We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
107 of its 254 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Mahara accounted for 71 of Sri Lanka's 107 stories about harm, carried by 81 outlets. 49 of Mahara's 71 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
52 of its 60 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Tigray accounted for 102 of Ethiopia's 115 stories about harm, carried by 121 outlets. Hunger was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
44 of its 67 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
368 of its 871 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (130 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
22 of its 38 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 10 of San Isidro's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
103 of its 247 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 14 of Hanoi's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (22 stories).
139 of its 268 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (15 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
15 of its 41 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Indonesia (34 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in Lebanon (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in South Africa (47 of its stories, about three times its usual); natural hazards in New Zealand (27 of its stories, about three times its usual); heatwave in Australia (35 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 Dec. 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 25,340 stories about harm among 101,421 counted on 1 Dec.
It was the second day running that the news turned to Sri Lanka. of the day's 101,421 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 26. A year earlier, on 2 December 2019, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 25 today. Sri Lanka's news was 42% about people being harmed, against a usual 33%.
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?
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