We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
24 of its 28 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Minsk accounted for 23 of Belarus' 24 stories about harm, carried by 61 outlets. 21 of Minsk's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories).
85 of its 158 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Bangkok accounted for 62 of Thailand's 85 stories about harm, carried by 184 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (31 stories). Outbreaks were named in 43 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
139 of its 179 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Kabul accounted for 100 of Afghanistan's 139 stories about harm, carried by 279 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (87 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's.
54 of its 71 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
31 of its 101 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
42 of its 51 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Tigray accounted for 22 of Ethiopia's 42 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (15 stories).
67 of its 141 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Seoul accounted for 46 of South Korea's 67 stories about harm, carried by 113 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
22 of its 52 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (11 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
1,648 of its 4,196 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
175 of its 341 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Jerusalem accounted for 93 of Israel's 175 stories about harm, carried by 115 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Australia (160 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flu in Brazil (16 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); earthquake in Japan (17 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); measles in Indonesia (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Malaysia (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 12,559 stories about harm among 44,733 counted on 20 Dec.
No day had a higher share of stories about people being harmed since 15 November 2020. Stories about people being harmed made up 28 in every 100 of the day's 44,733 stories, above the usual 26. Abductions were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Nigeria and the US. In Belarus, 86% of the news was about people being harmed, where 39% is usual. On 21 December 2019, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 28 today. This week the news turned most often to Fiji, on 5 of 7 days; help rose on 2 of them.
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 harsher 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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