We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
57 of its 133 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Warsaw accounted for 39 of Poland's 57 stories about harm, carried by 85 outlets. 28 of Warsaw's 39 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
90 of its 167 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Bucharest accounted for 56 of Romania's 90 stories about harm, carried by 170 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
31 of its 62 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Covid was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with tuberculosis and malaria. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
62 of its 87 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Baghdad accounted for 35 of Iraq's 62 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Beirut accounted for 52 of Lebanon's 76 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. 35 of Beirut's 52 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (34 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
44 of its 72 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (6 stories). Flooding was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with heavy rain and storms.
95 of its 222 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Outbreaks were named in 51 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
67 of its 202 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Dubai accounted for 61 of the United Arab Emirates' 67 stories about harm, carried by 217 outlets. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Illness was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
79 of Moscow's 136 stories were about protests or strikes. Avalanche was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Vietnam (51 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in Fiji (21 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); illness in Central African Republic (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); earthquake in Panama (10 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); cyclone in Bangladesh (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 Jan. 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 25,018 stories about harm among 98,096 counted on 29 Jan.
The share of stories about people being harmed was the lowest since 18 December 2020. 26 in every 100 of the day's 98,096 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 28. For the third day running, the news turned to Poland. A year earlier, on 30 January 2020, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 26 today. Poland's news was 43% about people being harmed, against a 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 much 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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