We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
74 of its 117 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Bogota accounted for 56 of Colombia's 74 stories about harm, carried by 71 outlets. 48 of Bogota's 56 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
137 of its 319 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Lesbos accounted for 75 of Greece's 137 stories about harm, carried by 183 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (48 stories).
125 of its 462 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
Kabul accounted for 98 of Afghanistan's 179 stories about harm, carried by 195 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
16 of its 33 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
26 of its 71 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories).
Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (53 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (110 stories). Plane crash was named in 42 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in North Korea (21 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in Chile (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Ghana (16 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); flooding in Malaysia (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Brazil (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 11 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 27,560 stories about harm among 99,638 counted on 11 Sep.
Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. of the day's 99,638 news stories, 28 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. the news turned to Colombia for the second day running. Mentions of outbreaks ran about 4 times their usual in North Korea's news. On 12 September 2019, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 28 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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