We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
135 of its 286 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Mahara accounted for 99 of Sri Lanka's 135 stories about harm, carried by 262 outlets. 68 of Mahara's 99 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
608 of its 1,355 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (39 stories). Malaria was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with hunger. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
273 of its 776 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Paris accounted for 183 of France's 273 stories about harm, carried by 320 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (43 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
126 of its 231 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (15 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
274 of its 887 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (9 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 65 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding and heavy rain.
24 of its 47 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 6 of Havana's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
31 of its 80 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Respiratory illness was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
26 of its 70 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories).
31 of its 51 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
15 of its 20 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in New Zealand (65 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in Bahamas (13 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); hiv in South Africa (39 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Greece (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); heatwave in Australia (47 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 21,828 stories about harm among 87,003 counted on 30 Nov.
New Zealand's news mentioned volcanic eruption more than ten times as often as usual. 25 in every 100 of the day's 87,003 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 26. On 1 December 2019, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 25 today. Sri Lanka stood out: 47% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 32%.
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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