We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
53 of its 76 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Drownings were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
578 of its 1,227 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Moscow accounted for 345 of Russia's 578 stories about harm, carried by 769 outlets. Poisoning was named in 298 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
Baghdad accounted for 65 of Iraq's 92 stories about harm, carried by 133 outlets. Earthquake was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Bamako accounted for 130 of Mali's 177 stories about harm, carried by 184 outlets. 74 of Bamako's 130 stories were about protests or strikes. Landslides were named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
378 of its 1,106 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (63 stories). Power cuts were named in 103 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (8 stories). Landslides were named in 12 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.
Minsk accounted for 113 of Belarus' 151 stories about harm, carried by 259 outlets. 104 of Minsk's 113 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Beirut accounted for 159 of Lebanon's 173 stories about harm, carried by 164 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
26 of its 86 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
93 of its 157 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: power cuts in Ireland (103 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); natural hazards in Malaysia (34 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hunger in Sweden (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Canada (58 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heavy rain in Mexico (13 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 29,504 stories about harm among 107,736 counted on 20 Aug.
Russia's news mentioned poisoning more than ten times as often as usual. 27 in every 100 of the day's 107,736 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 29. For the second day running, the news turned to Libya. A year earlier, on 21 August 2019, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 today. Libya's news was 70% about people being harmed, against a usual 44%.
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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