We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
46 of its 57 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Tunis accounted for 30 of Tunisia's 46 stories about harm, carried by 54 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
181 of its 354 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Riyadh accounted for 91 of Saudi Arabia's 181 stories about harm, carried by 194 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Minsk accounted for 147 of Belarus' 164 stories about harm, carried by 198 outlets. 134 of Minsk's 147 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
150 of its 326 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (46 stories). Tropical storm was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with heavy rain and cyclone.
18 of its 31 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Tropical storm was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with hurricane.
137 of its 226 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories).
55 of its 76 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Natural hazards were named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
62 of its 170 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (31 stories).
74 of its 152 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (15 stories).
35 of its 54 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories).
Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Bermuda (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); earthquake in Chile (16 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); natural hazards in Sudan (13 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); earthquake in New Zealand (19 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Japan (23 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 7 Sep. 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 20,745 stories about harm among 72,210 counted on 7 Sep.
The news turned to Tunisia for the second day running. 29 in every 100 of the day's 72,210 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Bermuda's news, mentions of tropical storm ran about 5 times their usual. A year earlier, on 8 September 2019, 24 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 29 today. Tunisia's news was 81% 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 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.