We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
28 of its 38 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. la Paz accounted for 18 of Bolivia's 28 stories about harm, carried by 86 outlets. 9 of la Paz's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
228 of its 334 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Damascus accounted for 73 of Syria's 228 stories about harm, carried by 176 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (75 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
16 of its 27 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
218 of its 629 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
88 of its 204 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Tehran accounted for 47 of Iran's 88 stories about harm, carried by 64 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
69 of its 128 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 18 of Kampala's 31 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Yangon accounted for 133 of Myanmar's 168 stories about harm, carried by 353 outlets. 125 of Yangon's 133 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
37 of its 109 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 9 of Amman's 18 stories were about protests or strikes.
571 of its 1,935 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 81 of Canberra's 104 stories were about protests or strikes.
6 of its 6 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories).
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Hong Kong (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Somalia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Jersey (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in China (29 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Ireland (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 Mar. 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 22,206 stories about harm among 87,027 counted on 15 Mar.
The news turned to Bolivia for the second day running. 26 in every 100 of the day's 87,027 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Hong Kong's news, mentions of outbreaks ran about 4 times their usual. On 15 March 2020, a year earlier, the share was 37 in every 100, against 26 today. Bolivia's news was 74% about people being harmed, against a usual 50%.
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 about as 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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