We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
342 of its 475 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Tehran accounted for 270 of Iran's 342 stories about harm, carried by 482 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
41 of its 61 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Omdurman accounted for 24 of Sudan's 41 stories about harm, carried by 67 outlets. Covid was named in 22 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.
81 of its 107 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Pyongyang accounted for 66 of North Korea's 81 stories about harm, carried by 164 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (56 stories).
Tigray accounted for 117 of Ethiopia's 137 stories about harm, carried by 308 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
19 of its 33 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Outbreaks were named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
64 of its 125 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Caracas accounted for 42 of Venezuela's 64 stories about harm, carried by 340 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (38 stories).
98 of its 227 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
125 of its 332 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Seoul accounted for 83 of South Korea's 125 stories about harm, carried by 242 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories).
35 of Lagos' 65 stories were about protests or strikes. Polio was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
55 of its 93 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. 21 of Baghdad's 27 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Senegal (15 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); flu in Sweden (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); drought in Zimbabwe (10 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Germany (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Australia (24 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 27 Nov. 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 19,242 stories about harm among 77,475 counted on 27 Nov.
The news turned to Iran for the third day running. On 28 November 2019, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 25 today. In Iran, 72% of the news was about people being harmed, where 46% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 25 in every 100 of the day's 77,475 stories, below the usual 27.
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 softer 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.