We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
106 of its 216 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Hunger was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
133 of its 211 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Yangon accounted for 75 of Myanmar's 133 stories about harm, carried by 223 outlets. 65 of Yangon's 75 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (56 stories).
83 of its 145 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 8 times the usual rate (12 stories). Illness was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. 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.
43 of its 131 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
82 of its 177 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Tehran accounted for 47 of Iran's 82 stories about harm, carried by 48 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
116 of its 245 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (42 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
38 of its 101 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
65 of its 173 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 6 of Accompong's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Heavy rain was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Beirut accounted for 54 of Lebanon's 72 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. 36 of Beirut's 54 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Moscow accounted for 248 of Russia's 367 stories about harm, carried by 313 outlets. 144 of Moscow's 248 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Jamaica (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in South Africa (16 of its stories, about three times its usual); extreme cold in Ireland (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); storms in Australia (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); train derailment in China (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 Feb. 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 24,167 stories about harm among 97,274 counted on 5 Feb.
Mentions of heavy rain ran more than ten times their usual in Jamaica's news. On 6 February 2020, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 25 today. Saudi Arabia stood out: 49% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 30%. 25 in every 100 of the day's 97,274 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 27.
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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