We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
118 of its 146 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Tigray accounted for 38 of Ethiopia's 118 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (19 stories). Illness was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
49 of its 76 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
20 of its 44 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Flooding was named in 129 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with landslides, hypothermia and power cuts. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
133 of its 194 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Baghdad accounted for 103 of Iraq's 133 stories about harm, carried by 280 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
80 of its 191 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
122 of its 268 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
34 of its 94 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
21 of its 30 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. 3 of Niamey's 4 stories were about protests or strikes.
67 of its 224 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Dubai accounted for 62 of the United Arab Emirates' 67 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in Zimbabwe (16 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (17 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); tsunami in Japan (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); road crashes in Israel (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in India (20 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 24 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 18,742 stories about harm among 69,771 counted on 24 Dec.
People falling ill were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and India. 27 in every 100 of the day's 69,771 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. In Zimbabwe's news, mentions of the cyclone ran about 10 times their usual. A year earlier, on 25 December 2019, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 today. Ethiopia's news was 81% about people being harmed, against a usual 60%.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 27 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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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