We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
72 of its 137 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Bangkok accounted for 49 of Thailand's 72 stories about harm, carried by 61 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (27 stories). Outbreaks were named in 29 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
45 of its 56 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Vanua Levu accounted for 19 of Fiji's 45 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (28 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
122 of its 166 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Kabul accounted for 59 of Afghanistan's 122 stories about harm, carried by 196 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
23 of its 35 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. 8 of Khartoum's 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
147 of its 379 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Paris accounted for 105 of France's 147 stories about harm, carried by 180 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
98 of its 187 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
373 of its 827 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (139 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
75 of its 145 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
167 of its 337 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Landslides were named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with heavy rain.
1,412 of its 4,026 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Australia (96 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flu in Brazil (14 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); landslides in Philippines (20 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); extreme cold in India (18 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); hypothermia in US (27 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 15,143 stories about harm among 54,854 counted on 19 Dec.
Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Nigeria and the US. On 20 December 2019, a year earlier, the share was 17 in every 100, against 28 today. Thailand stood out: 53% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 33%. 28 in every 100 of the day's 54,854 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 26.
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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