We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
163 of its 188 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Mandalay accounted for 66 of Myanmar's 163 stories about harm, carried by 252 outlets. 65 of Mandalay's 66 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (93 stories). Natural hazards were named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
84 of its 119 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Jakarta accounted for 61 of Indonesia's 84 stories about harm, carried by 58 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (35 stories). Flooding was named in 45 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with heavy rain and landslides.
30 of its 57 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Tripoli accounted for 25 of Libya's 30 stories about harm, carried by 66 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
56 of its 165 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
9 of its 9 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 6 of Libreville's 8 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories).
17 of its 21 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. 8 of Algiers' 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
177 of its 341 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (11 stories). Tropical storm was named in 37 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cyclone, heavy rain and flooding.
98 of its 146 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Kabul accounted for 62 of Afghanistan's 98 stories about harm, carried by 123 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
46 of its 69 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Baghdad accounted for 31 of Iraq's 46 stories about harm, carried by 53 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
63 of its 142 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Bangkok accounted for 49 of Thailand's 63 stories about harm, carried by 251 outlets. 40 of Bangkok's 49 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: flu in Russia (62 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tropical storm in Philippines (37 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hypothermia in US (90 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 15,328 stories about harm among 55,072 counted on 20 Feb.
It was the second day running that the news turned to Myanmar. of the day's 55,072 news stories, 28 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. Indonesia's news mentioned flooding about 6 times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 21 February 2020, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 28 today. In Myanmar, 87% of the news was about people being harmed, where 66% is usual.
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?
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