea's 99 stories about harm, carried by 256 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Sudan (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); polio in Pakistan (22 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (12 of its stories, about three times its usual); flu in Russia (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); wildfires in US (142 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 15,109 stories about harm among 49,252 counted on 16 Aug.
On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 31 in every 100 of the day's 49,252 stories, as usual. Mentions of landslides ran about three times their usual in Nepal's news. A year earlier, on 17 August 2019, 24 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 31 today. Somalia stood out: 82% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 54%. This week the news turned most often to Belarus, on 6 of 7 days; help rose on 1 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.