We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
205 of its 575 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Tokyo accounted for 142 of Japan's 205 stories about harm, carried by 348 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (21 stories). Tsunami was named in 125 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with landslides.
35 of its 45 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Mogadishu accounted for 32 of Somalia's 35 stories about harm, carried by 71 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
411 of its 899 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. 91 of Lagos' 123 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (98 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
16 of its 24 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (7 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
66 of its 85 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Yangon accounted for 32 of Myanmar's 66 stories about harm, carried by 149 outlets. 28 of Yangon's 32 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories).
45 of its 98 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Train derailment was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
31 of its 60 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Yerevan accounted for 25 of Armenia's 31 stories about harm, carried by 24 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
105 of its 138 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (53 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
57 of its 67 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Illness was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
55 of its 106 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Yemen (17 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); train derailment in Singapore (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in UK (96 of its stories, about three times its usual); storms in Russia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Ireland (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 13 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 15,726 stories about harm among 56,924 counted on 13 Feb.
Japan's news mentioned the tsunami more than ten times as often as usual. 28 in every 100 of the day's 56,924 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. In Japan, 36% of the news was about people being harmed, where 16% is usual. On 14 February 2020, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 28 today.
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 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.